Lawn drainage / French drain perhaps?

Can someone help me by giving me a name or two of lawn contractors in our area that can do lawn drainage (possibly french drains)?? My sump pump is spewing lots of water that is making a mess out of my yard! Please help! I've called several companies from the yellow pages in the Vienna/Merrifield area and they don't travel as far out as Ashburn. I'm getting kinda desperate here. Thanks everyone!

 

What I'd like to know is how high is the water table here? When it rained so much in mid-January, our sump pump operated almost continuously for the duration. Our last house was adjacent to wetlands in MA and we did not have a sump pump and never had water in our basement. Has anyone had a flooded basement here?

 

Alot depends on where you are in Broadlands, where your house is sited on a hillside (or at the bottom of one), etc.



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

I used to have that same problem where the sump pump would run every time it rained.

The major reason for a sump pump to run a lot when it is raining is because the water is not being moved away from the foundation. Here are some things you can do that can help move the water away from the foundation.

1) Keep your gutters clean of debris so water from the roof is able to get to the downspouts.

2) Make sure your downspouts are positioned to flow the water away from your house. If the water from the downspouts is not getting far enough away from the foundation, it will continue to get collected by the sump pump.

3) Add dirt along the sides of the house where the exposed foundation is, so water is diverted away from the foundation.

After doing these things, especially adding the dirt along the side of the house, my sump pump very rarely comes on anymore. I was actually quite amazed at how much it helped, especially after living two years with the sump pump always going on during periods of very light rain.

Good luck!