I'd think about the well and then consider a sump pump to push the water either outside or into the system.
If you are planning to cover the area with concrete, you can slope the surface to one side and have a sort of trench along the side. A grate can cover the trench and you can slope the trench toward a small well at one end. The pump can catch the water in the well and get rid of it. ----- Original Message ----- From: Dan Rossi To: Blind Handyman List Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 11:37 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Hydrology OK, so does anyone know anything about hydrology? I have started digging my basement door. I actually got further in 2.5 hours last night than I expected. My concern is drainage of the pit. I will slope the slab away from the house and put at least four inches of gravel under the slab. Here is a question. The slab will be about 24 inches below grade. If I were to use a power auger and bore a couple of 12 inch diameter, three or four foot deep holes at the low end of the slab, (obviously before it is poured), and fill those vertical holes with sand and gravel. And if the upper ends of the shafts were open to the slab. What would happen when it rains? Would water from the surrounding soil just fill the vertical shafts preventing water from the slab to drain into the shafts? That would make the shafts pretty useless. What would happen if I fitted 12 inch diameter PVC pipe down into the shafts, assuming you could find pipe that big. That would prevent water from the surrounding area from flowing into the shafts from the sides, but the bottom would still be open. Does that make any difference? OK, the real real question here is , is there anything I can do to prevent my door pit from becoming a swimming pool? The best solution I can come up with is illegal. The down spouts for the house are tied into the sanitary suer system, the house is grandfathered for the time being. I could try and tie the drain for the pit into the same drainage for the down spouts. I am not allowed to do that, but if no one is looking. dot dot dot. I am willing to do whatever it takes to do it right, it's just a matter of more work and probably a bit more money, I am just not sure what will be the best solution. OK guys, let's hear what you've got. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: [email protected] Tel: (412) 268-9081 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
