Solving Yard Water Damage: Installing Drainage System to Redirect Rainwater

The water battle between me and the rain water is still going on, the yard slopes to the guest house which had much water damage below the flooring, Karen and I both worked in the crawlspace sealing the walls and installing new water vapor, along with new floor joists and new 3/4″ sub flooring.

The problem is the rain water drains into the porch crawl area only to seep into the “new” area and lays on top of the new plastic which is taped at the seams and has nowhere to drain other than the sump pump I installed years ago.

Now I’m mad and have gone with ‘plan C’. The porch ground both at the steps and the side leans to the rear of the property, I’ve been digging a ditch below the porch area that will allow the water to exit out the side, after digging down below the ground I have knocked out some bricks water was already coming out with the 1st brick removed, next I installed a 8″ X 10 foot drainage pipe turning it towards the lower ground at the ravine area that runs water drainage from the farm land behind me.

Now we wait to test it after some heavy rain.

Update, Looks like this is working, rain water has been collecting below the porch away from the crawl space walls and going out the side.

Update 7/28/2023 Well even after heavy rains the rain water is flowing below the porch and not getting into the crawl, all my other attempts had failed, the key point is if your yard slopes to the house instead of away from it you must divert the water away. I chose the trench method as the cost of getting heavy machinery out here to grade the yard would had been very expensive.

“Progress and Updates on Guest House Renovations, Including New Flooring, Trim, and More”

Guest house work still left to finish is the drywall the flooring to the edges, all the trim, lots of sanding of the drywall compound and painting, along with a new breakfast island which I am still thinking about, plus I will add a back door so it has a second way in and out, Karen thinks I come up with some good ideas and let’s me run with it.

What is done and can’t be seen is the replacement of 5 floor joists, all new OSB subfloor, repairing the joists that are logs from over 200 years ago, crawlspace encapsulation with dehumidifier new concrete piers lot’s of wiring repairs that were first added in the 80’s; Plumbing and wall insulation added where it had none, a look back will show you the early stages click here.

I have been on a vacation of sorts for several reasons, cold temps, Thanksgiving, Christmas and just needed a break from this, plus the truck and Jeep needed work as issues arose with both.

I’m looking forward to the completion as other projects in the main house need to be addressed along with trips to that crawlspace (I hate crawlspaces).