A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 MAJOR drainage issues

I am going to fix the drainage issues in my backyard but I need some advice first. When it rains my backyard (specifically at the foundation of my house) gets really wet. I want to divert the water to the BACK of the yard, but I have a few concerns.
1. The yard slopes toward my house
2. The entry door is almost level with the ground, so leveling off the yard would actually cover up the entry with about two feet of dirt.

We're all about doing it ourselves, we're just a little cluess as to what's involved. We'd also like to build a patio with brick, just as an FYI. So, what do we do? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Sounds identical to my place Aimee. I have PM'd you a fairly involved response.

Hi, Looks like you are having problems similar to mine. My problem is as follows -

In my backyard I have a low height long wooden deck. The slope under the deck is towards the house. Water gets in under the deck and gets into the sump well inside the basement. I have taken the sump pump drain away from the house about 10 feet. But the water in the sump is quite a bit and the sump keeps working continuously.

A landscaper gave me solution to build a pavers patio. He will demolish the wooden deck and install the pavers patio sloping away from the house. He also will run under patio drains and also drains from the downspouts and run it upto the public sewer. He also proposed that he will build the patio over concrete base against the traditional sand base. He will also put in sealants for the patio.

What is your opinion on the solution ? Will it work ? Is patio a good option ? How about the concrete ?

Thanks for your help.

PJ

It should work but sounds pretty expensive. All that is required is to get the fall of the land away from the foundation and toward the rear of the backyard. Also, if you're going to concrete the patio, why put pavers over the top? More expense? The drains under the concrete. Why would water get under the concrete? Concrete doesn't leak. It's always difficult to imagine what someone is planning without good fotos but i reckon i'd ask for another opinion.

Longy , Thanks for your reply.

1. The slope is needed under the deck that is low lying. So I decided to break it.
2. Patio is the replacement for the deck. The concrete layer proposed by the contractor is just 2 inches thick and on top of it will be pavers.
3. I was also wondering about drain under the concrete - may be good if the concrete cracks.

Since the work hasn't started really, I have no photos. But does this clarify ?

Thanks once again

PJ

The slope under the deck is towards the house. Water gets in under the deck
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is the crux of the problem. The water runs toward the house. You need it to run away from the structure. No amount of anything else, including drainage, will work as well as having the surface of the land falling away from the house all the way around it. This will require either excavation to create fall or addition of soil at the rear of the house. If you pour concrete on top of the land with the fall still running toward the house, and then try and use drains to get rid of that water you will have problems and use up a bunch of money.
The deck will definitely have to go to do this but if you build a concrete patio, it still must slope away from the house. If this happens then water won't pool at the walls and find its way inside. Definitely get rid of the water from the downpipes too.
Re the concrete/pavers. Why not just pour 3" concrete and do without the pavers. You can colour or stencil the concrete any pattern you like.
By all means take a foto from the side to show the fall of the land.
I've sent you a PM.

Hi Longy,
Thanks very much for your response. I will take photos of the backyard this weekend.

Aimee

No worries Aimee.
My PM record says you have not read the PM i sent you. It has a bit of info you may find usefull.