My rain barrel overflow pipe flooded the basement last fall

I had my barrel right next to the foundation in Berlin, NH and a heavy October rain backed it up through a crack I never noticed. Now I rerouted the overflow 10 feet away with a cheap garden hose and a PVC elbow. Anyone else deal with foundation water issues from their catchment system?

2 comments

2 Comments

perry.karen23d ago

Moving that overflow further from the house is exactly what saved my setup. I had a similar issue in my old house where the barrel sat right against the siding. The water soaked the ground and got into the basement wall after a few days of steady rain. Now I run a length of 3/4 inch black poly pipe from the overflow straight down a gentle slope to a drywell I dug about 15 feet out. That little change stopped all the seepage problems I used to have every spring.

morgan_butler23d ago

Moving the overflow farther from the foundation made all the difference for me too. @perry.karen you're right about the black poly pipe, that stuff holds up way better than the thin garden hose I tried first... mine cracked after one winter freeze. I ended up digging a small French drain trench that runs from the overflow outlet to a low spot in the yard about 20 feet out. The barrel stays against the house but the water gets carried away before it can soak the foundation again. That crack in the basement wall never got worse after I made that change. It's a pain to dig but it beats mopping up a wet basement every spring.