Check out some similar questions!

MissG1 · Sep 18, 2011, 03:37 PM

I believe that water is about 3 feet underneath my house. When it rains the water comes through the floor

ballengerb1 · Sep 18, 2011, 04:10 PM

This is not a plumbing question but we will try to help. Tell us more about the home. Is it a slab or crawl space. What type of flooring? Are you in a small low spot or is the entire area around your home low?

MissG1 · Sep 18, 2011, 07:43 PM

It's a crawl space, ceramic tile flooring. Iam not sure I understand your question about small low spot or the area

RickJ · Sep 19, 2011, 05:42 AM

Originally Posted by MissG1

It's a crawl space, ceramic tile flooring. Iam not sure I understand your question about small low spot or the area

He is asking if you have any area BELOW your ground floor... like a basement or crawl space.

It MAY be a drain issue, but you should also check some other things:

Are your gutters all clear? And do they all drain AWAY from your house?

If your gutters drain through an underground pipe to the street, are those underground lines all clear?

To clarify: On what level of your home is the water coming in? And is it coming up through cracks in the floor, or is it coming in through walls?

speedball1 · Sep 19, 2011, 06:04 AM

What the experts are asking for is more dertails. I have a question myself. If your home is built over a crawl space that means the floor's above ground. So how would your tile floor get wet? I can see this happening on a slab but not on a above ground floor. So let's have more details. Regards, Tom

MissG1 · Sep 19, 2011, 06:12 PM

My house is built over marsh land,I am 3 houses away from a canal; the house is basically surrounded by water. The water table beneath the house it about 3 feet maybe less. It's the subsurface groundwater that needs to be controlled, if at all possible.

ballengerb1 · Sep 19, 2011, 06:23 PM

I see no way to drain off high ground water this near a canal. Do what the Dutch do, build a dike. In New Orleans they jack the house up on stilts.

CliffARobinson · Sep 20, 2011, 12:14 PM

I ask this to the experts: Would it be possible to use a Footing Drain around the property, and is it helpful to combine that with an interior french drain?

The footing drain around the outside of the house I understand is usually enough. It is usually trenched at footer level or where your footer would be? I know friends of mine have theirs diverted into a holding tank which they release into the storm drain when it becomes full.

My uncle had to use the interior french drain, their backyard was essentially a 8' patio and then a river. You should see the size of the water rats. He dug it around the inside of the basement and it worked beautifully.

Can you use both, either/or? What do the experts think?

speedball1 · Sep 20, 2011, 01:13 PM

MissG,
When you say "floor" are we talking about a slab or a basement floor? And what type of septic system do you have?
Cliffarobinson asks,

Would it be possible to use a Footing Drain around the property, and is it helpful to combine that with an interior french drain?

Hey! The house was built in a swamp with the water table only three feet beneath the surface. Footer drains, french drains. Sounds great until you began to wonder,
I live in a slab home bounded on two sides by a cannel and Sarasota Bay at 12 feet elevation and I can dig 5 feet down and hit water, But my land slopes to the cannel so I don't have that problem.

Bob had the right idea. Ya don't want water to bubble up out of your floor? Raise your house up on stilts.
Good luck, Tom

massplumber2008 · Sep 20, 2011, 04:24 PM

Hi guys...

It all really depends on just how high the water table is Cliff... ;)

Here, if the water table is only within 3-4 feet of your lowest floor, you can install a perimeter drain (french drain) and a sump pump but if the water table is say only 1-2 feet below the floor you can basically end up with a sump pump that never turns off as you may be trying to practically pump the entire canal at the same time, right? If the pump fails and you have open spots, like the sump pit itself, water can easily flow and finally flood your place so stuff like this can be tough.

Further, when in an area with such high water tables, installing the perimeter drain and the sump pit can take 2-3 pumps running in the ground while excavating and doing the work so jobs like this can be a real bear and expensive.

If this was me, I'd dig down in the lowest spot I'd want to place a sump pump and then I would determine if it made sense to install just a sump pump and pit or if it would make more sense to install the perimeter drain with sump pump and pit. A back up sump pump would also be important here.

If this is in a crawl space, an outside perimeter drain system might make more sense.

Again, the depth of the water table would determine all this for me.

Glad to discuss more if needed...

Mark

ballengerb1 · Sep 20, 2011, 08:29 PM

Guys I see no way to insure this home can ever stay dry. Perimeter drains, sump pumps, French drains (aka) curtain drains all require a slope and low spot, this property has neither. I live on a 15 acre lake that rise 3' over night when we have a "300 year rain." We have had 6 of them in 10 years. When you build in a flood plain you will flood. No sump pump, French drain, curtain drain is going to save you. Raise this home or raze it.