A few years ago, the city engaged in a civil engineering project to repair the cities flood plain areas - calling for improved storm drainage, tearing down homes in certain locations, and turning floodplains into "greenways" (public parks/bike paths). Thankfully, they did this last year and the year before, otherwise this summer could have been much worse for certain Charlotte residents. Remarkably, reports of flooding have not increased from years prior, due to the improved City drainage systems. Rain reports have indicated that this summer, Charlotte has experienced 3 times the amount of rainfall compared to the average over the past 5 years! The worst reported downpour was in Cawtaba County on July 27th, where the received over 12 inched of rainfall in just 12 hours! They thought the downpour would cease, but it just kept coming.
Here at 3808 Sheridan, we have had some notable experiences with the rain this summer. Our house is located on a caldisac at the bottom of a hill, and we are kind of on the side of that hill and another one. Anyways, when the rain comes, it rushes down the bank of the street, in front of our house, and into the storm drain in front of our Neighbors - 2 doors down. They are at an elevation that is a solid 15-20 feet below us.
During a heavy rain, the water pours out of the downspout above the top floor of our house, and it creates a solid stream that shoots over the gutter in front of the kitchen - landing right in front of the crawlspace. In order to minimize the amount of water seeping into the crawlspace, I placed one of our trashcans below the kitchen window. It will fill up with about 100 gallons of water after 2 rainstorms. This was a challenge to empty at first, so I rigged up a siphoning system using the two hoses that the previous owners left with the house. First I will connect the two hoses at the low point in the yard. The beginning of the hose connecting to the spicket, and the end reaching the bottom of the water can. I will turn the water on, shooting some water into the water can, and then I will quickly disconnect the two hoses, enabling the flow of water to reverse, and effectively empty the can.
During a heavy rain, the water pours out of the downspout above the top floor of our house, and it creates a solid stream that shoots over the gutter in front of the kitchen - landing right in front of the crawlspace. In order to minimize the amount of water seeping into the crawlspace, I placed one of our trashcans below the kitchen window. It will fill up with about 100 gallons of water after 2 rainstorms. This was a challenge to empty at first, so I rigged up a siphoning system using the two hoses that the previous owners left with the house. First I will connect the two hoses at the low point in the yard. The beginning of the hose connecting to the spicket, and the end reaching the bottom of the water can. I will turn the water on, shooting some water into the water can, and then I will quickly disconnect the two hoses, enabling the flow of water to reverse, and effectively empty the can.
It is on my list, but I intend to nail in a few pieces of flashing on the roof that will deflect the flow of water and enable it to effectively drain. (I did this in December 2013. So far it has been functional) Additionally, Groupon offered me a deal for gutter cleaning for only $59. They will be coming out on Saturday the 17th while Talla and I are in Charleston. (They never came)
Another problem with the way the backyard is sloped, is that we get a large flow of water that settles in the vegetable garden. The image shows this problem during a recent storm. The water slips out of the cracks in between the railroad ties, but it does it slowly, and it doesn't dump where I want it to. I discovered I can redirect the flow of water with a drainage ditch cutting across the back yard. Additionally, I will drill a hole in some of the railroad ties to let the water drain where I want it to. (Next to the grill).
When I purchased the house, the inspector noted high levels of moisture in the crawl space. I had them put in a vapor barrier before moving in. Just a few days after we moved in, I also installed a plastic garden barrier next to the house to redirect the water coming out of the downspout that happened to be flowing back into the foundation. Without these slight repairs, I would suspect a dangerous amount of mold and moisture below the house!
