Yard drainage

Happy, I had two different problems with rain water at my new house. One was great amounts of rain water falling off of the house and deck rolling under the deck and flooding the basement. My DSO and a buddy installed a french drain in a days work with about $100 of materials. I've not had a problem since. There are no screens on the pipe. It's been there 3 years and works just fine.

The 2nd problem proved a little more interesting. In heavy downpours, the rain would pool and over run the wall along side the concrete stairs of my outside basement entrance which is below ground level. Of course then another part of the basement would flood. I had 2 rectangular heavy plastic decorative planters filled with annuals standing on this wall. The wall was at ground level, the stairs below ground.

DSO had the brilliant idea to dig a 6" trench in the ground beside the wall, fill it with 3" of sand, and set the planters into the remaining 3" depression. This barrier was sufficient to disperse the water across the ground and not down the stairs. I'm just putting this out there to give you another direction of thinking. Is there a spot anywhere in the water's path that something like this might work? Mary

Thanks, Stormy. I think your second idea is really a modified french drain, because a french drain is supposed to be set in a bed of sand/gravel. Here because of the slope, I am guessing we will need something more aggressive. When the water comes down, it really races towards my neighbor's house. Though what you describe is interesting -- it is like a pre-made river bed, whereas in your case you are describing it as as pooling. I guess the problem would be over time it would quickly fill up with sediment. Do you find that is happening?

Happy, The water was not pooling. It was creating a very rapid waterfall over the wall and then pooling down below in front of the basement door. No, there is no sediment buildup. The only thing is now I hand shear the grass in front of the planters so the weed wacker doesn't harm them.

Happy, Is the water that's running down your slope, coming off of your house? If so would those flexible rainspout extentions that can redirect the water help?

Stormy: No, the water that is the problem is not coming from our house. Our house is on a slope, and it is coming down the slope and then runs to the side of our house.