Hi Folks,
I looked through all of the topic areas and didn't see a better one for this problem. I hope this is OK.
Our house was built in the early 90s. When we moved in a few years ago, the concrete driveway was cracked, heaved, and buckled in places. We had it repaired, which involved removing and re-pouring about 45 feet of it.
The driveway installer told us that the ground under our driveway was wet, and we needed to create a moisture barrier or a french drain to keep it dry underneath.
Our driveway is only about six feet away from our upslope neighbor's. Inbetween is a landscaped buffer which is part lawn, part hedgerow.
Adding to the drainage problem is that the front gutter on their house drains onto their driveway, which sends some of the water down the slope and onto ours. They have in-ground sprinklers, so it's not unusual to find water running across our driveway several times a year.
It turns out that our home's previous owner had a bad relationship with this neighbor. They mentioned this to us during a brief conversation when we moved in. They have been reluctant to talk to us, and I can't help but wonder if the drainage problems played a big role in that.
I installed a black plastic landscaping fence along the edge of our driveway after it was repaired, but this isn't doing enough. There's enough water accumulating that it either goes over or under pretty often. We even had to add topsoil on the other side of the driveway due to runoff erosion.
I am tempted to put in a french drain. Would perforated black pipe along the upslope edge work for this purpose? It seems like the holes in the pipe might get filled with debris. There also needs to be a place for the drain to discharge. I see that a few of our neighbors have cut holes in the cement curb to allow water to drain to the gutter pan along the street. That would be the most likely choice, but I wonder if I would need permission from the town to do that.
If anyone has some experience handling this kind of problem, I'll be very grateful for the help.
Scott C. in Cary, NC USA
I looked through all of the topic areas and didn't see a better one for this problem. I hope this is OK.
Our house was built in the early 90s. When we moved in a few years ago, the concrete driveway was cracked, heaved, and buckled in places. We had it repaired, which involved removing and re-pouring about 45 feet of it.
The driveway installer told us that the ground under our driveway was wet, and we needed to create a moisture barrier or a french drain to keep it dry underneath.
Our driveway is only about six feet away from our upslope neighbor's. Inbetween is a landscaped buffer which is part lawn, part hedgerow.
Adding to the drainage problem is that the front gutter on their house drains onto their driveway, which sends some of the water down the slope and onto ours. They have in-ground sprinklers, so it's not unusual to find water running across our driveway several times a year.
It turns out that our home's previous owner had a bad relationship with this neighbor. They mentioned this to us during a brief conversation when we moved in. They have been reluctant to talk to us, and I can't help but wonder if the drainage problems played a big role in that.
I installed a black plastic landscaping fence along the edge of our driveway after it was repaired, but this isn't doing enough. There's enough water accumulating that it either goes over or under pretty often. We even had to add topsoil on the other side of the driveway due to runoff erosion.
I am tempted to put in a french drain. Would perforated black pipe along the upslope edge work for this purpose? It seems like the holes in the pipe might get filled with debris. There also needs to be a place for the drain to discharge. I see that a few of our neighbors have cut holes in the cement curb to allow water to drain to the gutter pan along the street. That would be the most likely choice, but I wonder if I would need permission from the town to do that.
If anyone has some experience handling this kind of problem, I'll be very grateful for the help.
Scott C. in Cary, NC USA
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