Drain in the meantime?

Our house is over 150 years old, with a partial basement under roughly a quarter of the house (in front). The rest of the house is over crawlspace which has filled in a lot over the years, and behind the house is a hill. You probably see where this is going.

As we took up the floors to prepare for some major structural work, we found ice, snow, and water under the floors--so we planned to put in french drains when the ground thaws. The trouble now? Well, mud season has started (snow's melting on top at least) and water is pouring in through our rotted sills into the back half of the house. But the ground is still frozen and probably will be until May. So what do we do with this water? Are there any good ways to handle emergency drainage before putting in the permanent fix?

 

Do what you can to stop the water. Dig a shallow trench to divert the water, or bricks & rocks can be stacked/piled to help divert some water.

Unfortunatley, the water has been coming in for some time and the only difference is that you know about it now. It sounds like the damage is pretty much done and another month or two probably will not hurt much more. Do what you can and deal with it properly when spring comes.

 

You're definitely right about the damage done, and one or two more months won't make a big difference. Thanks.

While I'm on the subject, are we on the right track for the permanent solution? We're looking at grading (obviously), french drains, perhaps some sort of rigged gutter system for the major roof valleys (there are no gutters where we live because of the snow and ice), and maybe a ground gutter... Actually, I've been advocating two french drains: one running along the back of the house, and one up the hill on the first tier. My husband prefers one french drain set a bit farther away from the house and a ground gutter, perhaps running into that drain. Which plan sounds better? What is the best kind of ground gutter?

Also, what should we do with the redirected water? It could be quite a lot and I'm not sure what kind of dry wells, etc., would be adequate.

 

Id just think in getting it around the home....... Not into a dry well there
Also think gutters on the home for sure and use a heater cable in them for the snow. Check out chromalox they have Safe-T-Melt wire for ice and snow for roof and gutters

ED