July 2010

There sure have been some "water" events this year. We've been through huge snow storms and now powerful rain (and wind) storms. A couple of weeks ago, I got a call about a flooded basement on a house that was sheduled for settlement the next day. Leaves had covered the 4" drain at the bottom of the basement stairwell.

If you've lived here very long, you've probably experienced a basement flood. I've seen lots of solutions to this issue, roofs of various sorts, etc., but the solution we like best is a trench drain. Basically, the concrete at the bottom of the stairwell is broken up, the original cast iron drain grate is replaced with a long trench drain and the concrete floor is re-poured. The advantage is that instead of 2-3 leaves clogging up the drain, the trench drain will still flow despite the leaves blocking part of the drain.

Excess water into stairwells and basements can come from lots of sources. Almost all of them come from maintenance issues. Many of the homes we work on were built in the 40's and early 50's. That's 60 years ago. Housing developments weren't as dense as they are now and in fact, there may not have even been a house next door back then.




This photo was taken on a "house lot" built 75 years ago in Bethesda. The trench is about 30" deep and the "top soil" is somewhere around 15 inches deep. Look closely and you will see some old buried bricks. Those were brick edging around a tree that was planted, lived and died many years ago. Do you think the drainage of this lot has changed over the past 75 years?
The point is that, like our bodies, our houses and the lots they sit on need attention from time to time. I have little doubt that the drainage away from the house was fine when it was built. Over the years trees have grown and spred their roots 10, 20 or 30 feet generally raising the soil level. Adding mulch beds around the trees increases the soil level even more.

Critical areas where we see most problems are the planting beds around the house. Like the mulch beds around the trees, we add layer upon layer of mulch each year. And why do we do this? Because Tom and Mary did it next door. We also do it to keep down the weeds and hold the moisture in the soil. Wait a minute, we want to hold the moisture right next to our basement walls?!? Do you think we might be creating a problem here?

The bottom line is:

* Use a trench drain at exterior drain locations to insure they don't clog up with leaves and debris.
* Direct water away from your foundation by making sure the ground noticeably slopes away from your house. If you can't get positive slope away from your foundation, it's time to hire a landscaper and do the job properly.
* Make sure your mulch isn't higher than the parged and tarred areas on the exterior walls of your home.

The severe weather will always be with us. Just remember to plan accordingly so your home won't be the one that floods.