Help the Ghost with drainage problems at new house (1 Viewer)

[ghostguy123]

Home ownership blows, let me first start off by saying that.

Ok, so I need to do several things at my house. I need to get dirt to slope water away from the house. I probably also need some extra drain pipes in the backyard that runs to the sewer drain out near the street.

In the meantime, I need something that I can get done pretty much right away, which is a battery back up for my sump pump. I am pretty sure there is, but does something exist that I can just plug the sump pump into it, then plug that into the wall, and it will kick on if the power goes out? One of those kinds that charges and stays charged while the power is on?. This is something I need pretty much right away because if the power went out right now I would be under quite a bit of water in my downstairs (bi-level home).

I have a 3400 watt generator, but I can't sit at home all day waiting for a power failure ya know.

I don't know the exact HP of mu current sump pump, but it looks pretty standard, probably 1/3 or 1/2.

Either way, I would want some sort of backup that is a really good one anyway that should have no trouble kicking on just about any type of sump pump. That's where you guys come in. Any suggestions for this first aspect of this stupid process?

 

[comfortably numb]

We put in a water powered sump pump

Battery powered back ups are good...until you forget to change the battery.

something like this

http://www.amazon.com/Basepump-Water-Powered-Backup-Sump/dp/B000GBUU7G

 

[ghostguy123]

I thought about the water powered. Might be the way to go. Would get expensive if the power was out a couple days but thats sure cheaper than a flood.

 

[ghostguy123]

That water powered is just a backup though right?

 

[comfortably numb]

That water powered is just a backup though right?

correct....now that you bring this it up, I do wanna test it.

Not sure I ever heard it work

 

[ghostguy123]

Let the fun times roll. Better to test it now than form a kiddie pool downstairs.

 

[ghostguy123]

Are the water backups easy to install? And by easy i dont mesn easy for someone who knows what they are doing. Easy for an idiot like me.

 

[bostonfred]

Expensive option is to get a propane powered generator that automatically kicks in when the power goes out. Then you're safe on multiple levels.

 

[ghostguy123]

Expensive option is to get a propane powered generator that automatically kicks in when the power goes out. Then you're safe on multiple levels.

I guess they have whole house generators that run on natural gas also. I didnt wanna spend like 8 grand on that though.

Not sure how much a propane powered genny like the one you are talking about costs.

Really, I am only concerned with keeping the house dry when the power goes out. Not really concerned at all about anything else working. If the power is out a couple days and I have to toss everything out from the fridge, so be it.

 

[dickey moe]

Try Cranberry juice.

 

[ghostguy123]

Wow, somene just quoted me 1,400 for a water driven sump pump. Yikes

 

[DaVinci]

Wow, somene just quoted me 1,400 for a water driven sump pump. Yikes

How much would a flooded downstairs cost?

 

[ghostguy123]

Wow, somene just quoted me 1,400 for a water driven sump pump. Yikes

How much would a flooded downstairs cost?

$1000 deductible.

I have a friend putting one in right now. $250 cost.

I also want to know if there is a battery i can plug my current sump pump into that would just be a battery backup without buying a whole new sump pump package.

 

[Mr.Pack]

For the slope of the landscaping. I was told to make sure to use brown dirt, not black when adding to fix the drainage.

I have the same problem.

 

[ghostguy123]

Damn my buddy is a ####### rock star. He bought that pump on his way home from work and came here to install it instead of doing other stuff he needed to do. He didn't charge me a cent. I asked him a few times what he wanted and he just kept saying don't worry about it. I may have to have my wife pleasure him or something.

What the hell is it gonna cost me to have an actual hired crew to come dump 30-40 yards of dirt in my back yard and grade it for me?

 

[Fat Nick]

Damn my buddy is a ####### rock star. He bought that pump on his way home from work and came here to install it instead of doing other stuff he needed to do. He didn't charge me a cent. I asked him a few times what he wanted and he just kept saying don't worry about it. I may have to have my wife pleasure him or something.

What the hell is it gonna cost me to have an actual hired crew to come dump 30-40 yards of dirt in my back yard and grade it for me?

A few comments on this...

1 - That's A LOT of dirt.

2 - Grading and terrainscaping can be very touchy subjects. Make sure you talk with your township. I'm not a permit-nazi, but what you do to the slope of your yard could impact a neighbor substantially. I know a buddy who lived in a subdivision with ~1 acre lots. The guy up the hill from him re-graded his back yard to give it some more slope to keep the water from pooling in his back yard. The result was that the water now flowed down the hill, washed away most of the mulch in my buddy's yard, and subsequently led to some pooling in his yard. Long story short, he sued the guy, and won easily.

3 - The cost of fill dirt should range from $10-$15/yard. I'm sure some places are less, some are more. Add a little for delivery. That cost will double or more if you have them do the grading, so...

4 - IF you're going to have it done, and like playing with equipment, consider renting a bobcat and doing the grading yourself. Home Depot has really reasonable rental rates. I rented a walk-behind skid steer to re-grade a 25'x25' area for my deck and move 6 yards of 5" river stone. It was a blast, and the rental only cost me a couple hundred bucks for 24 hours.

 

[comfortably numb]

Damn my buddy is a ####### rock star. He bought that pump on his way home from work and came here to install it instead of doing other stuff he needed to do. He didn't charge me a cent. I asked him a few times what he wanted and he just kept saying don't worry about it. I may have to have my wife pleasure him or something.

What the hell is it gonna cost me to have an actual hired crew to come dump 30-40 yards of dirt in my back yard and grade it for me?

2 words

Mex icans

 

[PIK95]

Damn my buddy is a ####### rock star. He bought that pump on his way home from work and came here to install it instead of doing other stuff he needed to do. He didn't charge me a cent. I asked him a few times what he wanted and he just kept saying don't worry about it. I may have to have my wife pleasure him or something.

What the hell is it gonna cost me to have an actual hired crew to come dump 30-40 yards of dirt in my back yard and grade it for me?

2 words

Mex icans

Actually four words. Guat A Mal ins.

 

[ghostguy123]

Damn my buddy is a ####### rock star. He bought that pump on his way home from work and came here to install it instead of doing other stuff he needed to do. He didn't charge me a cent. I asked him a few times what he wanted and he just kept saying don't worry about it. I may have to have my wife pleasure him or something.

What the hell is it gonna cost me to have an actual hired crew to come dump 30-40 yards of dirt in my back yard and grade it for me?

2 words

Mex icans

I would say conservatively like 80% of the people I talk to tell me to call mexicans. I still can't figure out if it is a compliment for them or not, because that would be a very valuable service they are providing.

Anyway:

- backup water powered sump pump installed

- Gutters finally all cleaned out and putting on some longer drain tubes to get the water filtered to the downslopes away from the house.

- got a few yards of dirt for the trouble area in the back to keep water from spilling onto my patio (which is lower than the grass around it for some stupid reason).

Next order of business was the thought of a french drain emptying into the drainage system at the end of my driveway. Problem is there may not be enough downslope from the trouble areas in the backyard to those drains.

The Ghost is asking if anyone in the FBG FFA community would know anything about digging a big hole in the middle part of my back yard and running some pipes from a few catch basins to that hole that is filled with rocks.

Would this be considered a leech bed? I don't have septic system or anything. This is just for my backyard that just takes and holds way the hell too much water.

Was wondering the cost. I figure the hole should be a good size, with a maybe 4 catch basins and maybe 50-70 feet worth of drainage pipe on each side of the yard leading to the hole.

 

[ghostguy123]

Aqua blocks. Who's heard of these, and they can I find larger ones that what is on amazon.

 

[OC Zed]

Damn my buddy is a ####### rock star. He bought that pump on his way home from work and came here to install it instead of doing other stuff he needed to do. He didn't charge me a cent. I asked him a few times what he wanted and he just kept saying don't worry about it. I may have to have my wife pleasure him or something.

What the hell is it gonna cost me to have an actual hired crew to come dump 30-40 yards of dirt in my back yard and grade it for me?

2 words

Mex icans

I would say conservatively like 80% of the people I talk to tell me to call mexicans. I still can't figure out if it is a compliment for them or not, because that would be a very valuable service they are providing.

Anyway:

- backup water powered sump pump installed

- Gutters finally all cleaned out and putting on some longer drain tubes to get the water filtered to the downslopes away from the house.

- got a few yards of dirt for the trouble area in the back to keep water from spilling onto my patio (which is lower than the grass around it for some stupid reason).

Next order of business was the thought of a french drain emptying into the drainage system at the end of my driveway. Problem is there may not be enough downslope from the trouble areas in the backyard to those drains.

The Ghost is asking if anyone in the FBG FFA community would know anything about digging a big hole in the middle part of my back yard and running some pipes from a few catch basins to that hole that is filled with rocks.

Would this be considered a leech bed? I don't have septic system or anything. This is just for my backyard that just takes and holds way the hell too much water.

Was wondering the cost. I figure the hole should be a good size, with a maybe 4 catch basins and maybe 50-70 feet worth of drainage pipe on each side of the yard leading to the hole.

I have a negative slope on my lot (running towards the front of the house) and had French drains installed last year around the front perimeter to the back yard and ultimately dumping into a couple rock pits. It appears to have worked fairly well and you wouldn't know the pits were there as the grass has grown right over the top.

I am in Southern California though, so mine are for flash rains primarily. I don't know how much water you get where you are or how big the pits you are thinking about putting in. I can tell you though that my drains will back up after a lot of heavy rains in short time spans. If you are concerned about actual flooding into your house and want a belt & suspenders approach, I would suggest installing the French drains with periodic grates along the surface. When you do get backups in the pipes, you can pop those grates off and use a wet vac to pump out the water into the street (or wherever else).*

*KEY TIP: Make sure you get a wet vac that has a garden hose attachment though as constantly carrying giant buckets of water to the street or a drain can be very difficult and time consuming. It's much easier to pump it out through a long hose. Home Depot used to offer a wet vac with that option (it was their own HD brand)... not sure if they still do, but it's well worth the money.

 

[bostonfred]

Can we talk about you calling yourself "the Ghost"?

 

[ghostguy123]

Can we talk about you calling yourself "the Ghost"?

I can;'t help but agree this is stupid of me.

 

[ghostguy123]

Damn my buddy is a ####### rock star. He bought that pump on his way home from work and came here to install it instead of doing other stuff he needed to do. He didn't charge me a cent. I asked him a few times what he wanted and he just kept saying don't worry about it. I may have to have my wife pleasure him or something.

What the hell is it gonna cost me to have an actual hired crew to come dump 30-40 yards of dirt in my back yard and grade it for me?

2 words

Mex icans

I would say conservatively like 80% of the people I talk to tell me to call mexicans. I still can't figure out if it is a compliment for them or not, because that would be a very valuable service they are providing.

Anyway:

- backup water powered sump pump installed

- Gutters finally all cleaned out and putting on some longer drain tubes to get the water filtered to the downslopes away from the house.

- got a few yards of dirt for the trouble area in the back to keep water from spilling onto my patio (which is lower than the grass around it for some stupid reason).

Next order of business was the thought of a french drain emptying into the drainage system at the end of my driveway. Problem is there may not be enough downslope from the trouble areas in the backyard to those drains.

The Ghost is asking if anyone in the FBG FFA community would know anything about digging a big hole in the middle part of my back yard and running some pipes from a few catch basins to that hole that is filled with rocks.

Would this be considered a leech bed? I don't have septic system or anything. This is just for my backyard that just takes and holds way the hell too much water.

Was wondering the cost. I figure the hole should be a good size, with a maybe 4 catch basins and maybe 50-70 feet worth of drainage pipe on each side of the yard leading to the hole.

I have a negative slope on my lot (running towards the front of the house) and had French drains installed last year around the front perimeter to the back yard and ultimately dumping into a couple rock pits. It appears to have worked fairly well and you wouldn't know the pits were there as the grass has grown right over the top.

I am in Southern California though, so mine are for flash rains primarily. I don't know how much water you get where you are or how big the pits you are thinking about putting in. I can tell you though that my drains will back up after a lot of heavy rains in short time spans. If you are concerned about actual flooding into your house and want a belt & suspenders approach, I would suggest installing the French drains with periodic grates along the surface. When you do get backups in the pipes, you can pop those grates off and use a wet vac to pump out the water into the street (or wherever else).*

*KEY TIP: Make sure you get a wet vac that has a garden hose attachment though as constantly carrying giant buckets of water to the street or a drain can be very difficult and time consuming. It's much easier to pump it out through a long hose. Home Depot used to offer a wet vac with that option (it was their own HD brand)... not sure if they still do, but it's well worth the money.

I will try and explain as simple as I can about the layout. My back yard trouble area is like a horse shoe around my deck and patio. The worst part of it (when looking from the house towards the back yard) is the top left part of that. This is where water spilled over from the yard onto my patio and ran down the stairs to the doors of my walkout basement. There is a drain there on the concrete in front of the door, but it isn't meant to stop a HUGE HUGE amount of water like we got this past Sunday. The rain this past sunday was the most rain in a short amount of time I have ever experience in my entire life. it was incredible, ask anyone in northeast Ohio.

This is where some catch basins would definitely need to be.

Now, last night at work when looking into these aqua block things I got an idea of something I can do that sounds ####### crazy, but it wouldn't be that hard for me to to, so bear with me here while I explain it.

In this trouble area I had the idea to install one of these larger aqua blocks. This would definitely help. I have already done several other things to keep so much water from getting to that area near my walkout basement.

Here is the crazy part. Underground either inside the aqua block or right next to it with a milk crate (obviously secured and wrapped up in the appropriate membrane material) I would have one of those 1/5 horsepower pumps that can pump a nice amount of water out of that hole. I would run the hose attachment part several feet away to an easily accessible point to attach a longer hose to put at the end of the driveway into the drains out there. I would have an extension cord attached that runs just a little underground right over to the outside power outlet in the back yard.

If it rains a ton and that area (which is by far the biggest trouble area being a low point in the yard), I could easily just hook up the long hose and then plug in the extension cord and pump out that water. So the pump would just be under the ground the whole time buried inside a box that dirt can't get into.

one of these kinds of pumps

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Wayne-1-2-HP-Non-Clogging-Vortex-Reinforced-Thermoplastic-Submersible-Utility-Pump-VIP50/100034817

That would just be something to keep that section of the yard from being soggy. I have already done other things to make sure a lot of water is diverted away from getting to the walk out basement area.

Sounds like a lot to do, but would only cost me like a couple hundred bucks and the holes I would have to dig wouldn't be very difficult.

 

[ghostguy123]

Probably a stupid question, but anyone know anything about waterproffing your basement from thbe inside. What I mean is, if for some reason water backs up and floods the basement, it won't cause much, if any, damage to the walls.

I know I have heard of some people who have the drywall cut a few inches off the ground then cover that space with the baseboards which would potentially eliminate some damage, but this isn't really what I mean.

I currently have just about all ceramic tile for the floor and plan to redo the remaining floor space with ceramic tile also.

But can something be done with the walls so that if the water backs up but you are able to pump out and remove the water in a timely manner to be able to avoid having any significant damage to anything? LIke a certain type of baseboard or something?

I am very likely being overprotective at this point, and am doing several things to try to ensure water doesnt get into the basement again, but #### happens ya know. And if it does, I am just wondering what I can have in place to minimize the damage so I wouldn't need to call my home insurance again. I don't expect much of anything to work if I got a foot of water down there, but something like a couple inches or few inches.