Some advice needed on crawlspace

[demonsvx]

I need some advice on how to keep my crawlspace from flooding. It appears to be seeping from the ground and all I can think of doing is pouring concrete over the affected area, too much money for that route. I have perimeter drains and its going to cause long term problems if I dont fix it now.

[NapaBavarian]

New house?

If you find a solution let me know, my moms rental has that problem.

[NikFu S.]

You are supposed to have a divot large enough for a bucket and sump pump within that bucket for such cases.

If you don't have one, get one.

If it is in fact coming up from the ground, do not cover your crawlspace with concrete.
If it is coming through the foundation, you'll have to repair it when it's dry and take a look at your landscape.

Your property should be on a grade sloping away from the building.

Sometimes raingutters are not up to spec and allow water to beat around teh perimiter of your house creating channels where water cannot drain and ends up pooling at your foundation.

If your flooding problem is without a doubt caused by groundwater, you'll need to install 2 or 3 sumps regardless of whether you are going to keep it, and have them drain out into your yard far enough away from the house, but not onto anyones property or sewer.

[Earthworm]

a more costly fix would be to inspect/replace the weeping tile (foundation drains).

[YellowBird]

Oh man that sucks!

Crawlspaces are horrible.

The sump pump would be the answer if you can't get it to drain out the foundation wall somewhere.

We just did this for my aunt. In fact it was so bad she lost a bathroom floor....rotted out.

NOw she has this soil that they call Gumbo down here. It's very hydronic. We took a 4" pvc pipe and ran it in under the foundation wall (there is absolutely NO WAY to get in there and do a sump pump or put gravel down).

THe dirt (mud) under the house was channeled to allow the flow of water to this pipe. It's not perforated pipe, it's solid - we then tied in the downspouts and ran the pipe all the way out to the ditch. We backfilled the entire ditch with gravel to act like a "french drain".

This soil is so wet all the time - no lie - you can't walk out in the yard at night cause the crawfish run the yard and they'll snap a toe or two. Yep they live in the darn yard. Buried during the day, roam at night. Sorta gross.


Good luck and have fun!

[NikFu S.]

Are you sure there are drains around the house? they may be clogged or damaged. Have you installed a sump pump that drains away from the house? How about rain gutters, downspouts, and extenders? Concrete in you crawlsapce won't do any good at all. Do you have visquene covering the dirt? It's ok to have water under the plastic. Too many variables to discuss from Alaska. Go to ASHI.com and look for a home inspector in your area.
- Home Inspector AK

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Above post is not from NikFu.

[Landshark]

move out of teh swamp?