When you need to find a reputable contractor for whatever type of construction work, use Angies list. This nation wide organization is a contractor referral service powered by the members and their recommendations entirely. They have been around and know the scoop on contractors. Read the rest of this entry »
When it comes to home drainage solutions, do it right the first time. Don’t be one of those homeowners that throws their money away on numerous attempts to solve groundwater drainage problems by using contractors without a clue of how to really do the job of stopping groundwater below grade.
Read this website for concise information on what works and what does not work. Don’t be a groundwater problem victim more than you already are.
When you have groundwater in your basement or crawlspace, look to AAA Home Drainage for the right answer.
Groundwater damage from the lack of hand excavated french drains to protect the crawlspace or basement, and the resulting residential groundwater damage, can trash your equity fast.
A recent visit to a wonderful old classic home in the Willamette Valley in Oregon showed again exactly how years of deferred groundwater removal maintenance will cost sellers big bucks in the end. Pests, dryrot and structural repairs, and lots of lost cash. Worse than blowing your cash in Las Vegas. Read the rest of this entry »
Pleased to announce the release of my new eBook “17 Ways to Determine If You May Have a Drainage Problem”.
This eBook is designed to help you look for drainage problems. That’s one of the most often asked questions “How do we know if we have a problem…” You can download the PDF here or click on the graphic link below.
Read and print out the eBook. Then with printed pages in hand, it is recommended to take a walk around inventory of your dwelling and use this handy eBook to check key points for potential home drainage problems.
Hope you enjoy the book and thanks to all who have continued in supporting this site.
I recently was asked to be a guest on The Epodogy Podcast for a special show spotlighting Home Drainage. The Epodogy Podcast is produced by Media1250.
The show covers many of the basic topics I’m most often asked about such as what causes drainage problems, etc.
Please send me an email if you’d like to hear more audio programs. My mission is to help you resolve those drainage issues (ideally, before they cause chaos with your home) and I’m always looking to find ways to get the word out on the benefits of professional home drainage solutions.
Anyway, here is the show for your listening pleasure - hope you enjoy - and thanks!
Now is the time to economy proof your home. Tough times dictate bold financial moves to protect the value of your home. The real estate market has become much more demanding of quality in the last year, and homeowners need to do the groundwater problem diligence to protect their home equity or lose it. Read the rest of this entry »
Always a controversy among confused homeowners with home drainage problems. Which to install, the sump pump or the hand excavated french drain. Read the rest of this entry »
Determine the real value of your home, and the air that you breathe. A huge amount of time is spent within the walls of a home. We raise our children from cradle upwards to aspiring adults within those walls most of the time.
We sit for hours endlessly watching entertainment and listening to the soothing sounds of music. Yet many homeowners refuse to fix home drainage problems that they know exist. Read the rest of this entry »
Protect your most expensive investment, your personal residence, with ” AAA Water Guard services” travel option package, brought to you by AAA Home Drainage. Don’t settle for less than the security that comes with owning hand excavated french drains.
No professional home drainage contractor in your corner of the world that you trust? Read the rest of this entry »
When you are planning the installation of french drains always excavate by hand. A utility locate is always required. Utility locates are required if you plan to hand or machine excavate and install french drains.
Call your utility locate service if you plan to excavate for french drain installation. In the Portland metro area the number is 503-246-6699. Do not call the utilities individually. The utility locate company will take around 3 days for the completion of their marking.
Read the rest of this entry »
When your objective is to prevent rain created groundwater or near surface springs from flooding your homes’ crawlspace or basement, nothing works as well as a hand excavated french drain that has exposed rock on the surface. The hand excavated french drain must be properly located and installed, and free of all debris. Read the rest of this entry »
I am asked this question often. So the answer deserves repeating. Although, in this blog on home drainage, articles cover this subject and the ability to ascertain if you have a groundwater drainage problem, I will highlight a few of the common home drainage “smoking guns” again in this article. Read the rest of this entry »
I am presently installing hand excavated french drain groundwater removal systems on a historical home in Aurora, Oregon. Too bad that the home didn’t have hand excavated french drains installed from the time it was built.
The homeowner is restoring the home to its former glory and doesn’t want the worry of seasonal groundwater wetting his basement, in which he has a great wood shop. Read the rest of this entry »
Groundwater removal pays in a value added way with respect to your home. Hand excavated french drains are not easy to construct, and they are time intensive, but they pay much more than they cost. Read the rest of this entry »
I am asked this question almost every day by someone. What is a french drain and how does it work? A french drain is a hand excavated groundwater removal system that starts with the hand excavation of a gravity flow aquaduct with straight sides and a flat hard bottom. Read the rest of this entry »
Groundwater problems can cause your foundation stem walls or basement walls to deteriorate. When this happens, usually over a long period of time, you can repair the damage in most cases. Starting from the outside, the best thing to do first is to install hand excavated french drains approximately 2 feet from the foundation wall, with a compacted splash block if possible. Read the rest of this entry »
When you assess the value and quality of work offered by contractors who propose work on french drains or other outside drainage work, require them to use plywood runs for walking and wheel barrowing on to retain the cosmetic nature of your landscaping and preserve the curb appeal of your home.
Don’t let the quickie low bid boys knock out some poor home drainage attempt and leave your property looking like craters of the moon national monument. It pays to do it right. Read the rest of this entry »
Hand excavated french drains are indeed ancient technology carried forward into the 21st century. What is a french drain? I get this question many times a week in my business. French drains do not need to be hard to understand. Read the rest of this entry »
When constructing a french drain groundwater removal system that you count on to pull rainwater away from your foundation, resist the common emotional arguments associated with the desire to cover up the rock left open on the surface.
This method is used for maximum groundwater collection when it rains hard. A common statement I hear is “my kids will toss rocks”, or “I don’t like the look of exposed rock”.
Read the rest of this entry »
Home groundwater problems are likely not even on the homeowners radar until they eigther sell the home and get a pest dryrot and structural inspection that indicates their problem, or when the rains come and the water starts pouring into the homes crawlspace or basement.
Don’t be the homeowner that thinks the problem will just go away. If you know you have a groundwater drainage issue now, it will only get worse and more expensive to deal with it in the future.
Seems like human nature, with respect to home drainage, is not to worry about the long known, and long time existing, home drainage problems until seasonal heavy rains and driving snow sets in.
Homeowners should not be surprised that home drainage expenses increase during these times? Installers working under severe conditions require longer times for the installation of hand excavated french drains. This translates into higher prices for the consumer. Safety issues also come into play. Read the rest of this entry »
If you are experiencing groundwater in your basement or crawlspace, you likely will go through the process of educating yourself on various methods of dealing with groundwater problems and solutions.
The choice of methods is most often based on your objective. Keep pumping the water out, with a guarantee that the company will always keep a working sump pump in place, or prevent the groundwater from entering in the first place. Read the rest of this entry »
This home study course on groundwater removal and home drainage is free of charge. You may use it to your best advantage without anything invested except your time. The effort is well worth the knowledge gained.
A college level text book author, also a client, recently made a request to use some of this information in his newest book on environmental engineering.
Go to school on the subject of groundwater removal, and “green” home drainage solutions. You will be glad you did. Read the rest of this entry »
I hear it all the time. I call it “voo doo” drainage. The homeowner says, “I have recieved a couple of other bids from contractors for my french drain work. One of the drainage contractors suggested that I could just put the french drain into my rain drain discharges venting my gutters. What do you think of that”? Easy answer. Do not do that! Read the rest of this entry »
What should it tell you if you are looking at a home to buy, and the home has a home groundwater problem in the crawlspace or basement, and there is already a sump pump installed? It should tell you that the sump pump isn’t a solution to the problem.
If the groundwater is still entering the crawlspace or basement, would a reasonable mind assume that the sump pump is a solution to the problem, or a bandaid? Read the rest of this entry »
This article is reprinted here-in by AAA Home Drainage, for public information from the Oregon Construction Contractors Newsletter, (CCB), with respect to a subject that I wrote about some months ago. The information is pertinent to all homeowners buying a new home or contracting with a home builder to construct a new home in Oregon. Read the rest of this entry »
The following information is here-in reprinted from the Oregon Contractors Board Newsletter, in the interests of public protection disclosure, and as a courtesy of AAA Home Drainage.
The information is from the CCB newsletter that explains important rights affecting the homeowner taking possession of new construction in Oregon. Read the rest of this entry »
Study groundwater removal methods, and home drainage problems and solutions within this website course on home drainage to prevent groundwater intrusion below grade, and to prevent mold and bad air from fouling your living environment and ruining your respiratory health. Read the rest of this entry »
Home drainage problems can be nasty. The homeowner has many responsibilities with respect to caring for their home. Your home may be the largest investment you will ever make. The most money that you will ever spend on an item in your entire lifetime. Read the rest of this entry »
Spot footings support the post beam structure of your home. Read the rest of this entry »
If you are one of the unlucky homeowners living in an area of the world that is presently receiving flooding, you need hand excavated french drains working for you to protect your land and your home.
It would have been better if they were installed prior to the floods, but better late than never. Even if you are forced to get right in the middle of the heavy rain to install them. Tough it out. Get it done. Dress warm and stay dry. Read the rest of this entry »
Google is a great service. On their home page there is an option to put on your custom google page called “stuff”, among the selections is the Einstein quote of the day. I highly recommend this for fun and fact.
Albert Einstein said, “education is what remains after one has forgotten everything that was learned in school”.
The fact that few homeowners understand home drainage is not surprising. Home drainage, groundwater removal, and hand excavated french drains are not on the average study roster in college, unless you are an environmental engineering student. Read the rest of this entry »
When groundwater really becomes a problem, you will likely know it. A home drainage condition will usually be evidenced by one of the following factors that becomes apparent. Sometimes the same old events keep happening, and the homeowner says to themselves, “there isn’t much water, and it only comes when it rains, so why consider it a problem”. Read the rest of this entry »
Few things will degrade the value of your home like a bad air environment or structural damage. Many homeowners overlook this fact until it costs them big bucks. Many homeowners blow home drainage problems off to the back of the priority list because they just don’t get it.
The current home valuation and financing crisis in the United States has brought to the attention of many homeowners the fact that they have waited too long to deal with groundwater problems. Read the rest of this entry »
Exterior sump pump installations can be the answer for homes that need to move lots of groundwater quickly. The premise of necessity in this case is to pump the groundwater because the amount of groundwater to deal with exceeds the ability of a conventional hand excavated drywell to perk the groundwater into the ground. Read the rest of this entry »
You remember those Lennon-McCartney lyrics. You must focus on solving home drainage problems before they become the stuff nightmares are made of. I wonder if John or Paul ever had a home drainage problem in those days. Just wondering. Read the rest of this entry »
Yeh, I know. Who likes to spend money on home drainage, right? In some homeowners minds, hand excavated french drains are way down the list of home improvements, as compared to new patio furniture, or a fish pond. Not very romantic, right? Read the rest of this entry »
When groundwater from heavy rain runs across your driveway and pools along the edge of your driveway, consider a silt collection box installation. This type of groundwater removal installation can provide a way to gravity flow groundwater using a silt collection box with 3″-4″ abs pipe and 3″ ads solid flexible pipe, venting the groundwater to a hand excavated drywell or daylighted vent, rather than the groundwater flooding your driveway, lawn, or garage. Read the rest of this entry »
The city of Portland, Oregon has a program that went into effect in mid 2006 called the Portland Clean River Rewards Program.
Manage stormwater run off in the city of Portland. You may apply for this stormwater program and receive up to 100% off with respect to the on site stormwater removal charge of your water bill. This program is in effect through June of 2017. Read the rest of this entry »
The outlook for Oregon homeowners is wet, wet, wet. Rain and more rain. It makes us wonder if we will ever see summer again. As one of my customers said of his garden efforts so far this year, “I should have planted rice or cranberries”. Oregonians are not happy with high gas prices, dismal summer barbeques, and inflation setting in with respect to food, oil, and other services. The rain has not been much of a motivating factor for many Oregonians so far this year. The prospect of having to deal with home drainage problems makes them even more cranky. Read the rest of this entry »
Knowledge of sound home drainage principles is good. The inspiration of a homeowner to learn about home drainage and hand excavated french drains is great. But nothing matters unless your intuition tells you that the information on home drainage makes sense to you. Seek, study, evaluate and reflect on home drainage information, always deferring to common sense in the end. Read the rest of this entry »
AAA Home Drainage will consult with you anywhere in the world, concerning your home groundwater problems by phone.
See the Pay Pal consultation option on the home page of this website. Consider getting a skype internet phone line, and make telephone calls from anywhere in the world without paying long distance charges.
Call to arrange a private consultation. Fees are based on private consultations, in one hour increments. Follow the instructions for the Pay Pal consulting option on this website. Read the rest of this entry »
There is much to know about groundwater removal systems and home drainage solutions. Specifically solving groundwater problems with hand excavated french drains. For a great overview of what is contained in this site, scan the titles of the posts only. A time consuming an educational task in its own right. For articles specific to your home drainage needs, use the categories section of the site. Read the rest of this entry »
AAA Home Drainage currently offers 315 posts on groundwater removal filled with information on the what to do, and the what not to do, of home drainage and groundwater removal.
Hand excavated french drains are not only the past, but the present and the future of home drainage and groundwater removal science. Read the rest of this entry »
If you are planning on building a new home in Oregon, enclosed recent 2008 information is important for you to know. ORS 701.320 mandates that a contractor who contracts to construct a new residential structure (but it excludes manufactured dwellings) must offer the owner or first purchaser, a warranty against defects in materials and workmanship for the structure.
This is not the same law that requires new home construction contractors to give first purchasers of a new home information on likely groundwater and solutions to protect the home from groundwater damage. Read the rest of this entry »
The 2007 Oregon State Legislature adopted new requirements for contractors who construct new residential structures to provide the first purchaser, or owner, a recommended maintenance schedule. Groundwater problems have become main stream for new housing in Oregon.
The maintenance schedule must include the following minimum information, as per House Bill 2654.
Today a customer said something that hit the nail on the head so well. Her comment was that “The gold standard for home drainage is to collect the groundwater on the top 18″ of the soil around the foundation, with a compacted graded splash block against the foundation”. Well said, and very true words of home drainage wisdom. Read the rest of this entry »
