Drainage tile

[TresK3]

Trying to learn a little about keeping H2O out of the basement...

Since we moved in a year ago, we've had a few issues with water in the walk-out basement. Not lots of water (usually), but enough to be annoying. Here's the set-up: house is about 46 years old with concrete block walls and poured floor. I'm told that the block walls are filled with concrete. I don't think there's any drain tile around the house - there certainly isn't a sump system. Our biggest two issues seem to be clogged down spouts and poor drainage. I've cleaned the down spouts, which took care of the water in the back; now I'm left with poor drainage in the front.

Probably the yard was originally graded to slope away from the foundation, but that isn't the case any more. Across the front, there's a gentle slope towards the house. I'm going to haul in some dirt and fix this issue, but I'm thinking of installing drain tile at the same time. Here's my current, uninformed idea: I'll dig down a foot or two across the front of the house and lay in some perforated pipe covered in a debris sleeve, then cover it in gravel. I'll fill the trench in with dirt and bring it up about a foot to 18in above current grade and slope away from the house for 10 feet or so. The drain pipe I'll run out the side of a hill about 30-50 feet from the house.

Questions: 1) Is all the work of running the drain pipe going to do any additional good, beyond my effort to build up the grade? If I do put in this pipe, how deep must it be to help and how close to the foundation should I go? What other issues/options should I consider?

Thanks,
Tres

 

[jebatty]

It may help to relieve some water that collects right next to the house, but if your water problem is resulting from percolation in a broader area and seeping under the tile, it won't help at all. If you can raise the grade to achieve a good slope extending about 15' away from the house, and without pooling beyond that point, I think your result will be nearly as good as you can get, absent drain tile long the footings. Be sure your gutters drain far away from the house as well. Don't add insult to injury.

 

[d.n.f.]

Weeping tile usually goes in at the bottom of the foundation, not a foot below surface. If you dig it all the way down you now have a perfect time to waterproof the foundation with a good membrane, lay drainage (weeping) tile, backfill with gravel. You could put it down a foot but it will freeze. Wasn't paying any attention to where you are at.

Instead of doing all that, make sure your downspouts are far away from the house. Try to improve the slope around the house. Laying weeping tile from the base of your gutters out to some area away from the house. Bury that a foot down in a gravel trench. If it freezes, gutter water ain't flowing anyways.

 

[reaperman]

Maybe too late to chime in. But if you put draintile in like you discribed, the water will simply run out the bottom of the draintile, being the tile has slots cut all around the pipe. In your case, some good black dirt sloping away from the house is the best ticket. And your cement blocks are most likely not filled with cement. Some of the blocks are "core filled" for added strenght, maybe every six to eight feet or so, but not all of them. Good luck.