Drainage solutions ideas

[RedMF40]

The area in front of my workshop collects rainwater in heavy storms or even a steady rain. A soggy area doesn’t bother me because it dries up pretty fast with the sun.

The problem is the water rising to where it kisses the sill plate on the shop. I don’t like that. It hasn’t started to rot yet but give it time and it will.

Re-grading the area is not an attractive option and would likely lead to other problems. A vehicle parking area on an undesirable slant would be one of them.

I have in mind to put in one of these catch basins. The overall wet area is less than 100 sq feet and the drain pipe would be less than 100’ long. There’s a nearby area that’s even lower that everything can safely drain into.

Anyone use one of these catch basins or have another idea? I’d like to knock out this project before the end of summer. Also, how would you gauge the lowest point for the catch basin location—just see where the water is deepest?

Thanks in advance. Gerrit

 

[Mule Meat]

I would put tile in.

A catch basin installed on a gravel lot will fill with dirt and mud easily gobbing it off fairly easily.

 

[paul]

Are we dealing with paved, graveled, grassy area?

Is it soft lawn ground, hard packed driveway/ parking area, or?

Makes a difference as to what will work best.

An inlet like that in the low spot of a grassy area to filter out sand and gravel and silt, with drainage tile running to your low area will do well. The inlet will drain away surface water and the drain tile (slotted) will drain out excess water from the ground so it can dry and make room to hold a portion of the next rain.

If this is all hard packed graveled ground, then you have to be careful of what washes into that intake, and the hard packed ground won’t really seep much into the slotted tile. As well heavy traffic on top of the pipe can easily crush it, need to use the right pipe.

And so on. There are a lot of what ifs on the details we can’t see. Since you emphasize the parking area, we need to consider hard ground, easy wash sand/ gravel surface, mud and other debris being collected, and heavy packing weight over the top…..

In general tho it should work out as simple as you are thinking.

Paul

 

[used red MN]

It actually it sounds like the site the building was built on was not graded properly. This could be due to poor fore thought or not wanting to make the additional investment of site work or maybe the building was existing. If regrading is absolutely out of the question I would recommend doing some research on French drains. In some cases they utilize tile as Mule Meat suggested. Using rock pack they give water an easier path to the drainage system so they address your rising water concern better than tile alone that relies on the percolation factors of your soil.

 

[RedMF40]

Yes, site was not graded properly. Building is in a low area on the property.

Area in question is typical lawn/grass where the water collects. And a brick walkway I built. The drain pipe would pass under the gravel parking area. I added about 4” of CR6 gravel a while back. Before that it was just grass and dirt. The gravel has actually helped lessen the drainage problem.

It’s possible that little catch basin would need regular cleanouts but it might be better than the current situation. Ideally I’d like something much bigger, like a precast concrete basin but that might be overkill.

I’ll look at tiling, only know that I’ve seen it mentioned here. Don’t know what it involves.

I appreciate the replies. I think with a little planning and a rental backhoe or trencher I should be able to get the drainage under control.

Gerrit

 

[caterpillar guy]

First those plastic catch basins will not support vehicle traffic on them very well and will break in cold weather due to it being plastic. If you can have a tile line stick up a few inches with an end cap on it. It would help with the debris getting in the tile line. Now if that will not work you could use some of that soil cloth and a pile of crushed stone in the lowest spot there and run your tile into the stone. This would let the water in and hold the dirt and debris out of the tile you will need an end cap for the tile either way you do this. It might get a slight amount of dirt in over several years. The stone I would use in a pile from top of ground down about 3 feet then about 6 feet in diameter this will do a couple things. One give you some surge space for immediate water flow so it is not setting on top, and will give the tile time to carry it away. This will also need an open end not just to another low spot but if you can get to a ditch or other main tile line would be good. The open end needs to have a place to drain into a sort of basin with the end of the line having a length of pipe so it can be open and not having the end section sagging and drooping into the bottom to plug up. I just did a sort of reverse of what you want to do. IT is a tile line in a waterway drain that over the last 50 years has started washing the dirt out into the ditch in the woods. SO I extended the tile some to be past the end of a tube that goes back into the woods from the edge of the field .With the upper end above ground level so the water can pool to settle the soil and dirt out of it before flowing through the tube. Tube is a 15 inch plastic tile section with smooth inside. this allows the water to escape the field without washing the field down with it and holds the dirt. The field tile right under the pool will let the water soak into it so should not be a problem with making a wet spot in the edge of the field. Tube is open to the ditch and above the bottom so it should not plug up for many years though limbs may be an issue over time .Not a big deal since we burn wood for heat we would just pull them out and cut up. If we need another tile line to go in there we can just tie into the 6 inch line already there for future drainage.

 

[urbancase]

i have used one of them in our horse barn and works well but like cat guy said might not last due to weight. i did a French drain between my grain bin and small tractor shed so water did not stand works good.

 

[RedMF40]

Just to clarify, the catch basin would be in the grassy area in front of the shop. No traffic or vehicles there. And it’s where the water pools. I know a little more about tiling now, having looked at a YouTube video that pretty much explained it for people with no prior knowledge.

 

[Vito]

That yard drain should work if sized lol.

Vito

 

[john in la]

Before I spent $85 on a plastic catch basin I think I would get a fiberglass grate or some catwalk metal and a couple bags of concrete from HD and make my own catch basin.
If you use at least 3 or 4 inch sewer pipe with a decent slope any dirt that gets into the catch basin will quickly be washed out the end of the pipe.

 

[caterpillar guy]

Well tile plug up around here with dirt if let in from the slope sort of like a sewer line if to flat no flow and if to steep water runs away and leaves any solids behind. Kind of a just right deal. The reason I mentioned the crushed stone in a hole it would filter out most of any dirt and would not be a poroblem with plugging for several years till the stone filled up with dirt. with that soil cloth over the tile under the stone it would not be getting in the tile so not plugging the tile and just dig out the stone and replace later pretty easy. No messing with pouring cement or dealing with plastic boxes. With it about 3 feet deep no crushing the tile either. With 3-4 feet of tile in the stone plenty of length for water infiltration. 85.00 would buy a couple holes full of stone and be good for a lifetime of drainage with minimal maintenance to it. A 4 inch tile would be plenty to drain that also. Here they figure a 6 inch is good for a 30 acres of drainage as the main line with the 4 inch running into it. With soil cloth over the stone or in the middle would also slow down dirt infiltration into the stone.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

I mean that would be how to start go out with your rubber boots and a stick if it’s as bad as you say about anywhere you want to put it is going to help at least some and you are against re grading that’s how to do it

Having one of these at a former employer in a gravel lot worked great water removal wise. You can clean it out annually thats even better.

When ice thaws is when we cleaned it we would try to find the drain that’s the only part that stunk we ended up drawing a map inside a nearby building to find the drain when it snowed so many feet from the door and so many away from the propane tank. If it’s not heavily trafficked right down the middle of it you could put a flag or marker by it.

But this was heavily trafficked semis about 12 a day would hit it squarely so it would break up big ice but also was guaranteed to clog up from time to time with gravel

 

[da.bees]

If you can't afford a laser level , water level is inexpensive and very accurate. I hate storm drains, or more accurately I hate trying to maintain them. I prefer swales.