Hi all,
I am getting some water in the back corner of our 90 year old home. Basically just a bit of wetness that extends about 1 - 2 feet from the corner of the basement, and sometimes some additional wetness at a spot that is 1 to 2 feet from the corner. Even during the hardest rains, wettest weeks, we have only had this small amount of wetness, and in fact, there is a drain in that back corner to which any water flows.
The grading on that corner of the home seems good -- slopes away from the house, but a downspout does enter the ground at this corner. Based on some neighbor advice, I first tried to determine if there was some clog in the downspout. I ran a hose into the downspout and observed that the water came out the curb discharge as fast as it was going in. I also ran a 50 foot snake into the downspout and I didn't encounter any blockages. I guess at this point, I assume there is some crack in the downspout near the foundation that is allowing a small amount of water to come into the basement. There is a poured concrete slab where my downspout goes into the ground, so I guess I didn't want to undertake the time/expense required to repair this issue underground at this point. My other idea was to install a rain barrel/diverter and basically cease using this downspout for the time being.
So, finally to this particular question, my downspout is on one side of a vinyl fence, and I really only have a 13" x 21" space for a rain barrel. I was struggling to find a barrel this small, and thought that, instead, I could use a 55 gallon barrel on the other side of the vinyl fence (where there is room enough for almost any-sized barrel. However, if I do this, (I think) I would have to drill two (approximately) 1 inch holes in the vinyl fence slats. I am wondering if I will basically ruin the fence if I try to make these holes, or whether there are particular drill bits that I should use that would all me to drill successfully.
I am getting some water in the back corner of our 90 year old home. Basically just a bit of wetness that extends about 1 - 2 feet from the corner of the basement, and sometimes some additional wetness at a spot that is 1 to 2 feet from the corner. Even during the hardest rains, wettest weeks, we have only had this small amount of wetness, and in fact, there is a drain in that back corner to which any water flows.
The grading on that corner of the home seems good -- slopes away from the house, but a downspout does enter the ground at this corner. Based on some neighbor advice, I first tried to determine if there was some clog in the downspout. I ran a hose into the downspout and observed that the water came out the curb discharge as fast as it was going in. I also ran a 50 foot snake into the downspout and I didn't encounter any blockages. I guess at this point, I assume there is some crack in the downspout near the foundation that is allowing a small amount of water to come into the basement. There is a poured concrete slab where my downspout goes into the ground, so I guess I didn't want to undertake the time/expense required to repair this issue underground at this point. My other idea was to install a rain barrel/diverter and basically cease using this downspout for the time being.
So, finally to this particular question, my downspout is on one side of a vinyl fence, and I really only have a 13" x 21" space for a rain barrel. I was struggling to find a barrel this small, and thought that, instead, I could use a 55 gallon barrel on the other side of the vinyl fence (where there is room enough for almost any-sized barrel. However, if I do this, (I think) I would have to drill two (approximately) 1 inch holes in the vinyl fence slats. I am wondering if I will basically ruin the fence if I try to make these holes, or whether there are particular drill bits that I should use that would all me to drill successfully.
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