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Started By
Message
Standing water under raised house
Posted on 2/11/16 at 9:05 am
Posted on 2/11/16 at 9:05 am
I figured one of you may be able to help me out. I have a raised house I'm trying to sell in the Southdowns area of Baton Rouge and it has spots that hold water. I've got a potential buyer, but they want me to address those low spots. The crawl space isn't very tall and it needs more than a few shovel loads slung under there. How to people fix that and what type of company, or who, would I call for that? Do they make a blower of some sort that can blow sand or river silt under a house? I'm at a loss as to where to start. I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks!
Posted on 2/11/16 at 9:07 am to Slim Chance
You stop the water from getting under there and let it dry out. Do you have gutters? That usually stops it by forcing the rainwater away from the foundation.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 9:09 am to Slim Chance
I have foundation issues due to my house not draining properly. Ive put alot of money into shimming/bracing/leveling and to no avail it is settling again. The other option that I was told was to put an electronic fan system installed in strategic spots around the perimeter of my house to push/pull against each other and create a constant draft to dry the bottom of the house and pull the moisture out. That may be an option for you.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 9:15 am to CadesCove
It has gutters, but it still gets under there. It has a very large covered deck on the back and there's several inches that pool under that. I really need to figure a way to raise the level under the house and deck so it won't run in there. The way the yard is laid out, it would be real difficult to grade it lower. And that's the problem, the soil under the house/deck is lower than the yard.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 9:16 am to Slim Chance
If it makes you feel better it is a very common problem for people with raised houses in BR. Couple of options that I've run across:
-install a sump and a sump pump under the house with a permanent electrical supply.
-install a drain from under the house to a low spot somewhere nearby (usually there is a low 'trench' between lots in the older areas of BR). This can be as simple as a plastic 4" perforated, corrugated drain pipe that you trench away from the house.
-roof gutters (apparently a pain in the arse if there are any trees around)
-install more drainage in your yard to pull rainwater away from the house
Good luck. I installed a pipe running from under the house to the trench between mine and my neighbors yard, but I was younger and dumber at the time and only put in 1" PVC. It might take a couple of days after a hard rain but at least it's not constantly holding water anymore, and it dries out pretty good if it's not raining all the time.
-install a sump and a sump pump under the house with a permanent electrical supply.
-install a drain from under the house to a low spot somewhere nearby (usually there is a low 'trench' between lots in the older areas of BR). This can be as simple as a plastic 4" perforated, corrugated drain pipe that you trench away from the house.
-roof gutters (apparently a pain in the arse if there are any trees around)
-install more drainage in your yard to pull rainwater away from the house
Good luck. I installed a pipe running from under the house to the trench between mine and my neighbors yard, but I was younger and dumber at the time and only put in 1" PVC. It might take a couple of days after a hard rain but at least it's not constantly holding water anymore, and it dries out pretty good if it's not raining all the time.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 9:16 am to Slim Chance
There are companies that can pump sand. Don't recall any names, but when I was in the house raising industry we used a few of them
Posted on 2/11/16 at 9:17 am to Slim Chance
And if you need to drain it out to begin with so you can get under there, I used a 12V bilge pump and a car battery. Took it a while but it did the job.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 9:20 am to bootlegger
What would I search for in yellow pages or Google? Sand pumpers, landscape companies, backhoe/dirt work? That's kind of where I'm at a loss.
And yes, this house is like many in Southdowns area. It's probably 75 years old and it's real low under it.
And yes, this house is like many in Southdowns area. It's probably 75 years old and it's real low under it.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 9:23 am to Slim Chance
You're gonna have to get river sand pumped into the low spots
Posted on 2/11/16 at 9:42 am to Slim Chance
Foundation guys or supervise some Mexicans
Posted on 2/11/16 at 10:44 am to Slim Chance
quote:
I've got a potential buyer, but they want me to address those low spots.
Tell them you will give them $2k instead of fixing it. They'll take it.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 11:00 am to Slim Chance
Depends on what is causing the issue. Could be as simple as grading your lot, or more in depth like adding a sump pump
Posted on 2/11/16 at 11:01 am to Slim Chance
Only real fix is to turtleback the entire footprint of the house. Get you some dirt/sand and a six pack of mexicans and get after it.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 1:05 pm to Slim Chance
I have the exact same issue with a house I'm trying to sell in BR. Previous owners had closed off the front and one of the sides restricting air flow under the house. Now it holds water and has had issues with rot. I had to rip up flooring and replace a bunch of joists a few years back. It sucks arse.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 1:23 pm to Slim Chance
We payed someone to deal with this a few years ago, in hindsight I would have done it myself had I known what I was looking at.
What these guys did was crawl under the house and put up a couple of string levels. Then they pulled the sod up from the high spots in the yard and hauled the dirt to the low spots under the house via a plastic tray looking thing and a rope. Looked like a pain in the arse but get a friend or two and you should be able to knock it out in an afternoon. Ours still gets a few wet spots from run off from the driveway and a small area where the back yard drains under the house but it doesn't seem to hold any more moister. There isn't much we can do about the run off areas it's just something we have to live with.
edit- I forgot to mention that air flow under the house is more important than the low spots. You're always going to have a little water get under there, it's just a matter of how fast it dries up.
What these guys did was crawl under the house and put up a couple of string levels. Then they pulled the sod up from the high spots in the yard and hauled the dirt to the low spots under the house via a plastic tray looking thing and a rope. Looked like a pain in the arse but get a friend or two and you should be able to knock it out in an afternoon. Ours still gets a few wet spots from run off from the driveway and a small area where the back yard drains under the house but it doesn't seem to hold any more moister. There isn't much we can do about the run off areas it's just something we have to live with.
edit- I forgot to mention that air flow under the house is more important than the low spots. You're always going to have a little water get under there, it's just a matter of how fast it dries up.
This post was edited on 2/11/16 at 1:26 pm
Posted on 2/11/16 at 1:54 pm to Barf
quote:
edit- I forgot to mention that air flow under the house is more important than the low spots. You're always going to have a little water get under there, it's just a matter of how fast it dries up.
That another good point. do not neglect this or your floors will look like mine. I don't even want to tell you the cost of repairs for 2500 sq feet of custom cut wood floors.
Posted on 2/11/16 at 2:12 pm to Slim Chance
Easy, just figure a way to dig a small trench thru the higher areas (a ditch) and run it towards the lower end of your lit. Once the water can move, it will. Basically, maybe it's not "low" spots, but higher spots holding the water in. Happens from years of landscaping around the house
Posted on 2/11/16 at 3:06 pm to Slim Chance
I had the same problem and did what cadescove suggested, created a 12" high by 4' wide sloping berm around the house that directed the water away from the house. Couple of loads of top soil for the berm and a pallet of St. Aug grass to prevent erosion of the berm. I left a 6" space between the top of the berm and the house for ventilation. The soil under the house completely dried out in 2-3 months. Re-leveled the house and have not had a problem with moisture under the house or settling since.
Not a big fan of gutters UNLESS you keep them cleaned out...
Not a big fan of gutters UNLESS you keep them cleaned out...
This post was edited on 2/11/16 at 3:19 pm
Posted on 3/22/18 at 4:35 pm to Barf
Do you have a picture of the plastic tray or could you explain how it looks or how it was built. I have a load of top soil to put under a shed that is about 2 1/2' off the ground.
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