Water drainage issue

Joined
Feb 4, 2020
Messages
99
Location
Schaumburg, IL
Recently, I got hit with two mega rainstorm, both of them seemed to have dump 4-5 inches of rain in a day. The biggest problem is that the rain was severe enough that it actually overloaded the gutters. Even with no gutter clogged, water actually spilled over the side of the gutter because it wasn't carried away fast enough. Water got so bad that it pour into the window well and started coming through the window.

I am trying to solve multiple issues here.
1. The gutters drain into a tube out of the ground. In heavy rain storms, I notice that it doesn't seemed to carry away the water fast enough. This only seemed to happen on two of the gutters. I am now thinking of diverting it externally via a long elbow to the lawn where I hope the water will be diverted away from the foundation.
2. Gutter tend to get clogged with all sorts of weird stuff like string like seed, cotton like item. Pine needles. I am going to experiment with tryout out some leaf gutter at the most troublesome spot before paying the money to do the rest of the house.
3. The secondary sump pump keeps going off occasionally, which is not good. The primary should be enough to handle things. I currently have a sump pro battery driving the primary and a basement watchdog secondary. I haven't had a power outage that last long enough to drain both. Batteries are replaced every 5 years. I am debating that whether I need a stronger sump pump. When I purchased the house, it had a Hydromatic DA-1 with 1/3 hp. It worked for several years, but then I start noticing an issue where it wasn't keeping up, I upgraded it to a Liberty L289 1/2 hp. Now it's not keeping up. I am contemplating zoeller M98, but I am wonder if that will be enough. Keep in mind that most of the time the sump pump barely goes off, It's just that we often get these terrible large rain falls that seems to last for hours.

Has anyone notice an increase issue with rain? When I moved here 10 years ago, I never had issue with large rainfalls. Now it seems to happen more and more. I was wondering if anyone had experience dealing with this and whether I am on the right track?

Paul
 
You say, "a tube out of the ground"
Where does it go ? …. Is it plugged up ?

Gutters come in different sizes. What are yours ?

Several years ago, I replaced my (standard) 2"x3" Downspouts with 3"x4"

Good luck.
 
I clean my relatives gutters twice a year.
They are always filled with leaves & seeds from trees.
I put these filters at the tops of downspouts and it prevents them from getting plugged.

But would this help the OP, I don't know.
[Linked Image]
 
The Zoeller sump pump model that you are considering should do the job. If you are pumping about 8-10' in elevation it will give you about 60 gallons per minute. I have not been impressed with Liberty pumps and have avoided them.
 
Oversized eves and spouts are a good start, but you never had this issue before?

Perhaps the drainage tile/ line has roots growing in it?
 
I don't know what to call the drain out of the ground? French Drain? I do know that it carries water to an outlet pipe. To test it, I stuck a hose in it and ran it for 5 -10 minutes. It did not fill up, so clogging is not an issue. The big issue is that the pipe is corrugated and has hoses along the side, when the water is coming down, it spray out the side. I coat it the inside and outside with some rubberize coating, which did help, but too much water leak out the sides.

The gutter are not clogged. The house came with 4 inch wide gutters. After they got damaged by a storm, I replaced them with 5 inch gutter. Apparently, 5 inch gutter are enough 99% of the time but not last week's storm. I think the storm was unusual, all of my neighbor had issue with water going into the window well. The window well has a drain that drains into the weeping tiles, but apparently, the water was coming in faster the drainage can drain.

In my latest update, I routed the downspout with the most water to the driveway because it's steep downhill. If this work I may divert it to the lawn since it may erode the pavers
 
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About how many square feet is your roof and what is the slope?
How many feet of gutter is on your house???
Finally, how many downspouts do you have and how large are they?

I can run some calculations if you can give me the above information....
 
I prefer external. Make sure your downspout gutter extension is running at least 6ft from the house and depending on soil, you may need to carve away / remove grass and redirect water flow further away from the house. Make sure your dirt height has a slight pitch - highest level of ground dirt at the house - then running slightly lower the rest of the route that the gutter water travels. Your dirt height should always cover the foundation against the house. Build that up.... intending as a barricade wall of dirt if necessary.

Fixing gutters so they flow correctly and direct proper is an easier fix than redirecting water flow at ground level sometimes.
 
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Yes, much, much more rain and hardly any snow. Complete opposite from a decade ago. I hope they fix this global warming. Actually, I noticed a substantial increase in rains in the past four years.
 
Originally Posted by dinofish
Yes, much, much more rain and hardly any snow. Complete opposite from a decade ago. I hope they fix this global warming. Actually, I noticed a substantial increase in rains in the past four years.

What ever next.
 
Originally Posted by bcossa2001
About how many square feet is your roof and what is the slope?
How many feet of gutter is on your house???
Finally, how many downspouts do you have and how large are they?

I can run some calculations if you can give me the above information....


Thank you. I am entire sure about the square foot, but the floor is 1500 sq ft.. There are 6 downspouts that are 4" x 3". The room appears to be 45 degree.

The majority of the issue comes from 2 of the rain gutter at the front that divert water from the attached garage and the water from the roof next to the garage. The water from the roof empties into the garage roof which then goes into the garage gutters. This means the garage gutter does twice the work of the other gutters.

Previously with the old gutters, when the rain is super heavy, the water coming from the roof gutter will shoot over the garage gutter due the velocity. When the roofers redid the gutter, they angled it so that it would shoot across the garage roof instead and also place it closer to the garage gutter. This worked fine, but last week I notice that when it rain super hard and I notice that the water was still overflowing from the gutter even with no clog from the garage gutters. However, it appeared we might had about 10 inch of rainfall in about last week, most of it on 2 days (average rainfall is 1 inch per week), that is unusually high. Actually, my concern is that this is the new normal and I have to figure a way to mitigate that.

Paul
 
Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
I prefer external. Make sure your downspout gutter extension is running at least 6ft from the house and depending on soil, you may need to carve away / remove grass and redirect water flow further away from the house. Make sure your dirt height has a slight pitch - highest level of ground dirt at the house - then running slightly lower the rest of the route that the gutter water travels. Your dirt height should always cover the foundation against the house. Build that up.... intending as a barricade wall of dirt if necessary.

Fixing gutters so they flow correctly and direct proper is an easier fix than redirecting water flow at ground level sometimes.


One reason I like external is that stuff eventually falls down down downspout and there is a risk of clogs. Due to erosion, I probably have less dirt than I used to. I have been meaning to build that back up, so think you for the reminder.

Another reason to is that buried piped often collapse. My neighbor's sump pump backed up because his drainage pipe appeared to have collapse. The main difference is that his pipe appears to be corrugated while mine appears to be PVC. Mines didn't collapse but I do have to clean out roots growing into the pipe, which can be like 50 feet in length.

One reason to use the buried pipe is that the emptied water tend to create sheets of ice during the winter. Emptying it into the ground eliminates that.

Paul
 
Originally Posted by MasterSolenoid
I clean my relatives gutters twice a year.
They are always filled with leaves & seeds from trees.
I put these filters at the tops of downspouts and it prevents them from getting plugged.

But would this help the OP, I don't know.
[Linked Image]



Thanks I need way more than this unfortunately, the whole gutter in certain time of the year gets filled completely with leaves.

Paul
 
I have been up at three AM bailing water out of north facing window wells with a coffee can. Finally purchase pumps from local farm/ranch store and ran drop cords to outlet on deck. Still had to watch water level from basement bedrooms but it was better than the can. Removed pumps in the fall and reinstalled in the spring. New home is built on a pad with a poured in place storm shelter. NOT ever going to own another home above a hole in the ground. Residents in south central Nebraska have basements full of water right now from a week of rain.Basements are holes in the ground that will be a problem sooner or later. HELLO Thrasher, goodbye $$$.
 
At 1500 SF roof area, 4 each 3x4 downspouts is plenty for draining your roof - even for a 100 year storm and a 45 degree pitched roof.
The issues appear to be water overshooting the gutters and inadequate drain capacity downstream from your downspouts.
It seems the pipe in the ground may be partially clogged, inadequately sized, inadequately sloped, backing up from the outfall based on the unusual rains or a combination of all.
Disconnecting the downspouts from the ground pipe is the first order of business.
If you decide to leave them disconnected then the suggestions by Triple Se7en should be followed.
If you decide to connect to an underground pipe I suggest a tight pipe (no french drain holes in the pipe) to wherever your storm water currently runs. Corrugated plastic pipe is junk - use pvc.
Cleaning roots/debris out of a pipe that currently has holes in the sides for a french drain will be a never ending task.

If your roof pitch is indeed 45 degrees then your gutters should be oversized so the water at high velocity will not "shoot over" the gutters.

I can't tell the relationship between the roof water and your sump pump.
 
Originally Posted by bcossa2001
At 1500 SF roof area, 4 each 3x4 downspouts is plenty for draining your roof - even for a 100 year storm and a 45 degree pitched roof.
The issues appear to be water overshooting the gutters and inadequate drain capacity downstream from your downspouts.
It seems the pipe in the ground may be partially clogged, inadequately sized, inadequately sloped, backing up from the outfall based on the unusual rains or a combination of all.
Disconnecting the downspouts from the ground pipe is the first order of business.
If you decide to leave them disconnected then the suggestions by Triple Se7en should be followed.
If you decide to connect to an underground pipe I suggest a tight pipe (no french drain holes in the pipe) to wherever your storm water currently runs. Corrugated plastic pipe is junk - use pvc.
Cleaning roots/debris out of a pipe that currently has holes in the sides for a french drain will be a never ending task.

If your roof pitch is indeed 45 degrees then your gutters should be oversized so the water at high velocity will not "shoot over" the gutters.

I can't tell the relationship between the roof water and your sump pump.




I agree with you that the the internal drain are probably incorrectly sized or sloped. I have diverted the most problematic of the downspout to an external pipe. The next time it rains, I can gauge whether this alleviates the drainage issue on one side of the house. I am hoping that if I resolve the water issue, I won't need a new sump pump. Getting a bigger sump pump is not a great idea either since a short cycle time may shorten the life of the pump.

Paul
 
Originally Posted by Paul_Siu
Originally Posted by bcossa2001
At 1500 SF roof area, 4 each 3x4 downspouts is plenty for draining your roof - even for a 100 year storm and a 45 degree pitched roof.
The issues appear to be water overshooting the gutters and inadequate drain capacity downstream from your downspouts.
It seems the pipe in the ground may be partially clogged, inadequately sized, inadequately sloped, backing up from the outfall based on the unusual rains or a combination of all.
Disconnecting the downspouts from the ground pipe is the first order of business.
If you decide to leave them disconnected then the suggestions by Triple Se7en should be followed.
If you decide to connect to an underground pipe I suggest a tight pipe (no french drain holes in the pipe) to wherever your storm water currently runs. Corrugated plastic pipe is junk - use pvc.
Cleaning roots/debris out of a pipe that currently has holes in the sides for a french drain will be a never ending task.

If your roof pitch is indeed 45 degrees then your gutters should be oversized so the water at high velocity will not "shoot over" the gutters.

I can't tell the relationship between the roof water and your sump pump.




I agree with you that the the internal drain are probably incorrectly sized or sloped. I have diverted the most problematic of the downspout to an external pipe. The next time it rains, I can gauge whether this alleviates the drainage issue on one side of the house. I am hoping that if I resolve the water issue, I won't need a new sump pump. Getting a bigger sump pump is not a great idea either since a short cycle time may shorten the life of the pump.

Paul



Next time it rains, please water proof yourself and go outside and watch all around the house.
Doing this (after I already cleaned all gutters and added extenders away from the house) let me see that my "run" was not straight/level but backflowing more like a V-shaped.
Fixed by adding another shoot + drain at the specific locations (sides of house).
No more wet walls. or water in basement...

The reason for doing this is not the 100 years event but the occasional about every 5-year rain that seem to plug Chicago-area street drains.
 
My original house has a 12" pitch. 45' angle with eaves. Didn't want eaves on addition The addition has a shallower pitch. the valleys created by the intersecting roofs created a spillway that over shot the additions 5" gutters. I cut the front off a piece of left over gutter and riveted it to the top edge of the gutter. works great : Most of house is on a frost wall with only a crawl space except for a 10x10 utility dungeon. If you need sump pumps to keep the cellar dry. Don't finish it
grin2.gif
 
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