Water pooling in crawlspace trench by foundation
Water pooling in crawlspace trench by foundation
(OP)
Looking for advice on how to fix this issue. I live in an area that has a lot of clay in the soil, which makes water flow pretty easily over the top of the ground. However, my crawlspace is primarily sand, with a plastic sheet over the top of it (pretty standard). The sand used under the plastic sheet is dry under the middle of the house, but it slopes toward the foundation at the perimeter. This has caused what appears to be a trench on 2 of my outer walls, which fills with water whenever it rains.
The landscaping on the opposite side of the foundation, in the yard, is sloped away from the house--in fact the top of the ground outside the foundation is 4" - 6" higher than the 'trenchline' near the foundation in the crawlspace. There is quite a bit of landscaping, which has replaced the normally clay-laden soil with topsoil and such, but even though that soil is high near the house and slopes away from it, the water is finding its way under my house. I've pumped out the standing water, only to see water bubble back through the foundation in once spot--I think I have ground water in the soil outside the foundation that is seeking a low point and finding its way through my foundation to the trench in my crawlspace.
A friend has suggested buying a few tons of sand to blow in and fill the trench around the perimeter, essentially building up the edges of the crawlspace to be higher than the level of soil in the yard, potentially raising the entire level of the crawlspace if need be. Will this work?
The landscaping on the opposite side of the foundation, in the yard, is sloped away from the house--in fact the top of the ground outside the foundation is 4" - 6" higher than the 'trenchline' near the foundation in the crawlspace. There is quite a bit of landscaping, which has replaced the normally clay-laden soil with topsoil and such, but even though that soil is high near the house and slopes away from it, the water is finding its way under my house. I've pumped out the standing water, only to see water bubble back through the foundation in once spot--I think I have ground water in the soil outside the foundation that is seeking a low point and finding its way through my foundation to the trench in my crawlspace.
A friend has suggested buying a few tons of sand to blow in and fill the trench around the perimeter, essentially building up the edges of the crawlspace to be higher than the level of soil in the yard, potentially raising the entire level of the crawlspace if need be. Will this work?





RE: Water pooling in crawlspace trench by foundation
Are you experiencing any settlement problems? Are you concerned about mold? I'm not sure blowing sand into the crawl space will address either.
Other's may differ, however. . .
f-d
¡papá gordo ain't no madre flaca!
RE: Water pooling in crawlspace trench by foundation
RE: Water pooling in crawlspace trench by foundation
RE: Water pooling in crawlspace trench by foundation
RE: Water pooling in crawlspace trench by foundation
Moisture along won't make settlement happen. Heck think of all the wet soils below the ground and the ground isn't sinking. Think of all the embankment dams that have water flowing through them - they don't turn to mud.
Install drain pipe if you want to, but if you are just trying to make it free of standing water, I'd go with your original plan and just place some fill to the grade over the water surface. Just make sure you have your clearance to the floor joists.
f-d
¡papá gordo ain't no madre flaca!
RE: Water pooling in crawlspace trench by foundation
RE: Water pooling in crawlspace trench by foundation
Then, I recall way back when I started in college and my folks bought a house up against a hill. The old house had a shed set in the hill and had open crock in there with standing water, labeled a spring house.
The house itself had a crawl space. In making some modification to the back section, access to the crawl space was made.
Guess what, the full crawl space was a pond. The house had been there maybe 50 years or more and no rotting of floor joists or other problems. Making plumbing repairs in that "crawl-space" pond was not easy. There was no venting that I recall, but a stone foundation that maybe acted like a vent.
My dad dug an intercepting trench around the up-hill part of the house area and, before I knew better, we filled it with rocks. That trench lead to a pond and did drain a little until it plugged up and was not functioning.
Dad died soon after that and the house was sold.
Last I knew the place still had a pond under it and was occupied.
So, why remove the pond?
RE: Water pooling in crawlspace trench by foundation
RE: Water pooling in crawlspace trench by foundation
RE: Water pooling in crawlspace trench by foundation