Need some suggestions on basement drainage

[BuilderML]

BuilderML, thanks for that explanation. Do you think either gravel or limestone should work?

The same stone you have in the picture looks like nice stuff. As far as limestone goes i am not familiar with it but gravel is fine. Alot of different names for the same product when your dealing with different locations. As far as using plastic, did you think about doing a layer of rigid foam on top of your stone before pouring your slab? Just tape your seams. 1" would make a big difference. Also run it up the walls so that it is above the finish height of your slab. You would basicly be pouring your slab on a bed of foam.

 

[lzicc]

I think I figured out the problem. I started digging a trench by the area that was getting wet. I found a 6" terracotta pipe in the ground that just ended by the edge of my porch which is about 12' from the area of the basement that was getting wet. The pipe was wet inside. I kept digging away from the house to follow the pipe, pulling the sections of pipe out as I go. I dug back away from the house about 20' and had to stop because my sidewalk is there. If I look in the pipe with a flashlight, you can see about 20' back. I left the hole I dug open around the pipe to watch it. It rained on Saturday and you could see a good amount of water running from the pipe. I put a sump pump in to pump the water out. I'm pretty sure this could be causing my basement problem. I have no idea where the other end of the pipe goes. I looked everywhere. The direction it is heading is towards the back of my property. I have 2 acres, so it could go anywhere. I don't really have a way of running the pipe to the road since it is below anything that I can have it naturally drain to. I think I may just plug it. The guy that owned this property before me had drains everywhere. Allot of them I pulled out already. Would there be a way to find out where the drain would go to? A snake wouldn't work since the other end could go anywhere.

 

[dave1949]

Wow, that was a good find.

Maybe it's an old field tile if your area was once cultivated. If so, you might be able to sight in a straight line with tile direction and find it further away by digging a trench across that sight line.

 

[lzicc]

I thought about that dave. My luck it probably doesn't go straight though.

 

[Dr Dave]

How deep is it? Maybe it was a drain line for the old basement, it may go to an old drywell?

To find were it goes you can run a snake in as far as you can and, atach a locator signal lead to it, and use a locator.

Or call a local sewer guy with a camera, these have a locator signal source and can be located with there locator.

Even if you plug the end, these old glay pipes leak at the joints, water will follow the path of least resistance, to your freshly excavated area.

Dave

 

[lzicc]

I thought about putting a expandable rubble plug in the pipe then cementing it. The other end is obviously not being used for anything relevant of what I can tell. My property goes back pretty far, so the end could be anywhere for all I know. I can't visually see the other end of the pipe. Even if it leaks very slowly in the excavated area, I would hope the water would dissipate into the ground before it can reach the basement now. The trench that comes from the house to the hole is about 20' long and I back filled the trench with clay dirt.The hole I have is about 5' x 5' and about 4' deep. The end of the pipe is 3' deep. If I plug the pipe, dig the hole a little larger then fill it with aggregate, that may work.

 

[Dr Dave]

You can plug it with portland cement and water, no sand, or get a bag of bentonite, it swells about 10 time its size when wet, then cap with cement.

Dave

 

[Midniteoyl]

I found a clay pipe running across my property.. figured 'old drain from old fields'.. nope. Next spring that pipe had running water pretty much all the time. Turned out to be a drain from 3 properties over and if it wasnt there it would be a swamp. Ran across my property and then another to a ditch.. So run at least 3000ft... Might wanna call the county and see if they have it marked.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Next question to ask is, 'why didnt your drain drain the water away?'

 

[lzicc]

Who knows why it didn't drain properly. If I had to guess, when I was adding the addition, I pulled all of the terracotta drain pipes out and put in plastic. The reason I did that was that the guy that owned this place before me ran the gutter drains flow into the footer drain. I remember that the drain that went to the footer drain was busted up, so I am guessing that the drain that I am dealing with now originally went into the gutter drains then into the footer drains. Another thing that I noticed since all of this is that I used to get some water in the basement of the main house around the same area. I don't get that anymore and we've had allot of rain this summer.

 

[lzicc]

I wish there was some way of finding out where the other end is. I don't want to get into an expense of hiring someone to try to find the end. There has to be a way of doing this. This might sound stupid, but I though about putting some smoke bombs in the end of the pipe to see if the smoke comes out somewhere else. Maybe use a fan to force it into the pipe. If there is a trap somewhere or if part of the drain is full of water, that won't work.

 

[lzicc]

Where do you buy bentonite? I've never heard of it.

You can plug it with portland cement and water, no sand, or get a bag of bentonite, it swells about 10 time its size when wet, then cap with cement.

Dave

 

[Midniteoyl]

How deep is the pipe?


Idea: use a speaker and mechanics stethoscope. Play music (preferably big bass) in the open end, and listen along the ground with the scope. Should be able to at least get a general idea of where it goes. Read somewhere once of someone doing just this to locate a PVC drain pipe and he swears he was off by less than a foot over 500ft away.

 

[lzicc]

I thought about that also. I'm glad that I am not the only one that thinks up stuff like this. I do have one of those mechanics stethoscopes, just need to find it.

How deep is the pipe?


Idea: use a speaker and mechanics stethoscope. Play music (preferably big bass) in the open end, and listen along the ground with the scope. Should be able to at least get a general idea of where it goes. Read somewhere once of someone doing just this to locate a PVC drain pipe and he swears he was off by less than a foot over 500ft away.

 

[dave1949]

Where do you buy bentonite? I've never heard of it.

Well drillers and pond installers use bentonite.

 

[bucktaker]

any plumber can scope a drain, or you can rent it. Dont cap it without knowing its purpose you will just force the water to come out somewhere. Better to find out why its there and just divert the water or your problem will not go away.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Next question to ask is, 'why didnt your drain drain the water away?'

This was my first thought. I think you're fooling yourself thinking that plugging that pipe solves your problem. If your foundation drains were working the water from the pipe wouldn't be a problem.

Second thought: Even plugged, the water coming through that pipe has to go somewhere. Probably not far from where it goes now if the pipe is old and leaky.

Third thought: that pipe is there for a reason, you plug it successfully and something or someone uphill is going to flood...