Building drainage issues

DId the storm sewer overflow, is it lower than the back yard, a little more information clearly stated would allow a much better answer.

Your municipality may have rules on what you can do to change drainage. Where we live, you cannot increase the total amount of runoff from your property, nor can you increase the rate of the runoff, even if the total amount of water is unchanged. This is to protact those downstream, down from where the sewer lines resurface from flooding.

This is a commercial building on a slab.

The storm sewer did not seem to overflow, but the water was kind of high in it.

I will check with my municipality, they seem to be super nice to me so far.

i

Municipalities have differing and very counter-intuitive regulations regarding French drains, particularly in the way that the water finds it's way into the storm drain.

Neighbors on both sides of me have drains that are configured so that water must magically levitate against gravity in order to flow. Neither of those systems appear to work, strangely.

Our drain is arranged so that the lowest point in the system is the 'connection' to the storm drain system and the highest point is furthest from the storm drain. It works really well, with no pumping required.

--Winston

Start with plumbers. First, sit down, away from sharp objects.

--Winston

Well the easier way would be to spray the bottom edge of the building with something like Drylok waterproofing. Buy it in a nice color and two tone the building with a 2' strip all the way around.

If he has water pooling up around the building because of grading, trying to keep it out of the building by waterproofing is almost always a failing proposition. A 2' strip all the way around isn't likely to work, as the water will just wind up finding a way in from under the slab through cracks, etc..

The correct way is to analyze the grading and to get it to slope AWAY from the building. That is the first choice. In some cases it may not be possible to do around the whole perimeter due to obstacles that are in the way. In that case, a gravity drain system of some kind or a system that leads to a sump pump basin outside the building is an alternative.

As others have pointed out, the municipality may have restrictions on whether it's legal to discharge water into the storm sewer. Another choice might just be to route it near the storm sewer, discharging it on the ground on the property, if that's possible.

" snipped-for-privacy@optonline.net" fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@u9g2000vbx.googlegroups.com:

Ig... our factory was built 4' below road level in an area correctly termed "Florida Flatwoods"; land on which the mean water table is less than 12" below the surface.

Every time it rained more than a couple of inches, the whole ten acres became a mud bog, and that's been going on for 40 years.

So, I talked my principals into hiring a hydrologist to come shoot the levels, review the maps and county drains, and tell us if there was anything that could be done with the run-off.

All they needed to fix the problems was a mini-GradeAll, $4000, and a week. Now we have property that hasn't even _puddled_ since! It was the best spent 'expert work' we ever had done.

LLoyd

This is awesome! So, you would say I should search phone book for "hydrologist"? Or "drain engineer" or something? I would like the same thing as you -- proper drainage -- except that my case is easier. There is a ready storm drain and even some kind of a pond across the road from me.

i

Ignoramus30836 fired this volley in news:_amdnfgx6os6VybTnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Start with excavation companies, and make it clear you're looking for a property drainage expert. Many of them will have the proper laser levels and swale-digging experience to do the job.

You probably don't even need "ditches", per se. A gentle swale - perhaps even mild enough for your forklift to traverse - may be all it will take.

LLoyd

I had a similar problem here, behind our back warehouse. I hired a local excavator to come in and strip all the gravel off the yard and pile it up, re-grade the yard including the ditch-line behind our property and the next two neighbors; so there was a consistent slope all the way to the next culvert (the neighbors were happy, since I paid for it). Then they replaced all the gravel, graded that out, and re-compacted it with a big power roller. The grading covered about 1/2 acre and cost $1800 altogether.

By "storm sewer" do you mean open detention pond ?

How were you able to determine if the "storm sewer" was higher and thus had more water in it than normal ?

~~ Evan

Sandbags would help you immediately stop water infiltration...

A longer term solution might require design/review and approval by your local Authority Having Jurisdiction...

~~ Evan

the water table is likely so high the water will enter from below, you cant seal it out it must be rediected

Umm... Bob, water infiltrates a building at the joint between the foundation and the slab... Especially in commercial buildings...

Immediately the only reasonable thing the building owner/occupant can do to prevent further water getting into the building is to put down a barrier and cover it with sandbags...

Any other sort of site modifications generally have to be approved by the authority having jurisdiction and could take anywhere from weeks to months to be designed and approved...

~~ Evan

That "some kind of pond" across the road from you might not be yours -- it could be for the property across the road...

Without more information that is a useless bit of conjecture...

Does your property have its own detention pond ON your property ? Such ponds are NOT connected to any drainage or sewers and handle parking lot run off from drains and the rainwater leaders (drains) from large roofs...

~~ Evan

Nonsense. The only thing is sandbags? Could be LOTS of things, from possibly re-routing water that is exiting from the roof, to installing a simple drain that takes water away from a low spot. If they own the building they have lots of choices. If they don't, I'm not betting on the owner being happy with the tennant putting down sandbags outside in a lame attempt to keep water out.

water can and does come up thru basement or slab. at any joint, around utility entrances thru flor etc etc.

water takes the easiest path

(...)

Yup. That's why you provide a peripheral drain that creates an 'easiest path' away from your building for that below-grade water flow.

BTDT .. and now I'm nice and dry, even after the worst downpours.

--Winston

OK, we're full circle now. That was the first thing offered when Ig asked. I'll give odds this thread will have no more than 1,526 additional posts to finish up. :-/

-- That's the thing about needs. Sometimes, when you get them met, you don't need them anymore. -- Michael Patrick King

(...)

My Alzheimer's and USENET are quite compatible. I can repeat myself ad nauseum and no one is the wiser.

Except for Larry, that is. :)

--Winston

--Winston

--Winston

--Winston

--Winston

--Winston

Oh bother.

bother