Question
Hi ,

I am not much familier with the terminology , I have a problem with our backyard .  Our neighbours backyard is kind of raised and ours is at lower level and if it rains heavily the water flows downstream , and we have two wells at one spot which work fine , the problem is the place near the fire place where we have a crawl space in the basement with no wells or any kind of arrangement to vent out the water level , so when there is a heavy rain the water levels increase and the space between the siding and concrete in the building is letting the water into the basement .... . So how to raise the levels in the backyard to match or let the rain water drain some other way out ???

Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks,


Answer
Swapna:

The problem sounds difficult.  You do, however, have two wells, which, I assume, are drained away from the back yard to another drainage site lower on the property.

Raising the yard will only compound the situation at the basement/foundation, placing more water there when a rain event happens.  Without a sketch and a topographic representation of the yard, I can only guess at the grades and solutions.

Installing a drain/well/French drain near the basement foundation and draining it to a lower part of the yard may be an easy solution if you have the proper grade to allow it.  This means that the pipe draining the installed drain will have to find a lower spot to empty the water.

Raising the back yard could work, if there is a swale or surface drain at the property line to make the water flow to another lower point in the yard and away from the house.

This type of work should be done by someone with experience.  You may try to install either type, but be prepared to hire a professional later.

If this situation has been ocurring for a long time, there may be damage to the foundation and you might have to consider water proofing the foundation walls.

Hope this helps.  Best wishes.