08/13/2020
Here is a cautionary tale about how not to approach a drainage problem and what it takes to fix it. The first pic shows how someone tried to use catch basins to divert water back to a series of sump pumps which pumped water out to the street. They are nice and deep, with large pumps, and THEY WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH A DOWNPOUR. This, the homeowner continued to have flooding issues even after spending plenty to have this done. The fourth pic shows a pipe that starts nowhere and goes nowhere, because why not, right?
The last pic is the start of making it right by GRADING. Grading is the optimal solution for flooding. In this case we have 8” of natural fall from the back corner of the house to the street(we used a transit to determine the grade). Thus, we are able to create a swale that not only allows about 10” of fall from the top of slab to the bottom of the swale, but also allows us to have about 2” of fall per 10’ towards the street. No pumps, no basins, just properly sloped earth for the water to flow.
We will also be adding new gutters and plumbing the downspouts into a 4” PVC line that leads to a pop up drain past the front corner of the house. In addition, we will install an 8” high steel border at the property line to help divert water from the neighbors lot towards the street. Belt, suspenders, check.
If you want to pay once to fix a drainage issue this is how you do it. Call us anytime at 512-937-5262 or message me. Michael Olson with Olson Outdoor.
