Water isn’t draining correctly: solutions ?


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Old 09-17-19, 08:06 PM
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Water isn’t draining correctly: solutions ?

So we just moved in to this house and it’s perfect timing since it’s been raining here heavy on and off for the past 3 days and on top of that I’ve been cleaning the gutter and siding also.

I noticed that the water pooled at the very end of the slope underneath the deck and around on of the deck beam. I realized that the beam deck was covered soil almost a foot deep before I can see the concrete footing, but that’s different issue.

When I removed the water manually, it seemed like the water was still coming up from the soaked ground.

what’s my options here? The deck has a drainage system like sheets of flashing directly underneath so at least water doesn’t go down directly to the ground but it seems like I need to direct this flashing by installi g gutter type drainage and direct it to the main drain system..

any advise? I’m absolutely novice in home maintenance but would like to learn and DIY into correctly

thanks


will follow up with better pics tomorrow
 
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Old 09-17-19, 08:11 PM
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If you would add a picture or two to your post, it might help us understand what you've got there.

Putting pictures in your post

It sounds like you have some type of under deck "dry deck" type of pan. These can get full of gunk and need to be removed periodically so that they can drain. They work best when they are clean. Attach some pictures of the deck bottom, maybe we can help you figure it out.
 
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Old 09-18-19, 04:40 AM
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If you have water collecting it's a pretty simple solution, though physically difficult. Water flows downhill. You need to provide a downhill sloping path for the water. This means re-grading the area to get rid of the low spot that is collecting the water and creating a slope so it drains away.

As another issue you need to figure out how the water is getting there in the first place. Are there grading problems elsewhere that are sending water in that direction? If so... more digging and moving dirt.
 
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Old 09-18-19, 06:58 AM
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Thanks for the insight. Looking at the landscape profile that section underneath the deck is the lowest point on the slope, so I'm not surprised that it's like that. This must have been happening for along time since the house was built in 2007.

My biggest concern is ground water. I got the water out of there last night, and this morning the pooled water came back and it has been raining all night (maybe it was a little bit but nor pooring down like before). Could it be that the ground was saturated soo much and the water inside the ground still find the path of least resistant?

During the house inspection I was down in the crawl space with the inspector for good amount of time and there is no evidence that there was any flooding and off course it was in the middle of dry weather so I didn't see any water pooled where it is now.
 
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Old 09-18-19, 09:01 AM
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Water will collect in low areas and it follows the path of least resistance. If the surrounding ground is higher water can seep up from the ground like a spring. With proper slope the water will move downhill and away from the deck and house.
 
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Old 09-18-19, 11:58 AM
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Pilot Dane,

Got it. IF I were to properly slope that area, would the crawlspace ground would be the lowest elevation then? Currently that little pond is about the same level as the crawlspace surface.

Thanks again.

Here is the photo of the little pond as of this morning and the gutter underneath the deck.
 
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Old 09-18-19, 12:54 PM
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It almost looks like someone took roofing panels and put them up under the deck. There is no real good way to clean the top of those panels without taking them all down.

I expect that you have a large volume of water dumping off those panels on the low end. Perhaps you could hang a gutter under them somehow, and pipe tgat drainage to a lower area, but you would have to be like McGyver to figure out how to do it.
 
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Old 09-18-19, 04:24 PM
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Only you can determine whether or not your crawl space is lower than the ground outside since we can't see your house. If the crawl space is lower than the ground outside it certainly is a candidate to collect water.

If those steel panels are just screwed to the bottom of your deck they have no pitch to send water in any particular direction. If they are pitched at a shallow angle all it will take is some dirt and debris to cause water to back up and spill over the wrong end or sides. Every system I've seen like that to make the area under a deck "dry" worked for a short while but became a maintenance headache. As a side not those panels are blocking airflow and trapping debris and water under your deck which can greatly shorten it's life.
 
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Old 09-20-19, 07:35 AM
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Pilot Dane and Xsleeper,

The puddle went away today with 1 day of good weather, but it will come since we have rain a lot here. So, I went to crawlspace and as I suspected, I have a little bit of standing water underneath the vapor barrier especially along the side where the deck is and the the side 90 degree from it. There is no water or even damp surface any other areas except those 2 sides. My house is on the slope (middle of the slope), so I believe the hydro static pressure from my neighbors, the soaked yard outside the foundation wall forced the ground water to raise up. I think the grading underneath the deck contributed to this pressure gradient.

If I wan to bullet proof it, I would probably need to install french drain and sump pump in the crawlspace AND regrade the back yard so to minimize the pressure gradient. I will redo the Deck next summer since that thing is rotted out anyway, so for now, I probably just try to pitch the metal panels with some spacers and install gutter and tie it off to the downspout.

At this point I'm more concern about the crawlspace. I'm getting quotes from the pros, but I'm wondering what would it cost to do a french drain and install sump pump on 65 linear foot wall based on you guys experience. My crawlspace has about 3.5" clearance to work on so I'm tempted to do it myself.

Thanks
 
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Old 09-20-19, 07:37 AM
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I would do your grading work outside before doing anything extreme in the crawlspace. You you give the water an easier path outside it won't well up in the crawlspace.
 
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Old 09-21-19, 07:17 AM
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I agree, but this would involve tearing out pavers, removing grass, AC pads, and possibly remodeling the deck also.
I’m planning to do both actually but tackle the dump pump first. The quote is $2200 to do sump pump and French drain on west and north side of the crawlspace wall. Then I would tackle the outside grading my self next spring when the weather is friendlier.
 
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Old 09-22-19, 05:06 AM
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Take a look at your lawn. French drains don't work well in my area. Keep in mind that a French drain is nothing more than a hole in the ground. The water must be able to soak into the ground faster than your pump puts it out. In my area French drains quickly fill up and either stops the pump from pumping or water wells up in a puddle on the surface. To be reliable you need sandy, well draining soil.
 
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Old 09-24-19, 03:00 PM
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I meant digging a trench deep by the footer, installed perforated corrugates pipe encapsulated with gravel sloping to a sump pit then the pump pums it out. The water will flood the trench from underneath then flow inside the pipe then gravity direct it to the sump pit.

I guess regrading the lawn is cheapest and if it still doesn’t work maybe putting sump pump to bullet proof it
 
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Old 09-24-19, 03:10 PM
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I meant digging a trench deep by the footer, installed perforated corrugates pipe encapsulated with gravel sloping to a sump pit then the pump pums it out. The water will flood the trench from underneath then flow inside the pipe then gravity direct it to the sump pit.

I guess regrading the lawn is cheapest and if it still doesn’t work maybe putting sump pump to bullet proof it
 
 

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