Home Repair forum - Drainage problems near foundation.

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Drainage problems near foundation.

nreg97@hotmail.com

2007-07-29, 3:25 am

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Hi, I have a depression in my asphalt driveway next to my house, with
the low point situated only a few feet from the foundation.

When it rains heavily, the water ponds here and eventually overflows,
dispering into the soil which lines the rear side of the house - far
to close to my foundation for comfort.

Over the years, the grade has shifted towards my house such that there
remains no easy way to regrade away from the foundation without
infringing upon my neighbour(shared driveway).

I have considered installing a drainage pipe(french drain)
to divert the water away, but since the soil on the property has a
sand-like consistency it has been suggested as an alternative that I
drill holes into the low point of the ashphalt(where the water is
collecting) to help facilitate drainage into the sand below.

Is this a sound suggestion?

If so, what diameter holes would be recommended to best expidite
drainage, whithout needlessly underming the location.

After drilling the holes I had planned to stage a trial run with a
garden hose(to approximate rainfall), and assess their viability.

But I have lingering concerns as to whether the depression's proximity
to the foundation allows sufficient clearance from the foundation to
be advisable.

Also, I remain skeptical as to what adverse weathering effects might
be exposed through the perforations as a result of the climate(-30 C.
winters up here).

Lastly, should I so desire at a later date(for whatever reason) after
drilling the holes, would I then be able to patch them up with a
simple pot-hole filler(that you buy at the local hardware store)
without worry?

Comments and suggestions are appreciated.

Chuck

2007-07-29, 3:25 am

<nreg97@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1185692764.079086.61040@57g2000hsv.googlegroups.com...
> X-No-Archive:
>
> Hi, I have a depression in my asphalt driveway next to my house, with
> the low point situated only a few feet from the foundation.
>
> When it rains heavily, the water ponds here and eventually overflows,
> dispering into the soil which lines the rear side of the house - far
> to close to my foundation for comfort.
>
> Over the years, the grade has shifted towards my house such that there
> remains no easy way to regrade away from the foundation without
> infringing upon my neighbour(shared driveway).
>
> I have considered installing a drainage pipe(french drain)
> to divert the water away, but since the soil on the property has a
> sand-like consistency it has been suggested as an alternative that I
> drill holes into the low point of the ashphalt(where the water is
> collecting) to help facilitate drainage into the sand below.
>
> Is this a sound suggestion?
>
> If so, what diameter holes would be recommended to best expidite
> drainage, whithout needlessly underming the location.
>
> After drilling the holes I had planned to stage a trial run with a
> garden hose(to approximate rainfall), and assess their viability.
>
> But I have lingering concerns as to whether the depression's proximity
> to the foundation allows sufficient clearance from the foundation to
> be advisable.
>
> Also, I remain skeptical as to what adverse weathering effects might
> be exposed through the perforations as a result of the climate(-30 C.
> winters up here).
>
> Lastly, should I so desire at a later date(for whatever reason) after
> drilling the holes, would I then be able to patch them up with a
> simple pot-hole filler(that you buy at the local hardware store)
> without worry?
>
> Comments and suggestions are appreciated.
>

Fill the hole.

trader4@optonline.net

2007-07-29, 9:25 am

On Jul 29, 3:35 am, "Chuck" <ci.dinsm...@gmail.com> wrote:
> <nre...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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> news:1185692764.079086.61040@57g2000hsv.googlegroups.com...
>
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> Fill the hole.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Without seeing this and the actual constraints it's impossible to
suggest the possible solutions. However, drilling holes in your
driveway sounds like a bad idea. From your descripition it sounds
like the low spot is close to the foundation. So, even if you drill
holes, the water is still going to go into the ground close to the
foundation, isn't it? And drilling holes now provides a place for
freeze/thaw cycles to begin to destroy the asphalt.

>From a basic standpoint, the preferred solutions are regrading if it
can be done within reason, or else channeling the water away via a
drain system.

Brian Whatcott

2007-07-29, 1:25 pm

On Sun, 29 Jul 2007 00:06:04 -0700, nreg97@hotmail.com wrote:

>X-No-Archive:
>
>Hi, I have a depression in my asphalt driveway next to my house, with
>the low point situated only a few feet from the foundation.
>
>When it rains heavily, the water ponds here and eventually overflows,
>dispering into the soil which lines the rear side of the house - far
>to close to my foundation for comfort.
>
>... the soil on the property has a
>sand-like consistency
...
>Comments and suggestions are appreciated.

Disclaimer: no personal experience with this tactic....

I would be tempted to pick one 3 or 4 inch diameter hole
into the sand substrate at the low spot, line it with
an iron collar to stop the black top breaking up,
and fill with sand.

Sandy soils drain straight to China, so the only concern
is carrying away soil with the storm flow.

If you don't like what you get, then compacting
and applying blacktop seems to reverse the initiative.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

CWatters

2007-07-29, 5:25 pm

nreg97@hotmail.com

2007-07-30, 8:25 pm

Happy Trails wrote:
> On Sun, 29 Jul 2007 00:06:04 -0700, nreg97@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> I have questions not answers.
>
> Do you have a full basement or just a foundation below frost level?

Full basement.

> Do you get water in the basement?

At one location within the basement the carpet would dampen when the
asphalt depression overflowed with water into the surrounding
soil(suring a heavy rain).

A foundation crack is visible within the proximity of the aforemented
depression, which I recently treated with a waterproof polyeurathane
caulk for sealing concrete.

I then had the idea of applying a pot-hole filler into a small niche
that existed between the pavement and the foundation crack.

Hasn't leaked since.

(I realize that this is not an optimal solution, but the basement wall
is adorned with an oil painting that I would like to preserve if
possible)

> Do you have a moisture barrier on the outside wall of the basement
> that works?

Not sure, but if the entry point to the foundation crack I observe is
near the surface, I don't know that this would mitigate the seepage.

> Do you have drainage tiles/perf pipes around the outside of the
> foundation/basement that work?

Not sure.

> You now get water above the asphalt that freezes and causes no
> structural damage. If you put the water below the asphalt and it
> freezes there it will cause damage to the asphalt.

I wonder how pervasive/localized such damage might be.

> If it drains, where does it drain to - the same place it's going now?

If you mean the proposed drainage hole, then no - it would be draining
a few feet away from an area where soil meets the foundation(this is
the same area where the foundation crack is visible, and where the
rainwater drains after spilling over from the asphalt depression).

> What was the original plan below the subsidence of your driveway -
> drain onto your neighbours driveway?

I was planning to lay a drainage pipe in the soil which lines the aft
side of my foundation, and run it either into the garden, or a dry
well(a small one) in my yard.

This would entail digging up quite a few flowers.

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