We moved into this house about 2 years ago and have been finding little problems here and there as most homeowners do.
Aside from mystery sprinklers (don't get me started), with recent storms I've found limitations on the capacity of my gutter system.
Sure it carries the water from the roof along the gutter to the downspout. Sure it ties into an underground system that drains into the sewers, but there's all sorts of non water stuff getting in there.
At our old house we got new gutters installed and had a chance to install a really great, but expensive, product that blocks non water items from getting into the gutters. With 2 large pepper trees overhead it made the next rainy season far easier to cope with.
But here we have a different problem and a different system. It would appear that the underground drainage system that ties into the sewer has either failed or become clogged with debris, roots, small woodland creatures, something other than water for sure.
During one of our recent storms I spent hours out in the driving rain trying to flush what I thought was a simple clog only to find it was systemic on that one side of the house.
One side no problems at all, the other hopelessly clogged.
With water backing up against the foundation of the house I had to stop the immediate damage and climbed back up and clogged the downspout. That sent the water in that gutter over to the other downspout near the front of the house. My problem was not solved, only no longer an immediate problem. But now water was backing up at another location, just not right against the foundation and in plain sight.
With the family driving the wife nuts inside (toddlers hate rainy days) and my hands cold I came inside hoping to tackle the problem another day.
When that day came I could only install a patch of the same system that was in place before, a tube running from the downspout off the side of the house towards the neighbor's yard. (He's never home, he won't notice.) I unclogged the downspout and water rushed into the pipe I dug a trench for and away the water went.
Problem kinda dealt with but still not solved. The other spout on that side of the house has o elevation where I can make a trench without digging up most of the yard. Plus, now it's a huge mud puddle.
I'm not sure what the solution to my problems are, but I know what I have isn't working as well as it should on one side. And I don't think breaking out the concrete on the other side of the house to improve a working system is a good idea either.
I'm researching other ways other folks are handling similar problems and hope to learn a little something that can help me with my troubles.
I just hope I can come up with something before the next storm rattles in and makes more trouble for me.
Thanks for letting me change gears,
HM
Aside from mystery sprinklers (don't get me started), with recent storms I've found limitations on the capacity of my gutter system.
Sure it carries the water from the roof along the gutter to the downspout. Sure it ties into an underground system that drains into the sewers, but there's all sorts of non water stuff getting in there.
At our old house we got new gutters installed and had a chance to install a really great, but expensive, product that blocks non water items from getting into the gutters. With 2 large pepper trees overhead it made the next rainy season far easier to cope with.
But here we have a different problem and a different system. It would appear that the underground drainage system that ties into the sewer has either failed or become clogged with debris, roots, small woodland creatures, something other than water for sure.
During one of our recent storms I spent hours out in the driving rain trying to flush what I thought was a simple clog only to find it was systemic on that one side of the house.
One side no problems at all, the other hopelessly clogged.
With water backing up against the foundation of the house I had to stop the immediate damage and climbed back up and clogged the downspout. That sent the water in that gutter over to the other downspout near the front of the house. My problem was not solved, only no longer an immediate problem. But now water was backing up at another location, just not right against the foundation and in plain sight.
With the family driving the wife nuts inside (toddlers hate rainy days) and my hands cold I came inside hoping to tackle the problem another day.
When that day came I could only install a patch of the same system that was in place before, a tube running from the downspout off the side of the house towards the neighbor's yard. (He's never home, he won't notice.) I unclogged the downspout and water rushed into the pipe I dug a trench for and away the water went.
Problem kinda dealt with but still not solved. The other spout on that side of the house has o elevation where I can make a trench without digging up most of the yard. Plus, now it's a huge mud puddle.
I'm not sure what the solution to my problems are, but I know what I have isn't working as well as it should on one side. And I don't think breaking out the concrete on the other side of the house to improve a working system is a good idea either.
I'm researching other ways other folks are handling similar problems and hope to learn a little something that can help me with my troubles.
I just hope I can come up with something before the next storm rattles in and makes more trouble for me.
Thanks for letting me change gears,
HM
Comments
Just out of curiosity, is this 4" black corregated drainage pipe? That's how my Dad and I solved a drainage problem with the artesian well at his house up in Michigan. We got the idea from a farmer at the hardware store. I think it's called a French Drain.
Basically you dig a series of trenches (we made a triangle like a yeild sign with sumps at each corner) and connected them together with corrugated drainage pipe embedded in gravel. We also filled the sumps with gravel. You put straw or hay on top of that and then cover it with dirt.
Against all odds, it actually worked, and continues to work several years later. I would imagine tree roots have found their way into the system by now, but so far so good!
Just out of curiosity, is this 4" black corregated drainage pipe? That's how my Dad and I solved a drainage problem with the artesian well at his house up in Michigan. We got the idea from a farmer at the hardware store. I think it's called a French Drain.
Basically you dig a series of trenches (we made a triangle like a yeild sign with sumps at each corner) and connected them together with corrugated drainage pipe embedded in gravel. We also filled the sumps with gravel. You put straw or hay on top of that and then cover it with dirt.
Against all odds, it actually worked, and continues to work several years later. I would imagine tree roots have found their way into the system by now, but so far so good!
We have a pretty decent hill behind the house with a creek at the bottom, so everything runs through plastic drain line under the ground and down the hill. Thankfully nothing has went wrong with that little system for almost ten years now.
We have a pretty decent hill behind the house with a creek at the bottom, so everything runs through plastic drain line under the ground and down the hill. Thankfully nothing has went wrong with that little system for almost ten years now.
It's an easy day project.
It's an easy day project.