top of page

dRAINage problems


February showers??  That doesn't sound right.  Lately this rain has been pouring at biblical proportions and there seems no end in sight.  Some of the effects of the rain can be seen in your yard, in regards to the lack of drainage.  The problem occurs when water pools up around your house and has no where to go. 

Water then gets into your basement and can cause water damage and can promote the growth of mold.  The main problem of inadequate drainage can be attributed to the slope of the terrain in many yards.  If the slope takes water away from your house we are home free, but once water pools up against your house this can be a huge problem. 

The first thing I would look for is to see if the house has gutters and that the downspouts are properly draining into a the yard, catch basin or an existing drainage pipe.  If there are no gutters in place, it is strongly recommended to have them installed, otherwise the rain pours off your roof and "digs" a trench for the water to sit in and no where to go.  With gutters properly installed the downspouts will divert rain water away from your foundation theoretically. 

The next thing we would look at is the grading or slope of the property.  Sometimes all that is needed is to bring in more soil or take away soil and adjust the pitch/slope so that the grade is at a 2-3% slope away from the house, this pitch of the terrain will help divert the water away from your property.  Sometimes adjusting the grade is not possible and what we suggest is a french drain.

A french drain is a trench dug to divert the water away from the undesired location.  The french drain typically consists of a trench dug, then filled with a perforated socked pipe sandwiched between layers of gravel so that the grade of the trench caries the water away.  If gravity is not on your side and you have an uphill battle, pun intended, then I would recommend an automated sump pump. 

An automatic sump pump can be triggered by a flotation device.  So you would have a low spot where water is collected and when the water reaches a certain level the flotation device connected to the pump floats up triggering the pump to turn on and sucking up the water and pushing it out through a pipe to a desired location away from your "low-spot".  I personally have one in my landscape that alleviates the problem of a low spot where a traditional french drain would not be possible.

These are a few solutions to the problem of drainage.  Please let us know your thoughts and or questions

bottom of page