Calling all plumbers and other DIYers

[iamwhatiseem]

So here is my issue. Our house is "one story" but has a finished whole basement, so essentially 2 stories.
On the west side of the house is the entrance to the walk out basement that was dug down in the 60s.
Ever since we poured gravel for a parking spot for my Mother who lives down there... when it rains heavy water builds up. It did not do that before the gravel. I was going to pour concrete, but seeing how the water builds up with gravel... yeah.. concrete would be worse.
I got a contractor to put in a french drain behind the retaining wall... $1,800... did nothing. So I dug a sump pump hole and ran a line under the gravel to pour out in the alley. Works awesome.
Problem... winter. The pipe freezes. So I have to have a 2nd hose I lay on top of gravel, take back off when it gets cold..back on... pain in the ass!! I can't dig a trench deep enough because of the incline... just trust me on that.
Any suggestions??
I was thinking maybe heat tape... but don't think that would work well with PVC?

 

[Moonglow]

So here is my issue. Our house is "one story" but has a finished whole basement, so essentially 2 stories.
On the west side of the house is the entrance to the walk out basement that was dug down in the 60s.
Ever since we poured gravel for a parking spot for my Mother who lives down there... when it rains heavy water builds up. It did not do that before the gravel. I was going to pour concrete, but seeing how the water builds up with gravel... yeah.. concrete would be worse.
I got a contractor to put in a french drain behind the retaining wall... $1,800... did nothing. So I dug a sump pump hole and ran a line under the gravel to pour out in the alley. Works awesome.
Problem... winter. The pipe freezes. So I have to have a 2nd hose I lay on top of gravel, take back off when it gets cold..back on... pain in the ass!! I can't dig a trench deep enough because of the incline... just trust me on that.
Any suggestions??
I was thinking maybe heat tape... but don't think that would work well with PVC?

I use heat tape and it works for me on PVC. What size are you using?

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I use heat tape and it works for me on PVC. What size are you using?

1 1/2"

 

[Moonglow]

1 1/2"

Should work ok.

 

[sparky]

Perhaps a foot valve , along with simple gravity?

~S~

 

[1srelluc]

Heat tape will be fine for that application.

 

[sparky]

Heat tape will be fine for that application.

It can cause problems

~S~

 

[Concerned American]

So here is my issue. Our house is "one story" but has a finished whole basement, so essentially 2 stories.
On the west side of the house is the entrance to the walk out basement that was dug down in the 60s.
Ever since we poured gravel for a parking spot for my Mother who lives down there... when it rains heavy water builds up. It did not do that before the gravel. I was going to pour concrete, but seeing how the water builds up with gravel... yeah.. concrete would be worse.
I got a contractor to put in a french drain behind the retaining wall... $1,800... did nothing. So I dug a sump pump hole and ran a line under the gravel to pour out in the alley. Works awesome.
Problem... winter. The pipe freezes. So I have to have a 2nd hose I lay on top of gravel, take back off when it gets cold..back on... pain in the ass!! I can't dig a trench deep enough because of the incline... just trust me on that.
Any suggestions??
I was thinking maybe heat tape... but don't think that would work well with PVC?

Sounds like you made a pool for the water when you put the gravel down- The ground close to the house doesn't freeze so it goes toward the heat. I think your idea of putting concrete in might be the solution as the concrete would fill the depression that contains the gravel so there would be no place for the water to pool. Good luck. I hope this might have been helpful.

 

[sparky]

Is there a central drain out to the perimeter drain Mr Seems ?

~S~

 

[1srelluc]

It can cause problems

~S~

How so....Asking for knowledge.

 

[toobfreak]

I got a contractor to put in a french drain behind the retaining wall...

That was a stupid idea. You keep circle-jerking around the actual problem with kludges rather than fix the actual CAUSE of the water accumulating in the first place.

 

[1srelluc]

That was a stupid idea. You keep circle-jerking around the actual problem with kludges rather than fix the actual CAUSE of the water accumulating in the first place.

Are you proposing that he call on Devine intervention?

 

[eagle1462010]

Heat Trace can be different wattages. 5 watts per foot, 10 watts ......etc...........You only need just enough to stop the freeze. 5 watts is not that much power. Will not hurt the pvc and just put a thermostat switch on it.

 

[toobfreak]

Are you proposing that he call on Devine intervention?

No, just that the solution to the OP's problem was staring him in the face and instead, he has now gone on this wild goose chase spending thousands and still chasing the problem with kludges and patches.

 

[sparky]

How so....Asking for knowledge.

mostly cuz folks do not install it properly 1surelluc

~S~

 

[eagle1462010]

 

[1stNickD]

So here is my issue. Our house is "one story" but has a finished whole basement, so essentially 2 stories.
On the west side of the house is the entrance to the walk out basement that was dug down in the 60s.
Ever since we poured gravel for a parking spot for my Mother who lives down there... when it rains heavy water builds up. It did not do that before the gravel. I was going to pour concrete, but seeing how the water builds up with gravel... yeah.. concrete would be worse.
I got a contractor to put in a french drain behind the retaining wall... $1,800... did nothing. So I dug a sump pump hole and ran a line under the gravel to pour out in the alley. Works awesome.
Problem... winter. The pipe freezes. So I have to have a 2nd hose I lay on top of gravel, take back off when it gets cold..back on... pain in the ass!! I can't dig a trench deep enough because of the incline... just trust me on that.
Any suggestions??
I was thinking maybe heat tape... but don't think that would work well with PVC?

Cannot provide a good answer without looking at it, no one truly can. pay a callout fee for a reputable contractor to come out and listen to your idea and they can tell you if it will work. They may even be able to give you a better solution or give you a bid on their own solution that will come with guarantee that your water problem is solved. Fire, insects and water are your homes biggest enemy; I wouldn't cut a corner on anything related to those issues.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Maybe this helps... The Driveway is about 60' long.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

The two dark areas are retaining walls.
On the Alley there is one of those "humps" that doesn't allow water to flow in.
So as you can see - it is essentially a "bowl".
But it did not pool water till we laid the gravel. We did not grate for the driveway, so we did not dig deeper.

 

[Blues Man]

So here is my issue. Our house is "one story" but has a finished whole basement, so essentially 2 stories.
On the west side of the house is the entrance to the walk out basement that was dug down in the 60s.
Ever since we poured gravel for a parking spot for my Mother who lives down there... when it rains heavy water builds up. It did not do that before the gravel. I was going to pour concrete, but seeing how the water builds up with gravel... yeah.. concrete would be worse.
I got a contractor to put in a french drain behind the retaining wall... $1,800... did nothing. So I dug a sump pump hole and ran a line under the gravel to pour out in the alley. Works awesome.
Problem... winter. The pipe freezes. So I have to have a 2nd hose I lay on top of gravel, take back off when it gets cold..back on... pain in the ass!! I can't dig a trench deep enough because of the incline... just trust me on that.
Any suggestions??
I was thinking maybe heat tape... but don't think that would work well with PVC?

Why don't you just pipe the sump pump to your homes black water pipes and pump the water into the sewer or septic system?

There's no buried pipes to worry about and freezing will never be an issue