Water problems in pole barn

[86Vette]

Hi all, I bought an acreage with an existing 30x40 pole barn nearly 2 years ago. When I took possession, it was completely unfinished. Didn't even have a concrete floor. I put in concrete and I'm nearly finished with electrical work.

Last spring during the snow melt and later during the heavy spring rains, the building took on water (3-4"). The moronic prior homeowner had the barn built in a low spot on the property without bringing in any fill to bring up the grade. Keep in mind the whole area is wet in general. The sump pump in my basement kicks on about every 10-15 minutes year-round.

I have tried to mitigate the problem by putting on gutters with really long downspout extensions and I paid a guy with a bobcat to grade around the property to promote water run-off. I was hoping the problem was solved. Fast forward to yesterday...

We had about an inch of rain here in Central Iowa on Saturday and the 12" deep snow piles are finally starting to melt. Yesterday morning, I opened the door to the pole barn yesterday morning to find standing water, the deepest area being 3-4" or so. I have realized that I have essentially shot myself in the foot by having a leach pit put in the center of the floor because the water is coming up through it. I previously put a test plug in the pit to try to hold back the water but that is not working. I feel like there is enough hydro static pressure under the concrete that even if I filled the leach pit with concrete, water would still find its way through.

I feel like I need to put in a sump pump to prevent the barn from flooding in the future, but man, that would be a lot of work and money and I really don't want to bust up my new concrete. Does anyone have any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[PWC Repair]

Can you give us a couple pics of the property, and the work you had done by the bobcat?

 

[joey1320]

Put the sump pit right behind and in the center of your barn and run the discharge line away from it. I would try that before tearing up concrete.

 

[86Vette]

Can you give us a couple pics of the property, and the work you had done by the bobcat?

I can take some pics tonight. I'm at work right now...clearly working hard.

 

[86Vette]

Put the sump pit right behind and in the center of your barn and run the discharge line away from it. I would try that before tearing up concrete.

So are you proposing putting the sump pit outdoors, directly behind the pole barn?

 

[joey1320]

So are you proposing putting the sump pit outdoors, directly behind the pole barn?

Yes. Other than the labor, materials will be cheap. It doesn't hurt to see if by adding the pit so closed to the barn, it will act as a straw and pull the large amount of water from under your slab and into it. I would recommend installing a tall one deep into the ground.

Edited to add: I'm in no way, shape or form an engineer of any kind. All I know is that my father told me many, many moons ago that, "You can't stop water, you can only divert it."

 

[86Vette]

Yes. Other than the labor, materials will be cheap. It doesn't hurt to see if by adding the pit so closed to the barn, it will act as a straw and pull the large amount of water from under your slab and into it. I would recommend installing a tall one deep into the ground.

Edited to add: I'm in no way, shape or form an engineer of any kind. All I know is that my father told me many, many moons ago that, "You can't stop water, you can only divert it."

Thank you. That may be worth a try.

 

[pattenp]

Is your concrete floor poured on a bed of gravel? Can you trench around the perimeter of the pole barn down below the level of the concrete and put in perforated drain pipe that can be run to a lower elevation to gravity drain water away? That should relieve the static pressure.

 

[86Vette]

Is your concrete floor poured on a bed of gravel? Can you trench around the perimeter of the pole barn down below the level of the concrete and put in perforated drain pipe that can be run to a lower elevation to gravity drain water away? That should relieve the static pressure.

I don't recall if the concrete was poured on a bed of gravel. I think they may have just poured directly on the dirt. Would your idea still work either way?

 

[pattenp]

I don't recall if the concrete was poured on a bed of gravel. I think they may have just poured directly on the dirt. Would your idea still work either way?

It may help without the gravel if the soil is sandy, but the gravel under the slab would be a great help to allow water under the slab to flow away from under the slab. In essence you dig a deep ditch around the barn put in shallow layer of gravel, lay in the drain pipe with a silt sock on it and backfill not quite full with gravel, cover with soil fabric and fill remainder with more gravel or soil. But you need enough slope away from the barn to have a buried pipe carry away the water from the drain system. Otherwise you will need a sump basin to pump the water away.

 

[86Vette]

It may help without the gravel if the soil is sandy, but the gravel under the slab would be a great help to allow water under the slab to flow away from under the slab. In essence you dig a deep ditch around the barn put in shallow layer of gravel, lay in the drain pipe with a silt sock on it and backfill not quite full with gravel, cover with soil fabric and fill remainder with more gravel or soil. But you need enough slope away from the barn to have a buried pipe carry away the water from the drain system. Otherwise you will need a sump basin to pump the water away.

Thanks. I think I will need a sump basin because I don't have much slop away from the building. The people who built it (prior to my ownership) put it on the lowest part of the property without building it up.

 

[Slowgsr]

I'd dig around the barn. 3ft deep or so, put a geotextile in to line the bottom of the ditch. Then I'd use the 4" pvc holes up. And cut the slab in the lowest corner of your building. Dig down and connect to the outside 4" pvc, put holes in your sump pit. Your sump pit will be deep. But it will all be below frost.

Lots of manual labour, and backfill to the top with 3/4 clear.

Then your going to have to pump away to a lower spot. Pumping underground below the frost to daylight would be ideal

 

[Bopbop]

I'd dig around the barn. 3ft deep or so, put a geotextile in to line the bottom of the ditch. Then I'd use the 4" pvc holes up. And cut the slab in the lowest corner of your building. Dig down and connect to the outside 4" pvc, put holes in your sump pit. Your sump pit will be deep. But it will all be below frost.

Lots of manual labour, and backfill to the top with 3/4 clear.

Then your going to have to pump away to a lower spot. Pumping underground below the frost to daylight would be ideal

This is what I was thinking. It is called a foundation drainage system. Usually it is placed inside the slab line. There will be a sump and a pump to pump the water from the system. We see them installed in buildings that have a basement or high water table. I would recommend talking with an engineer from the area you live in. They have most likely seen this problem before

 

[matt_i]

If water is inrushing to your concrete floor it sounds llike you truly have the lowest spot on your property.

There are only two choices.

1) dig a pond at a lower elevation than your barn and allow it to flood. It will probably dry out in summer where you can mow it like grass.

2) pump, as others have mentioned, however its important to pump it over the top of the closest hill so its going to go downhill again on the far side...iow no good to pump it 12ft up the hill on the near side only to have it discharge and run right back down. Maybe its obvious what to do, or maybe you need to spend a little time with a rotary laser level (or transit) doing a survey. Pumping outdoor water requires some Horsepower as it can arrive very fast.

I will say that the ground is frozen and impermeable here and there are lakes in yards and fields that I've never seen in the past 10 years as a result. That of course exacerbates any flooding, Dayton Ohio experienced a mega flood due to these same types of conditions, I want to put it in the 1920s or 30s without consulting resources.