Downspouts drainage system

[Learninggal]

Folks - we recently had out waterproofing guy connect our downspouts to drain pipes that are being let out 10ft in front of the house. This was after doing traditional waterproofing by digging down to the foundation and applying tar, filling holes with hydraulic cement etc failed. Now the drainage seems to have worked but we are seeing a little water seep up from the tiles in a room closest to the front of the home which is an area we’ve never seen water before. The drain pipe outside is just connected to a drainage grate to take out any build-up of soil or leaves. They don’t do a French drain. Is the next Natural step to install a French drain and how deep should it be? Thanks

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Is this only happening during or after rain? If so, I’d look to see if the drains are keeping up with the gutters.

 

[Shiftless]

I’ve been doing similar work at my place.

Are ALL of your downspouts now connected to tubing to direct all of the rainwater to an area 10 feet away from your house?

Is there a slope in the land AWAY from the house on all sides?

Are your gutters clear of leaves and debris or do they overflow when it rains heavily?

Are you certain that none of your downspouts or tubing runs are clogged? I would test by running hose water to see what happens.

A French drain requires adequate slope and a place to let the rainwater run to like a stream bed or a city storm drain.

 

[Learninggal]

it shows up few hours after a heavy rainfal. There is a sufficient slope. We tested using our hose when this was installed, it took about 15 minutes before we could see water at the grate

I will check if there is any overdlow

If everything checks out, does it mean the water is somehow seeping back and hence need for a French drain?

 

[Shiftless]

it took about 15 minutes before we could see water at the grate.

Is the grate at the end of the tubing 10 feet away from the house?

I assume you can see the ends of those 10 foot tubes leading water away from your house.
If you squirt hose water up onto the roof it should go into the gutter and then down the downspout and out the 10 foot tubes to daylight at the end of the tube.
Is that what takes 15 minutes to show up?

 

[Learninggal]

Yes - the Waterproofing guy said we should check it once a year for any collected leaves and take them out

 

[Learninggal]

I had actually told them that they should place it 18 feet or about 2ft behind the sidewalk, but they try to get away doing the minimum. Also, I feel a French rain will help because it is installed deeper and allows the water to drain at a slower pace, right

 

[DGersic]

The further you can move the water from the house, the better. If you can dump it somewhere like the street or in to a city storm drain, even better.

A French drain will buy you extra time, giving the water somewhere to go until it can drain down in to the soil below. Whether that will help enough depends on how much water you’re dealing with, and how well your soil drains it.

 

[DGersic]

Now the drainage seems to have worked but we are seeing a little water seep up from the tiles in a room closest to the front of the home which is an area we’ve never seen water before.

This kinda sounds like your basement was acting as a French drain, and your soil is not draining well. Now you’ve sealed off the basement, the water in the soil has nowhere to go. If it’s up in to the first floor, you must have some very wet soil. You may need drain tile around the foundation and somewhere to drain that water to.

 

[BillK]

The drain pipe outside is just connected to a drainage grate to take out any build-up of soil or leaves.

Not sure if I understand this ? Where does the grate go to ? A few pictures would help.

 

[Shiftless]

Not sure if I understand this ? Where does the grate go to ? A few pictures would help.

to that ^^^^^^^^^

(that’s what I asked in post #5)

 

[Adaylate]

What is the elevation of your house compared to the surrounding property.
Is your house in a hole or on a hill?

 

[Learninggal]

to that ^^^^^^^^^

(that’s what I asked in post #5)

 

[Learninggal]

Elevation - can’t call it a hill but very slight pitch from front to back so the back of the house is lower. When the drainage pipe was installed, I checked every foot and there was at least 1.5° - 2 angle towards the front and could see water moving in the right direction

 

[BillK]

Where does it actually drain out to ? Where is the end of the drain pipe ?

 

[Learninggal]

In the pic where you see the car tires, it drains out to the top of the picture which is about 10ft from the front wall of the home

 

[Learninggal]

There are 3 downspouts on this side of the house and I haven't posted pictures to all of them. Each of these downspouts connects into the same drain pipe which itself lets out right at the green NDS cap which is 10ft from the front wall of the home

 

[Shiftless]

Where does it actually drain out to ? Where is the end of the drain pipe ?

I can answer that question based on one of the photos. I have one in my yard,

This is a pop up drain termination. Lots of water makes the round lid pop up a bit. Just a trickle leaks out some slots in the bottom.

 

[Shiftless]

Learninggal:
If you put the end of a garden hose in your gutter and turn on the water, does it flow down and through that NDS pop up? That’s the way to test ans see if everything is working properly. My uphill neighbor had downspout diversion like you have but over the years nobody checked it. It became clogged with roof sand and tree debris and the rainwater that was supposed to flow harmlessly down to the creek behind her house instead flowed into my 4 feet below grade basement storage room.

(I just finished tearing out almost 100 feet of plastic tubing and improving the set up. My elderly neighbor is now deep into dementia and living in a locked facility.)

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Trench along the drive continue the drain on out to the street. Get it out of your yard, your holding too much water.