Driveway water diversion issue and waterproofing to divert flow away

Hi community,

I have an issue with water diversion (pink arrow = flow of water) issue due to negative slope of my driveway towards the home corner of my foundation.

The dark blue arrow notes the point where soil keeps getting lowered. (erosion?) Btw, the pipe opening in that section is an underground pipe that is currently broken, so temporarily I just used extension for gutter drain.

I want to fix the broken concrete as denoted in sky blue, and I think I want to use thin edging stones (basically add these stones on the soil of skyblue section, basically replacing the broken concrete blocks)

My questions are:
1. Is this the right approach? (will it basically work?)
2. If I use edging stones, how do I seal it from water? Do I need to apply something between asphalt driveway and the edging stones? (and I guess between each edging stone as well)
3. Once I fix the issue, do I just use top soil and then mulch to cover the sunken parts?

Thank you.

 

I don't know what the point of those pavers is or why you want to replace them... they are kind of pointless. I'd get rid of them. Pavers and stones do not stop water... too many joints and even if you caulk them they move around too much to stay sealed for long. You need a curb if water is flowing toward the house and off the blacktop. Imagine a speed bump. That speedbump will direct water elsewhere. You can get cold patch, and it will be better than nothing. If the driveway was recently done, they should have done a better job of grading it away from the house there. Driveways and sidewalks should drain away from the house, not towards it.

If you don't want to divert water with a curb, next best thing would be a long piece of solid metal edging that could be raised higher than the driveway, then seal the joint with caulk/tar.

Your ground is likely always low there because it's getting washed down your broken underground pipe... and disappearing. So it keeps getting lower and lower. Assuming it's not already completely silted in and plugged with dirt, you should dig around that pipe and extend it up about 12" above the grade and then put a downspout adapter on top of it. Then raise the grade next to the house. Clay is the best topsoil to use, since water runs off it. Grade around a house should slope 1" per foot... so at least 6" in the first 6 feet. If the ground is flat, it's always going to be a puddle.

 

So rather than tackling secondary solutions why not just dig up and repair the existing pipe so that all the water is removed and nothing else needs to be done?

 

Hi Marq1 - Yes, thank you, I will fix the gutter drainage and use that underground pipe, I see what you are saying.

Xsleeper - I see, thank you for the information/suggestions! I bought this house a couple years ago, and yes, this is an old house and an old driveway and I definitely will make the future contractors make the grading correct for the driveway. I'll also get rid of the concrete and use what you suggested, I agree that it will probably be a waste of money. Really appreciate your reply. (I did not even know the existence of a cold patch and just learnt it! )