Lawn Drainage into Detached Garage

[SkunkedAgain]

Per my Picasso drawing below, you should see that I've got a slight slope running in my tiny yard from my house towards the garage. When it rains, water gets in between the bottom plates and garage slab. I've thought about installing a french drain along the garage but don't really have any place to drain to. It would go about where I drew the "green trench" in the picture below. What can I do to solve this drainage problem?

[Rip_Some_Lip]

You could put in a raingarden. It is basically an infiltration garden. Google it or talk to your local soil and water district and they will give you information on it. I have some training in raingardens and it is reletively cheap and easy to install. You can plant it to look wild and wooly or well manicured depending on the plants you choose. Just make sure you choose native prairie plants that have long root systems to get the proper infiltration. Try googling blue thumb rain gardens and you will find all the info you can use. Also check with your local Soil and Water office to see if there is a cost sharing program you could sign up for.

[BoxMN]

Do you have a row of block under the walls, or just sitting on slab? Is the road end of driveway below the elevation of the slab? If so you could use drain tile and pipe to get it out to road, I would think. Might be a bit of digging involved though

Does your roof have gable on driveway side or house side? If gable on driveway side, I bet you have plenty of water coming from roof too, unless you have gutters. If gable end on driveway side, then for put gutter on house side and that will help a ton.

edit - also, which way does the roof on your house drain? If it drains towards the garage, gutter there would help too, if you don't have it already.

[SkunkedAgain]

I've thought about a rain garden idea, but wanted to see what other options there may be before rerouting my entire backyard drainage.

BoxMN - The garage has a hip roof so rain runs off on all sides. There is a gutter only on the front side above the driveway. Adding a gutter on the yard side would help, but I still have the water that runs down the yard.

The driveway runs parallel to the alley and intersects with my neighbor's driveway at the end (we're at the end of an alley) so the only way to get to the road/sewer would be to go underneath the driveway.

[BoxMN]

One other thought would be to do like a basement sump system - dig a hole and put a sump basket in, with drainage along the garage side that drains into it, and have a float activated sump pump inside it. You could route it around back of garage or wherever to get it gutter. I am not sure of any codes or regs, but it would work. Come winter, just pull the pump out... just a thought... good thing is you needn't do anything except dig a pea gravel are and pit, and get some pipe/tile, sump pump, and garden hose could even bury the outlet piping/hose to hide it. Maybe a bit more "tech" than desired.... Raingarden sounds better to me, ha! Good luck!

[SkunkedAgain]

Yeah, it's a tough situation without a place to drain to...curse my 0.24 acre lot! A rain garden may have to be my only avenue unless someone can think of any other ideas.

[soldoncass]

My garage leaked during the spring melt between the framing and foundation....occasionly, when conditions were just so. I stopped that problem by putting "ice and water shield" membrane/paper under the bottom row of siding and down into the ground a few inches. If the siding is too close to the ground, maybe remove the bottom course, do the ice and water paper, raise the dirt height by the garage to divert the run off to the back of garage/ bottom of pic, and out to alley. If I'm visualising this correctly, the water that comes off that garage roof has to go somewhere (to alley?) Other products could be used instead of ice and water if preferred, such as: aluminum roll,fiberglass sheet,heavy felt paper with stucko to protect it etc. As long as it stops water and won't rot out, depends on the look that is acceptable to you (And wife).

[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks for the suggestion Soldoncass

[soldoncass]

hope they were helpfull in your situation. I've used both ideas at my place, and they have worked here. If your lot continues the same slope to the other side of the garage, all you need to do is divert the water toward the garage corner(bottom of pic), and the slope will take it rest of the way out. Good luck.