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  1. #1
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Landscaping near the house.

    I have been on the internet all night and can't seem to find my situation.

    Our house is on a hill. We used to get a lot of water in the basement. My mother in law planted a number of bushes and small trees near the house and I know enough to get rid of those and have been doing so regularly. The water leakage into the basement has dropped considerably. I am getting rid of the last few bushes and weedy things right now. However, I don't know what to put next to the house, particularly on the downslope out back and on the side of the house. There is a deteriorating cement "gutter" on the ground on the side of the house that needs to be picked up. We actually had that installed as a replacement for the original ten years ago and it started to crack almost immediately and provided rodent passage at best. I want to maximize drainage on the surface as much as possible but a gutter system either above or below is not the solution.

    Gravel over sand? Cedar mulch? Does it matter if I grade it downhill? I'm hearing, "do this, do that" without a rationale for my concerns. Any help would be appreciated.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    I'd definitely not do the mulch. Washout and water retention by the mulch is not what you want.

    We have a problem with the sump pump drains out right next to the house so we added an extension hose. The problem with that is constantly having to move the hose. This summer we are going to put in a bubbler system. Water is piped away from the house underground far enough so it does not drain right back beside the house. Then there are a series (probably 2) of small catch basins (look to me like plastic buckets with holes). These are connected by PVC piping with holes. This is all installed underground, pipes placed in a trench with large gravel under them. Think a smaller version of a septic system. Going to be a mess to do but I've wanted to attack the lawn, it's kinda lumpy. Large project to say the least.

    Don't know if this is going to be an option for you. Need more info on your yard layout.
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  4. #3
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    I'll post pics. That's what I thought on the mulch but all I was hearing was mulch, mulch, mulch.

  5. #4
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Where abouts on the hill are you? Part way down? Do you have eves troughs on the house?
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  7. #5
    Senior Dog Jeff's Avatar
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    I guess, is digging down to below the basement wall an option? I mean if you are taking out landscaping. How far down do you want to dig.

    A lot of new things have been developed. One in particular is a screen that goes up against the basement wall. Basically a mesh to not allow dirt through but then on the other side that goes up against the all is kind of like a brillo pad. So any water that soaks through the screen just falls and drains easily down. Which then down below you have your normal gravel and sump system which collects the water and shoves it out somewhere away from the house. This really is idea because water never gets to set against the basement wall and soak in. It has a place to go. The do this for rock basements, and poured concrete.

    If you do not want to dig that deep, you could install french drains as shallow as 2 feet deep. Simple drains under the ground to catch the water and then give it a clear and easy way to escape around the other side of the house.

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  9. #6
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Snowshoe View Post
    Where abouts on the hill are you? Part way down? Do you have eves troughs on the house?
    I was going to ask about rain gutters, too. I'm assuming you keep them cleaned out but we have trouble with water getting into our basement when the gutters get full of vegetation/leaves/pine needles, 2. gutters that start sagging or weren't installed so the roof overhangs them quite enough and rainwater pours over the sides of the gutters, and 3.) my parents' house has old, old copper gutters that developed holes and water would get into the basement from water leaking out of the gutters through the holes. Lots of water, water you had to use a wet vac to get up. Our house is only on a very mild decline from front to back, my parent's house is on level ground. I'd just make sure it's not something as "simple" as ineffective gutters before digging up the yard.

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  11. #7
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Here are pics of the areas I'm redoing. This is the half of the house that we haven't reshingled yet. The house is two stories in front and three in the back. I don't want to do rain gutters because of that. I don't see either of us climbing up that high to clean them out. We do have a French drain in the front and on either side. The area that is getting a small amount of water is in the indentation in the middle of the house - the wall with the chimney. This is where I'm thinking of doing gravel.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails -house_i_030217-jpg   -house_i2_030217-jpg   -house_north_030217-jpg   -house_west_030217-jpg  

  12. #8
    Senior Dog Jeff's Avatar
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    Do gutters, thats going to be a huge benefit. While true climbing up to do them is a pain. Good news you don't have too. You do need to climb up but really not that bad. I use a robotic gutter cleaner. I check periodically with a drone that has a camera on it to see if they need cleaning.

    I have this and I am in a one story ranch. We live in a world of technology embrace it.
    https://www.amazon.com/iRobot-330-Gu.../dp/B00A1590RS

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  14. #9
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff View Post
    Do gutters, thats going to be a huge benefit. While true climbing up to do them is a pain. Good news you don't have too. You do need to climb up but really not that bad. I use a robotic gutter cleaner. I check periodically with a drone that has a camera on it to see if they need cleaning.

    I have this and I am in a one story ranch. We live in a world of technology embrace it.
    https://www.amazon.com/iRobot-330-Gu.../dp/B00A1590RS
    That's hilarious. I may put up a gutter system just to play with that.

  15. #10
    "Sorry" Woody's Avatar
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    Its really hard to tell from the photos but you have no gutter and down spouts? Or just on the left side? Gutters and downspouts with long extensions will do you wonders. I just use some Big O pipe to take it even further away from the house. I think they will fix what problem you have.

    As far as cleaning. Mine rarely need cleaning because I have no large trees dropping anything in there. The clogging generally in our area happens because of leaves or "keys". You can always put guards on them. There is an attachment that you hook your hose onto and then extends on length.

    You often see people put gravel or rocks underneath their decks so that the water gets disbursed and won't pool.
    Thanks Everyone!!

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