Messages and Online Forum Q&A

Re: Drainage of standing water in our yard

From: info@builderswebsource.com
Category: Other/Misc
Remote Name: 207.82.209.114
Date: 13 Feb 2001
Time: 07:36 PM

Comments

Your drainage problem is all too common: clay soil with no lot drainage. Furthermore, your problem is compounded by being at the base of a hill.

While a competent civil engineer should evaluate your specific site conditions, our home was built on a remarkably similar lot.

In our case, we installed a dual drainage system. One system, a french drain, was installed around the entire perimeter of the house. We used 4" PVC pipe with holes (laying face down) to intercept ground water near the base of the foundation. The ditch was filled with drainage rock and the sides of the ditch were protected with filter fabric to prevent clay and silt from infiltrating the drainage system. This french drain, with periodic cleanouts at corners, feeds into a concrete sump pit with a pump. Make sure that any corners use large 90-degree sweeps and not tight bends.

The second drainage system consists of a "closed" system that carries runnoff from all the downspouts, as well as periodic concrete catch basins located throughout the landscaped area. The lot and grassy areas were sloped slightly to cause any surface runoff to feed into the catch basins, thereby avoiding puddling in the yard.

This series of catch basins, each sequentially deeper than the other, feed a master catch basin with its own pump.

The combination of the french drain and the closed drainage system are then pumped to the street (or a storm drain if available) via a "bubbler". The bubbler is a small interceptor that allows the water to flow by gravity from the main catch basin to the street, without being pumped directly into the street (which can cause quite a spray).

This whole system sounds complex, but it works. It solves the two common drainage problems which include foundation water and surface water.

The only drawback is that it relies on mechanical pumps to do their jobs. Therefore, keeping the system clean and free of debris, leaves, etc. is mandatory. If you fail to clean the system, the pumps can quickly fail, causing the system to back up and overflow.

Be sure to put a check valve on the outlet of the pumps so that water cannot easily back up into the foundation or property should a blockage occur.

If you can tie into a storm drain by gravity flow and eliminate the pumps, then all the better. But, this may cost a fair amount depending on the distance to the storm drain. In our case, we didn't have that luxury so we had to rely on pumps to do the job.

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