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Hi Folks,
You guys have always been helpful with my pond issues I've had so I thought I would share what I've learned after my house flooded.
First the damage. 3 bedrooms, 3 closets and 2 bathrooms plus a hallway. All flooded in just 30 minutes by 3 inches of water during that time period.
Video of the disaster where the drainage system failed. Time Lapsed over 30 minutes
What was installed. (and still is for the moment)
And first let me tell you what kind of "defenses" I had in place. Bear in mind we did an overhaul exactly a year ago and spent 4500 dollars. This is what we have now that did not work:
A french drain 4 inch perforated pipe and next to it a 4 inch corrugated pipe carrying water from 3 gutter downspouts. 2 catch basins with one sump pump with a 2 inch line exhaust pipe and next to it a 4 inch corrugated pop up pipe for the gutters along with one main line for the rest of the water to the front sidewalk.
Now I told the drain guy we hired I wanted a separate line for the gutter water because everyone will tell you the water form the roof is many times over larger than the water coming from the ground just in surface area alone. I couldn't be there to watch him that day and he really screwed me. He did run the line for the gutters but he attached it to the main line as well so if the main line backed up it would back up the other line too. Also, he ran the pop up pipe for the gutter water next to the exit line for the sump pump. Now think about that for a second. So when the sump pump is running it creates a nice little puddle so when the pop up is draining, it is overwhelmed by the sump pump water. Yes this guy was a genius.
This system above is adequate for regular rain and short time heavy rain but for torrential rain it cannot keep up.
What will be installed.
One of the reasons I'm writing this is the amount of money at stake. This is most likely going to cost us 7-8 grand so any tips or tricks I can pass along to the good people here I'm more than willing to do.
All of the 4 inch pipe both the corrugated and perforated 4 inch pipe and the sump pump will be removed. The catch basins will also be removed and larger catch basins installed along with the number of them tripiled. They will take the place of the perforated pipe to collect the ground water and whisk it to the street. The main drain will be a 6 inch PVC pipe which will drain both the roof and ground water and exit at the street in 3 main drains at the sidewalk. The reason for 3 is because of the volume of water that will be coming out of the 6 inch pipe.
One of the benefits is that the sump pump will no longer be needed which means if the power goes out the drainage system will continue to be effective.
Corrugated pipe vs PVC pipe. Every single drain guy I have called to look at this disaster said no one uses Corrugated pipe anymore because its too flexible and has ridges that slow water down from draining. I know this to be true because I poked a camera down from street and ran it back to the beginning of the drain after the storm and there were puddles everywhere inside the pipe that never do drain. Its also more prone to roots getting in because its thinner. PVC pipe is far more rigid and the water can flow much faster through it making it the ideal choice for drainage.
Catch Basins vs French drain
As I said before a French drain is a perforated pipe to allow water to seep in and be carried out. It is designed for low flow water ONLY. Catch basins are basically plastic hollow boxes with a 4 inch exit at the bottom with a green grid on top. They are designed to attach directly to pvc pipe for maximum drainage away from your foundation which is why they are greatly preferred over French drains for drainage of heavy rain water.
I'm sorry this is so long and if you made it this far well done
You guys have always been helpful with my pond issues I've had so I thought I would share what I've learned after my house flooded.
First the damage. 3 bedrooms, 3 closets and 2 bathrooms plus a hallway. All flooded in just 30 minutes by 3 inches of water during that time period.
Video of the disaster where the drainage system failed. Time Lapsed over 30 minutes
What was installed. (and still is for the moment)
And first let me tell you what kind of "defenses" I had in place. Bear in mind we did an overhaul exactly a year ago and spent 4500 dollars. This is what we have now that did not work:
A french drain 4 inch perforated pipe and next to it a 4 inch corrugated pipe carrying water from 3 gutter downspouts. 2 catch basins with one sump pump with a 2 inch line exhaust pipe and next to it a 4 inch corrugated pop up pipe for the gutters along with one main line for the rest of the water to the front sidewalk.
Now I told the drain guy we hired I wanted a separate line for the gutter water because everyone will tell you the water form the roof is many times over larger than the water coming from the ground just in surface area alone. I couldn't be there to watch him that day and he really screwed me. He did run the line for the gutters but he attached it to the main line as well so if the main line backed up it would back up the other line too. Also, he ran the pop up pipe for the gutter water next to the exit line for the sump pump. Now think about that for a second. So when the sump pump is running it creates a nice little puddle so when the pop up is draining, it is overwhelmed by the sump pump water. Yes this guy was a genius.
This system above is adequate for regular rain and short time heavy rain but for torrential rain it cannot keep up.
What will be installed.
One of the reasons I'm writing this is the amount of money at stake. This is most likely going to cost us 7-8 grand so any tips or tricks I can pass along to the good people here I'm more than willing to do.
All of the 4 inch pipe both the corrugated and perforated 4 inch pipe and the sump pump will be removed. The catch basins will also be removed and larger catch basins installed along with the number of them tripiled. They will take the place of the perforated pipe to collect the ground water and whisk it to the street. The main drain will be a 6 inch PVC pipe which will drain both the roof and ground water and exit at the street in 3 main drains at the sidewalk. The reason for 3 is because of the volume of water that will be coming out of the 6 inch pipe.
One of the benefits is that the sump pump will no longer be needed which means if the power goes out the drainage system will continue to be effective.
Corrugated pipe vs PVC pipe. Every single drain guy I have called to look at this disaster said no one uses Corrugated pipe anymore because its too flexible and has ridges that slow water down from draining. I know this to be true because I poked a camera down from street and ran it back to the beginning of the drain after the storm and there were puddles everywhere inside the pipe that never do drain. Its also more prone to roots getting in because its thinner. PVC pipe is far more rigid and the water can flow much faster through it making it the ideal choice for drainage.
Catch Basins vs French drain
As I said before a French drain is a perforated pipe to allow water to seep in and be carried out. It is designed for low flow water ONLY. Catch basins are basically plastic hollow boxes with a 4 inch exit at the bottom with a green grid on top. They are designed to attach directly to pvc pipe for maximum drainage away from your foundation which is why they are greatly preferred over French drains for drainage of heavy rain water.
I'm sorry this is so long and if you made it this far well done
