Gardening and Horticulture - Flooded Barn
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toddhoward
10-29-02, 07:54 PM
Hello Everyone,
This is my first time to the site and also my very first post. As the subject states, I have a barn that gets flooded everytime it rans. I live in beautiful mountains of Eastern Kentucky, about half way up on a mountain. 20 years ago my dad and uncle decided they would build a barn and raise some hogs. 10 years later my uncle got sick and the burden to keep raising the hogs was just to much for me and my dad ( I was only 12). We gave up the hog buisness and my dad, being the DIY person he is, wondered if he could build a house. Of course, he sat out to try this endeaver. 5 years later he had constructed a 24' by 24' A-frame house that is absoultely beautiful. 2 years later my parents had already split and remarried. I went to college and found out that the teachers are not nearly as amazed about the amount of alchool that you consumed the night before as your friends were. So, I came home, feeling a little independent, I got a job and asked my parents if I could live in the A frame. Niether one had any objections as long as I paid the bills on time and keep everything up. This leads up to now, I have a good job and will graduate this spring with my Associate Degree in Applied Sciences from a technical college here locally. I have some money to spend and I want to fix up the old barn so I can put my tools in as well as store items. I started this project this summer and poured an 8 inch concrete flooring all through out the barn. Ironically, the barn also measures 24' by 24'. However, when my dad did the landscaping from the house all the water that comes off the mountain funnels right towards the barn and leaves my floor very wet. It would be useless to put anything of worth in here because it would get ruined. Does anyone have any ideas on how to divert the water around the barn? I realize some kind of ditch is needed but where and how? Any questions or comment will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for reading,
Todd Howard
This is my first time to the site and also my very first post. As the subject states, I have a barn that gets flooded everytime it rans. I live in beautiful mountains of Eastern Kentucky, about half way up on a mountain. 20 years ago my dad and uncle decided they would build a barn and raise some hogs. 10 years later my uncle got sick and the burden to keep raising the hogs was just to much for me and my dad ( I was only 12). We gave up the hog buisness and my dad, being the DIY person he is, wondered if he could build a house. Of course, he sat out to try this endeaver. 5 years later he had constructed a 24' by 24' A-frame house that is absoultely beautiful. 2 years later my parents had already split and remarried. I went to college and found out that the teachers are not nearly as amazed about the amount of alchool that you consumed the night before as your friends were. So, I came home, feeling a little independent, I got a job and asked my parents if I could live in the A frame. Niether one had any objections as long as I paid the bills on time and keep everything up. This leads up to now, I have a good job and will graduate this spring with my Associate Degree in Applied Sciences from a technical college here locally. I have some money to spend and I want to fix up the old barn so I can put my tools in as well as store items. I started this project this summer and poured an 8 inch concrete flooring all through out the barn. Ironically, the barn also measures 24' by 24'. However, when my dad did the landscaping from the house all the water that comes off the mountain funnels right towards the barn and leaves my floor very wet. It would be useless to put anything of worth in here because it would get ruined. Does anyone have any ideas on how to divert the water around the barn? I realize some kind of ditch is needed but where and how? Any questions or comment will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for reading,
Todd Howard
howiek
10-30-02, 03:43 AM
Hello Todd and Welcome to DoItYourself.com :)
A lot will depend on your topography, surrounding vegetation and other physical conditions.
Without a more detailed descripition of the actual site, a berm/trench running in front of and around the building seems the most immediate solution. ...But it might take an civil engineer or drainage specialist to figure out the right size and best location (distance from your building) to place the trench. Flow rate of regular and extraordinary anticipated percipitation is governed by slope on the uphill side, area draining into the swale, soil conditions (natural percolation of water into the soil), absorption and diversion by vegetation, etc....
Maybe there is someone at your College who can be of help or who may know someone who can do a site analysis and give you some guidelines.
I'm going to copy this post over to the Outdoor Living and Gardens forums where (hopefully) more Members will be able to have a look and maybe make suggestions. You might not be notified of a response by email (if you've enabled that feature) after the thread is copied, so check back in all three forums periodically...
Good Luck
Howie
A lot will depend on your topography, surrounding vegetation and other physical conditions.
Without a more detailed descripition of the actual site, a berm/trench running in front of and around the building seems the most immediate solution. ...But it might take an civil engineer or drainage specialist to figure out the right size and best location (distance from your building) to place the trench. Flow rate of regular and extraordinary anticipated percipitation is governed by slope on the uphill side, area draining into the swale, soil conditions (natural percolation of water into the soil), absorption and diversion by vegetation, etc....
Maybe there is someone at your College who can be of help or who may know someone who can do a site analysis and give you some guidelines.
I'm going to copy this post over to the Outdoor Living and Gardens forums where (hopefully) more Members will be able to have a look and maybe make suggestions. You might not be notified of a response by email (if you've enabled that feature) after the thread is copied, so check back in all three forums periodically...
Good Luck
Howie
TheUglyMug
11-02-02, 11:02 AM
Call a dirt man! Local dirt movers, ie. guys who dig holes for foundations and guys who do final grades for lawns. They are experts on this and most of them will give you advice along with an estimate for free. Your probably going to need a bobcat to do some digging for drain tile anyway. Good luck!
Newt
11-02-02, 11:47 AM
Hi Todd,
First I would like to congratulate you on your degree and all your hard work!
Another person that would be helpful would be a landscape architect, not a designer. Landscape architects are more knowledgeable about the soil and the grade than designers. You might want to get a consult from more than one of the professions already mentioned. DO CHECK REFERENCES and ask about the type of problem that they solved. It really will make a difference in the long run.
Best of luck,
Newt
First I would like to congratulate you on your degree and all your hard work!
Another person that would be helpful would be a landscape architect, not a designer. Landscape architects are more knowledgeable about the soil and the grade than designers. You might want to get a consult from more than one of the professions already mentioned. DO CHECK REFERENCES and ask about the type of problem that they solved. It really will make a difference in the long run.
Best of luck,
Newt