Driveway Drainage Problem

The driveway in front of our garage builds a fairly large puddle in the middle any time we get a significant rain.

Unfortunately, there is no way to slope the ground for the water to run off. The driveway slopes DOWN to the garage on the west side, has a steep hill on the north side, the garage is elevated slightly on the east side, and the house/yard are elevated on the south side. Essentially, the driveway in front of the garage is in a hole.

I rerouted the gutters from our garage and house, and installed a drainage system so all roof water is directed out over the hill. It helped the driveway situation a lot, but didn't solve it completely.

Because of the site conditions, I can't really get a drain from the driveway over to the downhill side of the yard (Foundations, septic drain field, trees, rock, etc.)

One option that comes to mind is to dig in some drainage channels and direct them off to a deep trench on the side. Then fill everything with rock. Essentially a drywell of sorts. This would probably help, but wouldn't completely cure the problem if we had an extremely heavy rainfall.

The only other option I can think of is to put in some kind of drainage channel to a drywell. Then install a pump to direct the water up hill behind the garage and discharge into the gutter drainage system. But, that's a lot more complicated than I would like.

Thoughts, ideas, etc?

Anthony

Reply to
HerHusband
Loading thread data ...

I had one other idea for draining our driveway. This may be a stupid idea, but I'll ask it anyway... :)

When we built our house foundation, we installed a french drain that runs all the way around the house, and is then drained off over the side of the hill. It would be a simple matter to tie a drain for the driveway into the french drain system. However, would this be a "smart" thing to do? Would it be unwise to intentionally direct the driveway water into the foundation drain (we have a crawlspace foundation).

On a similar note, if I install 4" perforated drain pipes in the driveway to catch the water, how far down should they be buried (so cars won't crush them)?

Thanks,

Anthony

Reply to
HerHusband

They're called "birdbaths".

If you're really in a hole, then you gotta make a drain channel (hire a guy with a concrete saw) and a sump with electric pump.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

I didn't clarify it in my original message, but our driveway is gravel, not concrete.

Anthony

Reply to
HerHusband

Oh, in that case, pull away the gravel, fill in with dirt, and replace the gravel.

Reply to
nielloeb

Unless "dirt" is a whole hell of a lot cheaper than gravel, you're better off just dumping more gravel on top, assuming that raising the roadbed is a viable option.

But my understanding was that OP's problem involved a garage that was built below-grade. and therefore, at least part of the driveway ALSO has to be below grade.

The only solutions to that are: A: Extend the garage to include that section of the driveway, thus keeping the water out, and B: Moving the water the DOES collect there. C: Build a detached garage somewhere else.

For option B:, the method with low initial and high operating costs is to install pump(s), and the method with high initial and low operating costs is to install gravity drains to some section of the property lower than the roadbed.

--Goedjn

Reply to
Goedjn

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.