Man, I'm so glad you took the trouble to film this and talk your way through it. Your situation mirrors mine almost perfectly and I think this is the solution I'm going to peruse.
Thanks a lot Box5150! A project like this can be done as a DIYer and save you thousands of dollars. In my situation I had to wait for the dry time of year for the final digging, which is July, August, and September. I had a period of time where in 2 months I only had about 2 inches of rain. I sure hope it works out okay for you! Have a good one and stay safe!
We had a similar problem in black forest, colorado years ago, however, we didnot dig near the footer, but 10 away...We solved nothing (sad face). Anyway fast forward 12 years, now in upstate new york with a basment. I am wondering how deep I have to dig this, the water seems only to be seeping in on the north side of the house...
@@MikeSheasheaDtree like he showed you are going to have to get your entire drainage pipe below your slab or beside the lower portion of your footer if you want to be safe! much luck to you!
Same, this is the best video about this because it just.. exists. It's like hanging out for the day with a neighbor and going "damn I'm doing that at my place now too"
No one would know this was your 1st time except you told us! Excellent research and thorough craftsmanship in how you put it all together! I hope it gives you many years of a dry basement or crawlspace! :) Much Success to You!
Just wanted to add that I like the many viewers that you see here really appreciate you taking the time to put together an "Idiot Proof " video all while trying to figure out how you were going to complete this project on your own no less. Thank you so much sir and yes, I did subscribe and will keep in touch!
Good work. As a homeowner, we actually don't want to be doing this stuff ourselves. But we have to. When I did mine, I could watch the pipes going into the sump and the water absolutely poured out of the pipes into the sump. Really satisfying. I was lucky, I could run an outlet pipe to road storm water, so no sump pump required.
Thanks Breen! That is a good situation when you can run the discharge to a road ditch or storm drain and allow good old gravity to do all the work. Have a good one!
This. I love doing these projects but sometimes I want to have someone else do it if I'm busy. The problem isn't that I'm not willing to pay...the problem is that these companies these days have no business ethic. You can call them and they say they will be there but never show up. Well, this is the case in the country where I live.
A massive ty! I saw what looked like a natural spring coming from beneath the foundation of my house this morning. It's water entering from the rear and under my foundation. I'm pretty sure you cleared this up for me! Ty, again!
Mate, honestly that is one cool video! Thanks very much for capturing all that and narrating each step. Out of all the videos on this subject I’ve watched yours is right at the top 👌🍻
Thank you!!! Just bought our first house and I’m currently dealing with this problem after all the hurricanes that went through South Carolina. We have a crawlspace sump pump but I’m looking at doing this project to help out our drainage a bit more.
You can have one. Below the frost line and no check valve so the entire discharge line drains back into the pit so it will not freeze. There are companies that will put a well outside and simply drain off the interior pit to the exterior pit.
Sir, you are an incredible teacher and, you know your subject thoroughly. This is one of the best tutorials I have seen on any subject. General contractors take note; this, is how a job should be done.
24:31 watching that water streaming in and everything working as it should be is so satisfying. Great video and great job. That's pretty damn good for your first rodeo. :)
It sure was satisfying! Another thing that is extremely satisfying is people like you, who watch and leave comments like this one! I really appreciate the time you took to watch and comment. Stay safe!
Excellent work and video. I had the same sub-surface water intrusion problem and did nearly exactly the same as you, and also dug by hand 60 feet of trench around three sides of the house, dug down about 8 to 10 inches below the footer. I sealed the walls with Blackjack 57. I laid one row of the NDS bubble-wrap quick-drain pipe along along the footer, plus a second row of the slotted black corrugated pipe wrapped in a sleeve alongside of the bubble wrap pipe. So, a "double-barrel" french drain. I used minimal gravel (wish I used more), and wrapped everything in landscape fabric. It all runs to a sump pump about 10 feet from the house and discharges 40 more feet to the street. It's held up great for four years, but we haven't had any torrential, prolonged rain. Though, two weeks ago we got 6 inches over a 36-hour period and I had about two hand--fulls of water in my lower level laundry room.
This pretty much mirrors my situation I'm currently in. Thank you very much, might be the best video I've watched on footers drains. It will be very helpful in the next month or two.
Where I'm from we put a sheet of 5mil poly on top of rubber membrane when it's still sticky, then put a dimpled plastic sheeting screwed to wall on top. The dimpling product, dimpled toward wall to allow any residue water to fall to footing, helps keep water from getting to the wall from the backfill through hydrostatic pressure. We also fill with 3/4" to 1" locking aggregate around drain/ weep pipe because it resists infiltration from clay and compaction, and allows good drain to weep pipe. We also fill gravel to top of dimpled membrane leaving a border around house so clay does not migrate to weep pipe that can be dressed with peastone. God bless.
Really really like the video. thank you. My house is been around for a while (20+ year). Washington state near Vancouver BC. Lots of rain. never water issues. until now. we had no neighbors and we had basically a forest around us full of 50 ft cedars. each one takes up a ton of water. Well a couple of years ago we got two neighbors, they cut their trees. no more forest. and now I have tons of water in the crawl space. put a sump pump there and now doing trench work in the crawl space to move the water around to sump pump. hard work in a tight space. Called professionals and one firm wants 50k+ to incapcilate the crawl space and 25k to do traditional sump pump, trench, and water bearier. Auch. the other company wants much much less but they don't do the trench work. bla bla bla... just do it yourself. What I like about this is that it is outside where it is easier to dig. The house should be dry as it will be an island between your mote. Also like the idea of test holes. Likely do not need to do the whole house. Plus the sump pump will not be under someone's bedroom humming all night long. One area of concern digging outside is all the utility hook ups. The call B4 you dig people only mark things up to the meter which in some cases is at the house (good ) but not in others (bad). Might need to get a private location service. I have the blue prints for the house so I have a general idea of where the lines are not but in the areas where I know they are, the drawings may or may not be exact, to scale etc. Cost of private location service around here is $500 as they come out from Seattle (a couple of hours away)
Thanks for this video. I have spent a lot of time researching this problem just like you have. Home inspectors often do not look for this kind of thing you pretty much have to do the investigations on your own.
Hi tee kay! You are right in that you are on your own in these kind of "water" projects. Also as you go out and seek opinions and recommendations....no two will be alike! Thanks for watching!
Truly a great video. No messing about, to the point, and honest about your mistakes. Thanks for making videos that we can all learn from. Much appreciated!
hey just want to say this video is great, very clean job on the project itself and super well edited. very easy to follow and very concise. keep up the great work.
I like to use a sump switch called level guard. A little pricey but it lets you pick at what point the pump turns on. If you use it in that pump just be sure to permanently engage the float switch on it. Nice work!
Hi Matthew and thanks for watching and commenting! The Level Guard is real high on my "to get" list. I can add about 8 inches of water to the kick on level and that would take hundreds of short cycles off the Zoeller. Thanks again!
You had a real problem, proper weeping tile would have done the job but some people just won't spend the money. You did good, thanks for sharing your solution and work.
It *is* amazing what sorts of "archaeology" you get into when you start digging. "Well, I don't want to pay any dump fees, so I'll just get rid of this scrap metal, tile, brick, concrete, whatever..." :-( Thanks for the video!
I have two springs draining off my hill in My back yard. Every time it rains there is a swamp off my back porch. Just cut my hill back from my house 35 feet and tapped into both of the springs. Brought in a lot of 57 stone and poured a 1x2 footer, built a 5 foot retaining wall on top and a two layered double french drain. All 6" pipe to catch spring water and run off. Flattened out my hill above the retaining wall to slow the flow off the hill, and built a drain into my patio. All that to say I wish I would have put a sump in at one end. Also to say....man, you have a lot of WATER around your house and I can relate to how much work it is when working in solid clay.
This is cosmic. I did almost the same thing to my southern Indiana home in 2001. Difference was 1) I used schedule 40 drain tile instead of corrugated, 2) installed clean outs so I could flush out tiles if the ever got plugged for some reason 3) hauled away excavated dirt and completely replaced it with the washed river rock to ground level. The rest is almost exactly as shown in this video. Was still working great 7 years later when I moved out of state in 2008.
You might want to drill a 1/4 inch hole into the discharge pipe about 2 inches above the pump. If you get an air bubble in the pump volute, this small hole will give the air a place to escape. You also might want to tie a string onto the float arm so you can tug the string and test the pump.
One trick to avoid the short cycles is to use a timer, we use one that plugs into the power socket of the pump cable in the house. The timer is set to 20 minutes, which is enough for the sump to fill up...
This is what I use to stop the frequent cycling. You can space the sensors as far apart in your sump as you want. It comes on when the top sensor comes in contact with water and off when the bottom sensor is not submerged any more. I also have the time sensor for an in ground trampoline, works beautifully. HydroCheck Sump Pump Float Switch with Hi-Lo Dual Sensors and Built-in Alarms
very good video and your method of deduction was excellent. and yes. every house and the area is different but you have done a excellent job. remember to do the maint on the pump since it will during rainy season short cycle. I am very impressed at what you have done. as a licensed plumber and builder, I find so many lots that are built too low due to buildup costs and no fore thought put into keep the foundation from becoming saturated. Well done!
I've probably watched over a hundred of Chuck's Apple Drain videos but I've got to admit this install is absolutely top-notch.. If Chuck ever sees your install he's going to be very impressed! One thing Chuck doesn't do much is show the system in action during a massive storm. Hopefully a huge storm comes in and you can show off a bone dry crawl space. BTW - you come across as a nerdy farmer, which is to say you sound like you've got a really high IQ combined with a "I'll figure it out" attitude. I suspect you'd do really well if you lived here in Silicon Valley.
Hi Donald! I appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment on this video. I will in fact, show a follow up video in the spring and include photos of water in the crawlspace. After this install, the Kentuckiana area went through the driest August and September and half of October since 1875. During those 75 days at my house, we got less than 2 inches of rain. Crops suffered, but late season soybeans suffered the most. Have a great 2020!
You may very well have a point, to me as a Brit he encompasses rural America, and the capability of taking on any task, and actually succeeding. As I result I’m fascinated by things like this. And as the Apple Drains man himself says, ‘If you believe in yourself, you can do it’. Not a bad adage to live your life by. Best of luck to the farming community worldwide, and to everyone affected by adverse weather, and water.
most farmers are incredibly nerdy individuals. they might speak with an accent or drawl, but they are some intelligent mother fuckers. You cant be a dummy and manage that kind of cluster fuck well enough to make it turn a buck.
One of the best video's I have seen on this process. Thanks for your time spent making it and the clarity you gave while creating the video. Most people can't succeed at it like you have in making this type of tutorial and that is exactly what this is. Take a bow.
Hi Mo and thanks for watching and commenting! I watched all I could on UA-cam and even then, you have to read between the lines. Lots of videos show drain tile work but in sandy soil and I'm in heavy clay. Only time will tell! Have a great 2020!
I do a lot of slip repair and french drains with what I do and as far as being spot on to how things should be done according to the codes we have to follow and how they want them done french drain man on here does it the best. If you ever have to do this again or another one I suggest you watch his videos. Best of luck!
Hi garagekeys and thanks for watching! I just saw that remote adjustable float while searching for short cycle info and I'll be digging into that this summer.
I love it, very nice presentation, Thank you for posting and sharing, I have a house with the same issue, I never thought about putting the Sump pump outside.
nice work. learned a little and was entertaining. those trenches magically dug themselves. it was weird just seeing the updates and none of the work. made it look easier then it was for sure.
Good job! I've been watching videos for a while now getting ideas. You're right, no two are the same. I'm in the northeast (NJ) but it's been raining a lot, the weather pattern has changed. I'll be installing a yard drain system soon. thanks for the video and good luck with your system.
Ty. Great job. I want to do the same but a 16x16 deck sits on top of my back wall. So I have to think of another way to stop the water. I will run new pipe for my 4 gutters in the ground. You sure saved a ton of money.
You did a good job that’s the way to stick it to the man and that clamp is fine and if you have to change the pump that’s the way to go plumber here 38 years and you did good
Very, very, well done video! Liked the way you talked on point about each section you were doing. Even on good videos the people stray and talk about other things and it dilutes what you really need to hear. You did a high quality job, very informative video.
I did a similar work to put a drain and sump pit in for an "english basement" cement block foundation in clay very similar to yours. I found a service that sprayed a tar sealer with cut strands of fiberglass to put a outer waterproofing coating on foundations, that seemed to work well. I used a landscaping drain membrane, 4" slit corrugated drainage pipe that had a pre-installed filter sock on it, #6 washed stone with no fines like you used (costs more but is best choice) and all has worked well for 25 years now, and my village plumbing inspector said I did better work than most contractors he has seen. I dug in a 4" PVC DWV pipe to the rear of my lot to a low spot, and installed a drywell pit that can also discharge out of the top if it has a severe intake due to my house gutters & sump pump connecting to it ( but it never has) I don't know why you didn't just use the regular 4" slit corrugated with a sock , and lined and covered the trenches with membrane for all of your work, but it was your choice I guess. You could also connect that discharge to a 8" X 8" drain grate ( and maybe a small section of slit drainage tubing with stone going to it) to let it drain by overflow, and restore that dug up area to its local grade, I hope it works well for your efforts
Thank you, your video was so helpful. Our house has no footer drain and this design would totally work for our house. We will try to install one just like this in the summer.
Great job. I had a similar set up and ended up raising my pump a bit higher from the bottom with more blocks and reduced the cycling frequency. It’s remarkable how much water the Zoeller pumps out.
Nice work on the project and on the video. I have had similar issues with water filling up inside crawlspace around the foundation, very similar situation to your's. This issue with my new built home was that the foundations on front side of house are about 4 feet below grade and topography of yard allowed water to flow towards the house. After the blocks for my house were laid, they back-filled the soil against the block work, with no drains or any type of water-proofing. That soft back fill zone, that had previously been the trench around the block work, extends out about 4 feet from the block wall perimeter of house, and the soft soil tends to settle over the years. It's still settling after 20 years living here. When rain over-flows gutters, or runs off side of house and falls directly on this soft back-filled zone, it can easily percolates right down to the foundation and comes into the crawlspace. I actually think that may be where a lot of your water was coming from, though you said it wasn't coming from above and was subsurface. My first successful low budget project to stop all water from coming into crawlspace involved berming or ramping up the soil against house and re-sloping the grade so water would flow quickly away from the house without any pooling. Most importantly, on top of the back-filled zone (now sloped) I laid down a heavy duty pond liner material or black plastic, and then concreted it against the block work so there was no gap for surface water to percolate downward. This surface liner extended out from the side of house by at least 5 feet to fully create a non-permeable membrane over the entire soft back-fill zone. I also dug ditches to carry the water away from house faster and later extended the membrane area. My method kept the crawlspace very dry for many years, but as the soil continues to settle in that soft back-fill zone around the perimeter of the house, an air space of several inches right at the house wall developed between membrane and soil as the grade continues to slowly settle. The concrete and plastic degraded or broke way and there is now a gaps and slop issues in spots. So I'll have to re-do some sections. But overall it's been an effective and cheap way to stop the water filling the foundation zone. I've seen a lot of houses with similar issues that could be remedied with this same simple cheap method. Nevertheless, I'm not a fan of crawlspaces. I think my next house will be like one you might see at the beach...built on pilings. lol
I was looking for a solution for a quarter as big a problem needing a quarter as much work but I enjoyed your explanation and appreciated how thorough you were that I watched the whole thing and subscribed. I’ll definitely be using this video for reference as I get started on my own project.
Grade the soil where the water can't get near the foundation. Unless you have a rising ground water issue. Yup you have a ground water issue. Great video sir!!
Nice, I put a sump in my crawl space and then plumbed the discharge into a 60 ft hand dug gutter downspout run. First time it rained I had to go watch the discharge for my gutter downspout. Strangely satisfying
Excellent to show us the final flow, I am always wondering how all the various video installs work in real life after a rain. Now i want to see a video of a tile French drain system that is blocked and causing flooding in a basement and how the person used a camera system to find block, jet it out and restore an old tired system.
I watched a ton of videos on this ,including Chuck from Apple drain all very informative. I must say, you really did a great job on the whole thing start to finish .The way you explain it all so clear and to the point was captivating and no bs.Your honesty is what we appreciate too, not nany people can do that. You said your 1st rodeo, but you made that job look like you've done it 1,500 times. Im having to do the same thing, Im confused on doing inside or outside of my wall? I have full access to crawel space, new build, no floor yet. Thank you!
If it's not too late, I would talk to some contractors in your area on advice for coating inside or outside of the blocks. I like the concept of outside coating just because it will prevent lots of moisture and even subsurface water from migrating inside the blocks. Thanks for watching and good luck!
Very nicely done-both drain and video. I’m glad you took the time to film and insert the short splices. The hub in the basin is a good idea in case maintenance is needed. Also good idea to wrap the NDS and the #8 seems to let water through just fine.
Yeah! You have a real problem there PM! Nice job putting in the sump pump. It looks like it's going to work good for you! Keep me updated on how well it works. Have a good week!
Thanks John! So far so good! I have to run permanent 120 volt power next year to that outside corner of the house and not sure how to go about it yet. I'll check on codes before I start but no hurry on that job. Take care!
Had to do something similar years ago. We put 1-2" polystyrene sheets between the tar paint on the walls and backfill to protect it/ stop it getting scraped. 5 years on it seems to be working still.
Excellent video! Very well explained. You took a lot of things into consideration. Will have to check standing water issue in our soil too. We live in TN and have clay soil. We have to fix our gutters first. Soil grading is also a huge issue. People we bought the house from did some weird landscaping and did not maintain the gutters. Getting water in the crawl space and basement. I’d rather do it myself because I trust my own work. Thanks for the video!
Helluva job, and dug by hand no less. I have water issues on my land in Fl, not up against the house luckily. Every time it rains I'm out in the yard watching where the water goes, so I get it, lol.
I have to tell you, this is one of the most educational video's on this subject I've ever seen. A neighbor has a similar problem and I'm going to be helping him fix it and your video came along at the right time. Your plan was just good old fashion common sense and it worked well and I will incorporate most of your ideas into my neighbors project. Thank you!
Excellent. Just completed a similar job on my house for the same reasons. The ground water flow is amazing. I won’t know for a month or two if I’m done or whether I’ll need more work. Thanks for taking the time to show your work.
great job! I have a lot smaller problem with water here in AZ. The last couple days over 2 inches of rain, unheard of for us, thinking of something similar for our monsoon season. Thanks for taking the time and effort for posting.
Joshua Guenin my apologies, not sure how I missed it. Great job. Looking forward to an update video down the road on how things are preforming. I have the same pump going 3 years strong for me
Thanks Ben, these Zoellers are supposed to have a good life span. If I can get 5 to 7 years out of it, I'll go ahead and put in a new one just as a preventive maintenance thing. Stay safe!
Hello from Finland. Well done with that draining system. I am making a big reconstruction to my house and even though I did not have such an issue with water I made almost identical system. I had to use pump well because there goes small river next to house and couple times a year the water rises so much that it would be impossible to let the draining system flow by it self.
Hi brilliant 👏 I my self have built a timber frame extension. Heavy clay footings. A high watertable area in a wet winter. Started as you done before seeing your video. It's given me great confidence in what I decided to do before I back to back filling my footings . Good video good advice 👍cheers from old boy from over the water. Tim
You did a great, hard job. Thank you for sharing this video which is pain itself to record while fighting hard task. I wanted to suggest where drain pipe making 90 degree out of well, instead of sharp 90 elbow go with longer smooth 90. Should be easier on pump and better flow out of well.
I work for NDS. I am impressed with the solution that you installed. I would guess that you watched some of the videos from Chuck at Apple Drains. Great design and installation.
Hi Brad and thank you for watching! I watched Chuck and The French Drain Man for probably dozens of hours total time watched. Both deal in more sandy soil than me so there's that to deal with. Both those guys are the best in the business.
Well done and very good narration. Very informative and youve done a few things i would not think about, so you tought me something! thank you and i will implement it if troubled by water intake in crawlspace or basement. Thumbs up !
“So I had this brainstorm! I don’t get many” 😂 dude literally speaks for every guy in the world when he said that lol! Excellent video.
Thank you so much for watching and commenting!
Man, I'm so glad you took the trouble to film this and talk your way through it. Your situation mirrors mine almost perfectly and I think this is the solution I'm going to peruse.
Thanks a lot Box5150! A project like this can be done as a DIYer and save you thousands of dollars. In my situation I had to wait for the dry time of year for the final digging, which is July, August, and September. I had a period of time where in 2 months I only had about 2 inches of rain.
I sure hope it works out okay for you!
Have a good one and stay safe!
We had a similar problem in black forest, colorado years ago, however, we didnot dig near the footer, but 10 away...We solved nothing (sad face). Anyway fast forward 12 years, now in upstate new york with a basment. I am wondering how deep I have to dig this, the water seems only to be seeping in on the north side of the house...
@@MikeSheasheaDtree like he showed you are going to have to get your entire drainage pipe below your slab or beside the lower portion of your footer if you want to be safe! much luck to you!
Same, this is the best video about this because it just.. exists. It's like hanging out for the day with a neighbor and going "damn I'm doing that at my place now too"
Thank you for watching and commenting!
No one would know this was your 1st time except you told us! Excellent research and thorough craftsmanship in how you put it all together! I hope it gives you many years of a dry basement or crawlspace! :) Much Success to You!
Wow, thanks!
I really appreciate the comment!
This is the best youtube video on the foundation drain. You’ve just helped me to come up with idea for my case. Thank you.
Wow, thanks!
Just wanted to add that I like the many viewers that you see here really appreciate you taking the time to put together an "Idiot Proof " video all while trying to figure out how you were going to complete this project on your own no less. Thank you so much sir and yes, I did subscribe and will keep in touch!
Jeff, I really appreciate you watching and your comment!
Thank you and stay safe!
Good work. As a homeowner, we actually don't want to be doing this stuff ourselves. But we have to.
When I did mine, I could watch the pipes going into the sump and the water absolutely poured out of the pipes into the sump. Really satisfying.
I was lucky, I could run an outlet pipe to road storm water, so no sump pump required.
I enjoy building stuff so when I encounter problems I enjoy finding the solutions and fixing them.
Thanks Breen! That is a good situation when you can run the discharge to a road ditch or storm drain and allow good old gravity to do all the work.
Have a good one!
This. I love doing these projects but sometimes I want to have someone else do it if I'm busy. The problem isn't that I'm not willing to pay...the problem is that these companies these days have no business ethic. You can call them and they say they will be there but never show up. Well, this is the case in the country where I live.
You seriously did this the right way. This is probably exactly how the French Drain man channel,would have done it. Nice work.
Thanks! I appreciate the comment!
A massive ty! I saw what looked like a natural spring coming from beneath the foundation of my house this morning. It's water entering from the rear and under my foundation. I'm pretty sure you cleared this up for me! Ty, again!
I hope you are able to make an effective intercept drain and get it diverted.
Thank you!
Mate, honestly that is one cool video! Thanks very much for capturing all that and narrating each step. Out of all the videos on this subject I’ve watched yours is right at the top 👌🍻
Thanks a ton!
Thank you!!! Just bought our first house and I’m currently dealing with this problem after all the hurricanes that went through South Carolina. We have a crawlspace sump pump but I’m looking at doing this project to help out our drainage a bit more.
Anytime you can divert water heading toward your foundation and redirect it away, is win win!
Thanks for watching!
As a Canadian, I can only marvel at the option of having an exterior sump pump.
You can have one. Below the frost line and no check valve so the entire discharge line drains back into the pit so it will not freeze. There are companies that will put a well outside and simply drain off the interior pit to the exterior pit.
Sir, you are an incredible teacher and, you know your subject thoroughly. This is one of the best tutorials I have seen on any subject. General contractors take note; this, is how a job should be done.
You're very welcome!
24:31 watching that water streaming in and everything working as it should be is so satisfying. Great video and great job. That's pretty damn good for your first rodeo. :)
It sure was satisfying! Another thing that is extremely satisfying is people like you, who watch and leave comments like this one!
I really appreciate the time you took to watch and comment.
Stay safe!
Excellent work and video. I had the same sub-surface water intrusion problem and did nearly exactly the same as you, and also dug by hand 60 feet of trench around three sides of the house, dug down about 8 to 10 inches below the footer. I sealed the walls with Blackjack 57. I laid one row of the NDS bubble-wrap quick-drain pipe along along the footer, plus a second row of the slotted black corrugated pipe wrapped in a sleeve alongside of the bubble wrap pipe. So, a "double-barrel" french drain. I used minimal gravel (wish I used more), and wrapped everything in landscape fabric. It all runs to a sump pump about 10 feet from the house and discharges 40 more feet to the street.
It's held up great for four years, but we haven't had any torrential, prolonged rain. Though, two weeks ago we got 6 inches over a 36-hour period and I had about two hand--fulls of water in my lower level laundry room.
Is that less than what you would normally have?
@@moblackmoney3424 Oh, yes, much less. I can live w/ that.
This pretty much mirrors my situation I'm currently in. Thank you very much, might be the best video I've watched on footers drains. It will be very helpful in the next month or two.
You're very welcome!
TY so very much 4 all yourDIY info and filming your wok. Awesome buddy. Job welldone.Your blood, sweat and tears is much appreciated.
Thank you for watching and commenting!
Where I'm from we put a sheet of 5mil poly on top of rubber membrane when it's still sticky, then put a dimpled plastic sheeting screwed to wall on top. The dimpling product, dimpled toward wall to allow any residue water to fall to footing, helps keep water from getting to the wall from the backfill through hydrostatic pressure. We also fill with 3/4" to 1" locking aggregate around drain/ weep pipe because it resists infiltration from clay and compaction, and allows good drain to weep pipe. We also fill gravel to top of dimpled membrane leaving a border around house so clay does not migrate to weep pipe that can be dressed with peastone. God bless.
Thanks! It sure sounds like you have a good system worked out!
Stay safe!
Really really like the video. thank you. My house is been around for a while (20+ year). Washington state near Vancouver BC. Lots of rain. never water issues. until now. we had no neighbors and we had basically a forest around us full of 50 ft cedars. each one takes up a ton of water. Well a couple of years ago we got two neighbors, they cut their trees. no more forest. and now I have tons of water in the crawl space. put a sump pump there and now doing trench work in the crawl space to move the water around to sump pump. hard work in a tight space.
Called professionals and one firm wants 50k+ to incapcilate the crawl space and 25k to do traditional sump pump, trench, and water bearier. Auch. the other company wants much much less but they don't do the trench work. bla bla bla... just do it yourself.
What I like about this is that it is outside where it is easier to dig. The house should be dry as it will be an island between your mote. Also like the idea of test holes. Likely do not need to do the whole house. Plus the sump pump will not be under someone's bedroom humming all night long.
One area of concern digging outside is all the utility hook ups. The call B4 you dig people only mark things up to the meter which in some cases is at the house (good ) but not in others (bad). Might need to get a private location service. I have the blue prints for the house so I have a general idea of where the lines are not but in the areas where I know they are, the drawings may or may not be exact, to scale etc. Cost of private location service around here is $500 as they come out from Seattle (a couple of hours away)
I hope it all worked out for you!
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Remember all the Ps, `Perfect Preparation Prevents Poor Performance `, you sir are a Star ! marvellous job
Thank you for watching and the comment!
I really appreciate it!
Stay safe!!
Wow! That was so satisfying to watch it working in the end! Beautiful job!
Thank you for watching!
Thanks for this video. I have spent a lot of time researching this problem just like you have. Home inspectors often do not look for this kind of thing you pretty much have to do the investigations on your own.
Hi tee kay! You are right in that you are on your own in these kind of "water" projects. Also as you go out and seek opinions and recommendations....no two will be alike!
Thanks for watching!
Truly a great video. No messing about, to the point, and honest about your mistakes. Thanks for making videos that we can all learn from. Much appreciated!
I appreciate that!
Awesome job and documentation!!! Gotta feel incredibly satisfying!!
Thank you Guido! I appreciate you watching!
I loved SNL in the 70s :)
Sir, you did an outstanding job on the project and taking us through it. Respect and Thank You.
Much appreciated!
hey just want to say this video is great, very clean job on the project itself and super well edited. very easy to follow and very concise. keep up the great work.
Glad you liked it!
I appreciate you watching!
Good ol’ fashioned hard work right here. Well done, thanks for filming.
Much appreciated!
I like to use a sump switch called level guard. A little pricey but it lets you pick at what point the pump turns on. If you use it in that pump just be sure to permanently engage the float switch on it. Nice work!
Hi Matthew and thanks for watching and commenting!
The Level Guard is real high on my "to get" list. I can add about 8 inches of water to the kick on level and that would take hundreds of short cycles off the Zoeller.
Thanks again!
This man will put work the majority of the men in the USA! Great job!
Thanks M W, I really appreciate you watching and commenting!
Stay safe!
I'll hopefully never have to do this myself, but nevertheless I watched the entire video because I like your style! Subscribed!
Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment!
I really appreciate it!
Stay safe!
You had a real problem, proper weeping tile would have done the job but some people just won't spend the money. You did good, thanks for sharing your solution and work.
Thanks 👍
It *is* amazing what sorts of "archaeology" you get into when you start digging. "Well, I don't want to pay any dump fees, so I'll just get rid of this scrap metal, tile, brick, concrete, whatever..." :-(
Thanks for the video!
My thoughts exactly!!
Thank you for watching and commenting!
Scrap metal sounds like a bad idea I think stick to good old rock and brick.
I have two springs draining off my hill in My back yard. Every time it rains there is a swamp off my back porch. Just cut my hill back from my house 35 feet and tapped into both of the springs. Brought in a lot of 57 stone and poured a 1x2 footer, built a 5 foot retaining wall on top and a two layered double french drain. All 6" pipe to catch spring water and run off. Flattened out my hill above the retaining wall to slow the flow off the hill, and built a drain into my patio. All that to say I wish I would have put a sump in at one end. Also to say....man, you have a lot of WATER around your house and I can relate to how much work it is when working in solid clay.
Thanks for watching!
Your no hub coupling is fine, I'm a licensed master plumber.
Thanks!
This is cosmic. I did almost the same thing to my southern Indiana home in 2001. Difference was 1) I used schedule 40 drain tile instead of corrugated, 2) installed clean outs so I could flush out tiles if the ever got plugged for some reason 3) hauled away excavated dirt and completely replaced it with the washed river rock to ground level. The rest is almost exactly as shown in this video. Was still working great 7 years later when I moved out of state in 2008.
You did exactly what I wish I would have done.
You covered all bases on your project!
Thank you for watching and commenting!
You might want to drill a 1/4 inch hole into the discharge pipe about 2 inches above the pump. If you get an air bubble in the pump volute, this small hole will give the air a place to escape. You also might want to tie a string onto the float arm so you can tug the string and test the pump.
Thanks Steve! I like the float string idea, I'll do that.
The check valve (a Zoeller) has the hole predrilled in it.
Stay safe!
Such a good job you guys get a lot of water where your at great job again super fun to watch thanks for the upload
Thank you for watching!
One trick to avoid the short cycles is to use a timer, we use one that plugs into the power socket of the pump cable in the house.
The timer is set to 20 minutes, which is enough for the sump to fill up...
I like that idea!
Thanks!
This is what I use to stop the frequent cycling. You can space the sensors as far apart in your sump as you want. It comes on when the top sensor comes in contact with water and off when the bottom sensor is not submerged any more. I also have the time sensor for an in ground trampoline, works beautifully.
HydroCheck Sump Pump Float Switch with Hi-Lo Dual Sensors and Built-in Alarms
@@weejohnbb I just installed thie unit as well. Most pumps have too short a throw on their floats I like adjusting it myself
very good video and your method of deduction was excellent. and yes. every house and the area is different but you have done a excellent job. remember to do the maint on the pump since it will during rainy season short cycle. I am very impressed at what you have done. as a licensed plumber and builder, I find so many lots that are built too low due to buildup costs and no fore thought put into keep the foundation from becoming saturated. Well done!
Thank you for watching and commenting!
I've probably watched over a hundred of Chuck's Apple Drain videos but I've got to admit this install is absolutely top-notch.. If Chuck ever sees your install he's going to be very impressed! One thing Chuck doesn't do much is show the system in action during a massive storm. Hopefully a huge storm comes in and you can show off a bone dry crawl space. BTW - you come across as a nerdy farmer, which is to say you sound like you've got a really high IQ combined with a "I'll figure it out" attitude. I suspect you'd do really well if you lived here in Silicon Valley.
Hi Donald! I appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment on this video.
I will in fact, show a follow up video in the spring and include photos of water in the crawlspace.
After this install, the Kentuckiana area went through the driest August and September and half of October since 1875. During those 75 days at my house, we got less than 2 inches of rain. Crops suffered, but late season soybeans suffered the most. Have a great 2020!
You may very well have a point, to me as a Brit he encompasses rural America, and the capability of taking on any task, and actually succeeding.
As I result I’m fascinated by things like this.
And as the Apple Drains man himself says, ‘If you believe in yourself, you can do it’.
Not a bad adage to live your life by.
Best of luck to the farming community worldwide, and to everyone affected by adverse weather, and water.
most farmers are incredibly nerdy individuals. they might speak with an accent or drawl, but they are some intelligent mother fuckers. You cant be a dummy and manage that kind of cluster fuck well enough to make it turn a buck.
Great job! Sure nice to see the hard work paid off and your system was working flawlessly..
Thank you!
you can always add a timer relay on the pump plug, so it will limit the short cycles. allow the sump to fill up more
One of the best video's I have seen on this process. Thanks for your time spent making it and the clarity you gave while creating the video. Most people can't succeed at it like you have in making this type of tutorial and that is exactly what this is. Take a bow.
You're very welcome!
I appreciate you watching and the comment!
Good job. It appears you've been watching alot of Chuck/Apple drain videos.
Hi Mo and thanks for watching and commenting!
I watched all I could on UA-cam and even then, you have to read between the lines.
Lots of videos show drain tile work but in sandy soil and I'm in heavy clay.
Only time will tell!
Have a great 2020!
Have You Seen French Drain Man on UA-cam. He Works On Clay Soil in Michigan...
I do a lot of slip repair and french drains with what I do and as far as being spot on to how things should be done according to the codes we have to follow and how they want them done french drain man on here does it the best. If you ever have to do this again or another one I suggest you watch his videos. Best of luck!
I can't believe how much water is going in there. Good video.
Thanks!
You can install a float higher up with a timer connected to a heavy duty relay and not short cycle as much if needed
Hi garagekeys and thanks for watching!
I just saw that remote adjustable float while searching for short cycle info and I'll be digging into that this summer.
I love it, very nice presentation, Thank you for posting and sharing, I have a house with the same issue, I never thought about putting the Sump pump outside.
Thanks for watching!
That no hub fitting should work just fine, it’s not like yer running 80 psi and if it does leak it just goes back down to the bottom of the sump.
Thanks, it's in an easy place to get to also.
Have a good one!
nice work. learned a little and was entertaining. those trenches magically dug themselves. it was weird just seeing the updates and none of the work. made it look easier then it was for sure.
Thanks! I know what you mean, this was a long project for me and I was at times hesitant to even video it.
Have a good one!!
Maybe you can lengthen the cycles by getting a different float switch.
Thanks Many, that's what I'm going to look into.
Have a good one!
@@pmtips4482 I was thinking a ball valve to throttle the output. That would do the trick!
Good job! I've been watching videos for a while now getting ideas. You're right, no two are the same. I'm in the northeast (NJ) but it's been raining a lot, the weather pattern has changed.
I'll be installing a yard drain system soon.
thanks for the video and good luck with your system.
Thank you for watching!
I wish you the best on your upcoming project too!!
Basically you have a moat. Every boy's dream.
Ty. Great job. I want to do the same but a 16x16 deck sits on top of my back wall. So I have to think of another way to stop the water. I will run new pipe for my 4 gutters in the ground. You sure saved a ton of money.
Glad it was helpful!
Call French Drain Man...
You did a good job that’s the way to stick it to the man and that clamp is fine and if you have to change the pump that’s the way to go plumber here 38 years and you did good
Thanks Ed!
Very, very, well done video! Liked the way you talked on point about each section you were doing. Even on good videos the people stray and talk about other things and it dilutes what you really need to hear. You did a high quality job, very informative video.
I appreciate that!
Thank you so much for watching and commenting!
I did a similar work to put a drain and sump pit in for an "english basement" cement block foundation in clay very similar to yours. I found a service that sprayed a tar sealer with cut strands of fiberglass to put a outer waterproofing coating on foundations, that seemed to work well. I used a landscaping drain membrane, 4" slit corrugated drainage pipe that had a pre-installed filter sock on it, #6 washed stone with no fines like you used (costs more but is best choice) and all has worked well for 25 years now, and my village plumbing inspector said I did better work than most contractors he has seen. I dug in a 4" PVC DWV pipe to the rear of my lot to a low spot, and installed a drywell pit that can also discharge out of the top if it has a severe intake due to my house gutters & sump pump connecting to it ( but it never has) I don't know why you didn't just use the regular 4" slit corrugated with a sock , and lined and covered the trenches with membrane for all of your work, but it was your choice I guess. You could also connect that discharge to a 8" X 8" drain grate ( and maybe a small section of slit drainage tubing with stone going to it) to let it drain by overflow, and restore that dug up area to its local grade, I hope it works well for your efforts
Respect that you removed all that dirt by hand!
Thanks for watching!
Thank you, your video was so helpful. Our house has no footer drain and this design would totally work for our house. We will try to install one just like this in the summer.
You're very welcome!
Awesome job. I wish you had been my instructor for Hydro Engr. course waaaay back in school. Good Work, Sir!
Wow, thanks!
Very good of you to make this video, Sir. Thank you.
You are very welcome!
One of the best videos out there on drainage. Great work man.
Wow, thanks!
Great job. I had a similar set up and ended up raising my pump a bit higher from the bottom with more blocks and reduced the cycling frequency. It’s remarkable how much water the Zoeller pumps out.
Great tip!
Thanks for watching!
Nice work on the project and on the video. I have had similar issues with water filling up inside crawlspace around the foundation, very similar situation to your's. This issue with my new built home was that the foundations on front side of house are about 4 feet below grade and topography of yard allowed water to flow towards the house.
After the blocks for my house were laid, they back-filled the soil against the block work, with no drains or any type of water-proofing. That soft back fill zone, that had previously been the trench around the block work, extends out about 4 feet from the block wall perimeter of house, and the soft soil tends to settle over the years. It's still settling after 20 years living here.
When rain over-flows gutters, or runs off side of house and falls directly on this soft back-filled zone, it can easily percolates right down to the foundation and comes into the crawlspace. I actually think that may be where a lot of your water was coming from, though you said it wasn't coming from above and was subsurface.
My first successful low budget project to stop all water from coming into crawlspace involved berming or ramping up the soil against house and re-sloping the grade so water would flow quickly away from the house without any pooling. Most importantly, on top of the back-filled zone (now sloped) I laid down a heavy duty pond liner material or black plastic, and then concreted it against the block work so there was no gap for surface water to percolate downward. This surface liner extended out from the side of house by at least 5 feet to fully create a non-permeable membrane over the entire soft back-fill zone. I also dug ditches to carry the water away from house faster and later extended the membrane area.
My method kept the crawlspace very dry for many years, but as the soil continues to settle in that soft back-fill zone around the perimeter of the house, an air space of several inches right at the house wall developed between membrane and soil as the grade continues to slowly settle. The concrete and plastic degraded or broke way and there is now a gaps and slop issues in spots. So I'll have to re-do some sections. But overall it's been an effective and cheap way to stop the water filling the foundation zone. I've seen a lot of houses with similar issues that could be remedied with this same simple cheap method. Nevertheless, I'm not a fan of crawlspaces. I think my next house will be like one you might see at the beach...built on pilings. lol
I’m am very impressed with how you went about this whole process. Hats off to you sir 👍
Thank you very much!
I was looking for a solution for a quarter as big a problem needing a quarter as much work but I enjoyed your explanation and appreciated how thorough you were that I watched the whole thing and subscribed. I’ll definitely be using this video for reference as I get started on my own project.
Thank you for watching!
Good luck to you!
Grade the soil where the water can't get near the foundation. Unless you have a rising ground water issue. Yup you have a ground water issue. Great video sir!!
Thanks for the info!
Nice, I put a sump in my crawl space and then plumbed the discharge into a 60 ft hand dug gutter downspout run. First time it rained I had to go watch the discharge for my gutter downspout. Strangely satisfying
I know what you mean!
Thanks for watching!
Not bad for a old farm boy.thank you for sharing your time
Thank you for watching!
Have a good one!!
Thanks for taking the time to share this. It was informative and you're great to listen to.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment too!
Stay safe!
Excellent to show us the final flow, I am always wondering how all the various video installs work in real life after a rain.
Now i want to see a video of a tile French drain system that is blocked and causing flooding in a basement and how the person used a camera system to find block, jet it out and restore an old tired system.
Great point! There are more and more plumbers and contractors using cameras to help them diagnose problems.
Thanks!
I watched a ton of videos on this ,including Chuck from Apple drain all very informative.
I must say, you really did a great job on the whole thing start to finish .The way you explain it all so clear and to the point was captivating and no bs.Your honesty is what we appreciate too, not nany people can do that. You said your 1st rodeo, but you made that job look like you've done it 1,500 times. Im having to do the same thing, Im confused on doing inside or outside of my wall? I have full access to crawel space, new build, no floor yet.
Thank you!
If it's not too late, I would talk to some contractors in your area on advice for coating inside or outside of the blocks. I like the concept of outside coating just because it will prevent lots of moisture and even subsurface water from migrating inside the blocks.
Thanks for watching and good luck!
Very nicely done-both drain and video. I’m glad you took the time to film and insert the short splices. The hub in the basin is a good idea in case maintenance is needed. Also good idea to wrap the NDS and the #8 seems to let water through just fine.
Thank you very much!
very bad idea to wrap the pipe. The fines will have it sealed within a few years
Good work ! Good video. Satisfying results !
Glad you enjoyed it!
Yeah! You have a real problem there PM! Nice job putting in the sump pump. It looks like it's going to work good for you! Keep me updated on how well it works. Have a good week!
Thanks John! So far so good! I have to run permanent 120 volt power next year to that outside corner of the house and not sure how to go about it yet. I'll check on codes before I start but no hurry on that job.
Take care!
Had to do something similar years ago. We put 1-2" polystyrene sheets between the tar paint on the walls and backfill to protect it/ stop it getting scraped. 5 years on it seems to be working still.
Thanks! That is a good idea!
Excellent video! Very well explained. You took a lot of things into consideration. Will have to check standing water issue in our soil too. We live in TN and have clay soil.
We have to fix our gutters first. Soil grading is also a huge issue. People we bought the house from did some weird landscaping and did not maintain the gutters. Getting water in the crawl space and basement. I’d rather do it myself because I trust my own work.
Thanks for the video!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for watching!
Great job and attention to detail!
Thank you! Cheers!
Lots of good work. Add 3/16” anti-siphon hole, Check valve, and a Union, to ejection line.
Hello, The anti-siphon hole is down there, close to the pump. The check valve is Zoellers and mounts directly to the sump pump.
Thanks for watching!
You did awesome Mr. P.T. Very good video and commentary.
Thank you kindly!
Helluva job, and dug by hand no less. I have water issues on my land in Fl, not up against the house luckily. Every time it rains I'm out in the yard watching where the water goes, so I get it, lol.
I've done that too!
Thanks for watching!
This guy is awesome. Thanks for filming this
Thank you Joe for taking your time and watching this video!!
Stay safe!!
Good job with the filter fabric, your sump water looks really clean.
Thank you!
I have to tell you, this is one of the most educational video's on this subject I've ever seen. A neighbor has a similar problem and I'm going to be helping him fix it and your video came along at the right time. Your plan was just good old fashion common sense and it worked well and I will incorporate most of your ideas into my neighbors project. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent. Just completed a similar job on my house for the same reasons. The ground water flow is amazing. I won’t know for a month or two if I’m done or whether I’ll need more work. Thanks for taking the time to show your work.
Glad it helped!
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thanks for making that video. That was a good fix. You have a wet piece of land there and whoever built the house should have put that in by code.
Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment!
Tile install at the time of build should have been a no-brainer but.....50 years ago.....
At the time this was built there probably did not have a code.
Also, the groundwater in our area is the highest in 100 years along with Lake Michigan.
I started using the blue pvc cement too in recent years, works great for me, and I like the color
It is good stuff, supposedly made for wet conditions. Perfect for a sump pump discharge!
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Great job! Really appreciate you taking the time/effort to do all this and record it too!.Just great, thank-you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
great job! I have a lot smaller problem with water here in AZ. The last couple days over 2 inches of rain, unheard of for us, thinking of something similar for our monsoon season. Thanks for taking the time and effort for posting.
Thank you for watching and commenting!
Great job. Adding a check valve on the sump pump discharge line should help a lot with the pump cycling as much
its on there
Joshua Guenin my apologies, not sure how I missed it. Great job. Looking forward to an update video down the road on how things are preforming. I have the same pump going 3 years strong for me
Great point!
Thanks Ben, these Zoellers are supposed to have a good life span.
If I can get 5 to 7 years out of it, I'll go ahead and put in a new one just as a preventive maintenance thing.
Stay safe!
Hello from Finland. Well done with that draining system. I am making a big reconstruction to my house and even though I did not have such an issue with water I made almost identical system. I had to use pump well because there goes small river next to house and couple times a year the water rises so much that it would be impossible to let the draining system flow by it self.
Thanks for watching! It sounds like you got it figured out for your situation.
I wish you the best!
Stay safe!
Great video, excellent work. Thank you. :)
Great video and thanks for detailing each step. Good to see it works.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for putting this video out.
You're welcome!
Hi brilliant 👏 I my self have built a timber frame extension. Heavy clay footings. A high watertable area in a wet winter. Started as you done before seeing your video. It's given me great confidence in what I decided to do before I back to back filling my footings . Good video good advice 👍cheers from old boy from over the water. Tim
Great job, great video........beautiful property
Thank you!
You did a great, hard job. Thank you for sharing this video which is pain itself to record while fighting hard task. I wanted to suggest where drain pipe making 90 degree out of well, instead of sharp 90 elbow go with longer smooth 90. Should be easier on pump and better flow out of well.
Thank you so much!
I like your advice and it makes good sense.
Have a good one!
Thanks for sharing this journey. By the end even I was happy to see it working so well.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I work for NDS. I am impressed with the solution that you installed. I would guess that you watched some of the videos from Chuck at Apple Drains. Great design and installation.
Hi Brad and thank you for watching!
I watched Chuck and The French Drain Man for probably dozens of hours total time watched. Both deal in more sandy soil than me so there's that to deal with.
Both those guys are the best in the business.
Cool video, I had similar issue in a house. What I did was regrade the area around the house. Keeps the problem away from the house.
Well done and very good narration. Very informative and youve done a few things i would not think about, so you tought me something! thank you and i will implement it if troubled by water intake in crawlspace or basement.
Thumbs up !
Glad it was helpful!