The Home Repair (inside/out) Help/Suggestion Thread

#1

BAJAvol

14 Beers Deep on the Lake Somewhere
Joined
Jan 13, 2010
Messages
3,491
Likes
3,204
#1
I did a quick search to make sure this thread wasn't already created, apologies if I missed it. I was thinking we need a thread for people to get help with home repairs inside and outside of the house; along with landscaping help (like I am about to ask for). As newer/younger home owner, I have questions about things that are probably simple for some on here.

My situation: The back corner of my house has a significant drainage issue. Standing water at the corner of my garage pools water, and has caused a crack in the foundation that allows water to slowly get into the back corner of my garage when we get heavy rain (which seems to be all of the time now). I am thinking this needs to trenched around to the front yard some way or another. The only obstacle is a carport that sits about 2 feet off of this back corner. Its sitting on grass, so no concrete to bust up. Can anyone recommend someone to call for help that isn't going to charge me an arm and a leg to fix this? I will attempt to post a pic of the back end of my house as well. The area next that area of my house is about 20x28. I have no idea why the home builder did not bury a line to the front yard that perfectly slopes down! Thanks guys.
 
  • Like
Reactions: golfballs
#2
#2
.
 

Attachments

  • 20180723_174451.jpg
    20180723_174451.jpg
    81.6 KB · Views: 5
  • 20180723_174456.jpg
    20180723_174456.jpg
    81.8 KB · Views: 5
  • 20180723_174621.jpg
    20180723_174621.jpg
    70.2 KB · Views: 4
#3
#3
I can't address your question in specifics buy here's an FYI.

There's an app you can install on your phone called Nextdoor which may be of assistance in your particular neighborhood for local contractors or others in the area who have addressed a similar situation.


Nextdoor: Sign in
 
#4
#4
I can tell you how to fix it.
If that’s something your interested in doing. Less than 300 bucks will get it done.
 
#5
#5
I can't address your question in specifics buy here's an FYI.

There's an app you can install on your phone called Nextdoor which may be of assistance in your particular neighborhood for local contractors or others in the area who have addressed a similar situation.


Nextdoor: Sign in

Awesome. Thank you
 
#6
#6
I can tell you how to fix it.
If that’s something your interested in doing. Less than 300 bucks will get it done.

I am. I probably need to trench it, but I'm not sure where to rent the equipment.
 
#7
#7
French drain should carry that away. At least to that deck step and down the side of the garage. Don’t know what the slope is behind your deck.
 
#8
#8
I would suggest messing with the grading some. It means making a low point in your yard, but away from the house. (a couple feet away from your house back into the yard and several feet to the side) you want the "high" point of that particular area to be at the corner of your house with the stair. so that even if your garage is lower than the yard (as a whole), the new cross slope will still push water away (down and around) your home.

How far down is it to your garage? Looks like its only a foot or so. Another, more expensive and not as easy option, I might suggest an exterior liquid applied waterproofing layer on the concrete. can't tell in photos if its block or a solid wall. liquid applied wouldn't be great for block. and you would have to trench away to get to the entire wall. this would be a better "building" fix rather than a site. As someone in the building industry I trust this more than landscaping/grading an existing condition. but by the time you do this you might as well do a whole regrading for that corner, which might fix the problem that you see.

Trench drains are an option but there is a maintenance issue and they can be overwhelmed.
 
#9
#9
I would suggest messing with the grading some. It means making a low point in your yard, but away from the house. (a couple feet away from your house back into the yard and several feet to the side) you want the "high" point of that particular area to be at the corner of your house with the stair. so that even if your garage is lower than the yard (as a whole), the new cross slope will still push water away (down and around) your home.

How far down is it to your garage? Looks like its only a foot or so. Another, more expensive and not as easy option, I might suggest an exterior liquid applied waterproofing layer on the concrete. can't tell in photos if its block or a solid wall. liquid applied wouldn't be great for block. and you would have to trench away to get to the entire wall. this would be a better "building" fix rather than a site. As someone in the building industry I trust this more than landscaping/grading an existing condition. but by the time you do this you might as well do a whole regrading for that corner, which might fix the problem that you see.

Trench drains are an option but there is a maintenance issue and they can be overwhelmed.

Do you think a good mound of dirt and gravel with a slope towards the back would be sufficient? I'm also going to need to fix the crack in that foundation on the garage. I don't believe it's block. It's a textured outer layer.
 
#10
#10

It appears that the person that put up the cover over the boat contributed to or caused the problem. Pictures can be deceiving, but it looks like the yard slopes to the house. Something that should never happen. Ideally the ground should slope away from the house for about 10 feet with a fall of at least 6 inches. Since you are dealing with a garage, you can probably get by with 5 feet.

Move the boat and the cover 5 feet, and the waters falling off the roof of the cover should fall into a valley that hopefully is slopping to the fromt or back. Your picture looks like there is exiting slope to the back of the house. If not the water can be carried to the front.

It also appears that you have a small hill at the corner of your cover. Bite the bullet and get that taken down. that soil can be used to backfill against the house to get your slope.

to make a long story short you need a very small dozer with a good operator to do the work You will need to move your boat and cover to do the work. a good operator should get you something that will last.

The water standing on the corner might or might not have caused the crack. Hairline or large?
 
#11
#11
Any plumbers here? Looks like I've got a leak between my house and the meter/street/whatever it goes to (basically not inside the house).
 
#12
#12
It appears that the person that put up the cover over the boat contributed to or caused the problem. Pictures can be deceiving, but it looks like the yard slopes to the house. Something that should never happen. Ideally the ground should slope away from the house for about 10 feet with a fall of at least 6 inches. Since you are dealing with a garage, you can probably get by with 5 feet.

Move the boat and the cover 5 feet, and the waters falling off the roof of the cover should fall into a valley that hopefully is slopping to the fromt or back. Your picture looks like there is exiting slope to the back of the house. If not the water can be carried to the front.

It also appears that you have a small hill at the corner of your cover. Bite the bullet and get that taken down. that soil can be used to backfill against the house to get your slope.

to make a long story short you need a very small dozer with a good operator to do the work You will need to move your boat and cover to do the work. a good operator should get you something that will last.

The water standing on the corner might or might not have caused the crack. Hairline or large?

The cover is actually set up with a slight forward slope that pushes the water off the front and down the driveway. The crack is about 1/16th wide and 3.5-4 inches long
 
Last edited:
#13
#13
Im considering a heavy plastic and some 2" rock. Take the plastic slightly up the wall and slope the rock away from the house, maybe run it 3-4 feet past the of the house to keep it from settling around the downspout area. A modified french drain so to speak.
 
#14
#14
The cover is actually set up with a slight forward slope that pushes the water off the front and down the driveway. The crack is about 1/16th wide and 3.5-4 inches long

I'm talking about the roof that sheds to the house and the other side. Rain falls near the house, and there is no slope to carry it away.

If you have block there the crack might not be anything significant. A garage is typically formed with blocks so that is likely. You can sometimes tell under the exterior bottom wall plate on the inside of the garage if it was formed with blocks. 1/16 " will let in a good size puddle.

You do need to keep the ground around your house reasonably dry.
 
#15
#15
I had a very similar situation at my last house. The simple problem is that the ground slopes down toward your house so the draining water channels against your foundation. The full and complete fix would be to have someone grade your yard down away from your house to create a swale that gets water to the downward slope of your front yard.

But there are a couple cheaper things you could try first to at least maybe lessen the problem. One is to connect that downspout to a 4” flex drain pipe that you can buy from Lowe’s or HD, and run that down to the front. You can rent a trencher for a few hours or just hire some local muscle to dig it. The thing is, you’re fighting the grading problem as it is, don’t pour half your roof water on top of the problem. Matter of fact, the water from your roof could be the bulk of it. Btw, take care how you outlet the pipe too so you don’t create an erosion problem at the end.

You could also try a much more limited grading fix by taking a shovel and scraping out a little swale a few feet out from the house in back to intercept some of the runoff, and drain it to a little plastic inlet that is connected to that 4” line you put in to drain your downspout. You can get the inlet at L/HD as well.

Finally, keep in mind that water needs to be enclosed on all sides to pond. If you have a standing water situation back there, look for the shortest distance from the ponding area to where your slope starts down in your front yard. If you just dig a shallow notch dead flat to the front yard slope, water can’t pond in the back.
 
#16
#16
Any plumbers here? Looks like I've got a leak between my house and the meter/street/whatever it goes to (basically not inside the house).

Sounds like it could be the main service line running to the house. They can fail for various reasons, especially if the contractor used the wrong type of pipe. For your sake I hope you don't have a driveway between the house and the meter. We had that happen and you basically have to cut a gap out of the concrete to lay the new line.
 
#17
#17
Any plumbers here? Looks like I've got a leak between my house and the meter/street/whatever it goes to (basically not inside the house).

How do you know you have a leak? See water? High water bill?

If outside the house you might only be responsible for repairs from the meter to your house, and not from the meter to the water main. Often the connection at the meter leaks. You can take the meter box lid off, and looks for water.
 
#18
#18
Move the carport. Rent a tracked skid steer. Scrape up as much gravel as you fancy salvage for later and pile up. Bring in a good compactable fill that does not allow wTer penetration such as red clay and fill at house to give positive drainage. Walk it in with teach machine multiple times to compact. Spread gravel back at boat parking area and reinstall carport. Then spread some sort of decorative stone between carport and home to allow drainage and give a finished fill.


Wa- la! Complete.

Also.......positive drainage is a must in al occasions. If not, a properly designed French drain or trench drainage system will suffice but always fix drainage if you can.
 
#19
#19
How do you know you have a leak? See water? High water bill?

If outside the house you might only be responsible for repairs from the meter to your house, and not from the meter to the water main. Often the connection at the meter leaks. You can take the meter box lid off, and looks for water.

High water bill. Utility company called to suggest we might have a leak as well.

LCUB told me to shut off the water inside the house and then check the meter. It kept going even when shut off. They say I'm responsible to the meter.

Unless the water is running a long distance, I don't think a driveway will be involed. It's on the other side of the house from the cut-off valve inside.

Sounds like bad luck that this came up. I'm just not exactly sure how to fix it. I've got some plumbing company coming tomorrow to hopeful diagnose it and give me an estimate. I thought if someone on here has a company I'd rather give them the work.
 
#20
#20
High water bill. Utility company called to suggest we might have a leak as well.

LCUB told me to shut off the water inside the house and then check the meter. It kept going even when shut off. They say I'm responsible to the meter.

Unless the water is running a long distance, I don't think a driveway will be involed. It's on the other side of the house from the cut-off valve inside.

Sounds like bad luck that this came up. I'm just not exactly sure how to fix it. I've got some plumbing company coming tomorrow to hopeful diagnose it and give me an estimate. I thought if someone on here has a company I'd rather give them the work.

Good ole LCUB. They threatened to throw me in jail when I watered a newly planted tree during a drought. We moved from there in 2011, but I still get robo calls from them.
Hopefully it is where the line attaches to the meter. a simple fix, but likely $200.
I think they offer repair insurance for about $5/mo, but making the occasional repair is usually cheaper.
Good luck.
 
#21
#21
I marked it out last night. I'm going to french drain it to the front yard. Thanks for the help fellas.
 
Last edited:
#22
#22
Do you think a good mound of dirt and gravel with a slope towards the back would be sufficient? I'm also going to need to fix the crack in that foundation on the garage. I don't believe it's block. It's a textured outer layer.

I don't do too much with grading, so not sure on the what going into it, but I would stick to dirt rather than gravel. you want grass there too.

You will need to be careful adding too much soil against your house for 2 reasons. 1. if the new height gets to close to your siding you can start damaging that, which could also allow any water to go over your concrete wall. assuming the concrete stops at the siding. 2. even if you build up the dirt, that crack remains and more dirt increases the amount of water stored (the dirt will act like a sponge). so the water trying to get away will still find that crack. if you get rid of the ponding it shouldn't be much of an issue, but if you get several days of good rain you will still see water seep in that crack.

and beyond creating a slope you still need a new low point and imo its better to remove dirt than try and build it artificially. you want to give the water a place it can other than towards your house.

I would still look at fixing that crack somehow, and mostly from the outside. if its a solid concrete wall you can probably get it patched/patch it yourself. there should be some self repair kits out there. You could try sealing it with new concrete, but often that doesn't bond too well, so you probably need an epoxy (flexible) sealant. even if you don't fix the grading sealing the crack should cut down a lot on the water you see. the reason to seal from the outside is to keep any water from getting into the wall. where if you patched the inside, you wouldn't see water coming out, but the concrete around would still be absorbing the water that got in from outside. where a seal from outside keeps the water out.

all jmo.
 
#23
#23
I did a quick search to make sure this thread wasn't already created, apologies if I missed it. I was thinking we need a thread for people to get help with home repairs inside and outside of the house; along with landscaping help (like I am about to ask for). As newer/younger home owner, I have questions about things that are probably simple for some on here.

My situation: The back corner of my house has a significant drainage issue. Standing water at the corner of my garage pools water, and has caused a crack in the foundation that allows water to slowly get into the back corner of my garage when we get heavy rain (which seems to be all of the time now). I am thinking this needs to trenched around to the front yard some way or another. The only obstacle is a carport that sits about 2 feet off of this back corner. Its sitting on grass, so no concrete to bust up. Can anyone recommend someone to call for help that isn't going to charge me an arm and a leg to fix this? I will attempt to post a pic of the back end of my house as well. The area next that area of my house is about 20x28. I have no idea why the home builder did not bury a line to the front yard that perfectly slopes down! Thanks guys.
Where are you located?
I had a similar issue and had a guy come in and regradsd my entire and back yards. Took out several tons of dirt and put in swells to catch and direct water away from house. Took care of the issue. Where I use to have several inches of standing water it’s now dry even after heavy rain.
 
#24
#24
The other issue is your carport has a roof pitch taking water right towards your house. Get rid of it NOW. In heavy rains this is focusing water right at your foundation.
Two your drain pipe likely isn’t getting the roof run off far enough from house since it’s a flat lot. Consider adding a flexible pipe out about 10 feet.
 
#25
#25
Where are you located?
I had a similar issue and had a guy come in and regradsd my entire and back yards. Took out several tons of dirt and put in swells to catch and direct water away from house. Took care of the issue. Where I use to have several inches of standing water it’s now dry even after heavy rain.

Kingston
 

VN Store



Back
Top