Comprehensive drainage solutions Part 2/4 - Grading, Pipes, Concrete Tear out

We continue with this improvement project for an older property. Water was infiltrating the basement at the front and right sides of the house and we address those. We catch gutter downspouts and add grade to shed water away from the foundation.
Part 1 • Comprehensive drainage...
Part 3 • Comprehensive drainage...
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[@arcrad]

Ronald looking back to make sure he isnt blocking the camera. What a professional!

[@IOSARBX]

Gate City Foundation Drainage, Subscribed because your videos are always awesome!

[@boaz2001]

I love it you calling the attachment The Beak

[@dylantrinder1571]

Great part 2. I remembered from part 1 you mentioned that this project was early in the new year. Ronald made me laugh with his dad joke “haven’t seen you all year” to Jeremy. 😂

[@NotMuchHere]

Ronald is going to blow the leaves away ... pull pull pul ..Ronald rakes the leaves away ... hahahahah poor Ronald

[@TomIslav-o7l]

Ronald's always getting Mcdonald

[@randharma]

You are an awesome business person. Taking the time to share many things (naturalist, electrician, physicist, employer, concrete slinger, hole digger, somewhat of a welder, educator, mechanic) Really have learned many things from your videos.

[@rickb3078]

Very much enjoying the mini series

[@scheevie]

Thanks Shawn for all the hard work to get the videos together, I really look forward to them. Many blessings!

[@allanb9360]

What a cliff hanger!! Can’t wait for ep 03👍👍😊😊

[@nick540g]

Once again, your crew is top notch and your skill on the Bobcat is unmatched! Great editing too -- all around an excellent video.

[@RkyMtnH1]

Always great to see the 'BEAK' in action!

[@steverusie6986]

It is amazing what the Beak can do! It gets up the concrete and then efficiently loads it in the bed of the truck. Looking forward to what comes next!

[@HappilyHomicidalHooligan]

16:20 Suggestion, in the future, bury the shovel blade farther away from the drill and stick a small bottle-jack in between the shovel and drill to supply the pushing force to drive the bit through the concrete...

[@Stratos53100]

The Beak is priceless, that fence didnt stand a chance, tough angles though it eventually gave up..

[@LennartKasper]

Jeremy, just a helpful note. Plastic pipe 'bends' but this puts the pipe under stress and will fail prematurely by cracking at the stress area pushing against the pipe, failure will occur within a decade or two, the more stress the faster the failure. Pipe has to be placed straight and you should not bend it to make it fit the trench or this stress will make it fail. Soil re-compacted within the trench will also place excessive stress on the pipe, if you were to bed the pipe in sand or tiny washed gravel, specifically washed and polished gravel with smooth edges as just plain gravel rock can also put pressure points on the plastic pipe due to sharp edges and after pipe laying compaction or compaction over time. If you want it to last 50+ years the buried conditions have to be perfect. Forcing the pipe into a slightly wavy trench where it is pushed into the trench to make it fit will lead to early failure. Some people then use heat to try to 'relax' the pipe from the bending stress, but this in fact weakens the pipe even more prematurely as the layers of plastic within the pipe were build up on are then fused and will fail within years underground. It also releases the chemical treatment you do not want to breath due to carcinogenic effects. A trench digger is nice, but you need in fact double the space to fill the trench with sand to remove any side stresses on the pipe due to potential soil movement. Construction in the US seems to be entirely created around doing any project as fast and cheap as possible which is a shame. If the trench is at least a 2 foot or about 50 centimeters wide and just filled with sand, the pipe will last 100 years easily. It's what we did with clay pipes here in Belgium and drainage problems are very rare. This is why in Europe you will see this mini bucket excavator everywhere and lots of sand. Hydrostatic pressure creates side movements, just as you see a slope of a terrain where water cascades downhill, this happens underground as well due to the water movement. This below the earth water movement also takes with them tiny soil particles and will deposit this into the trench which will lead to compaction, so any perpendicular digging of this natural draining slope will have to need a wider and deeper sand trench to make it last longer. In some areas we will dig a 2 meter wide sand trench for just a small 10cm pvc drain pipe due to the terrain conditions.

[@ryanomac27]

Part 2 here we go! Thanks Shawn

[@barrygrant2907]

You always seem to have such a good crew who understands your goals.

[@Tony2tall]

Bobcat T-450 works great with THE BEAK!

[@JPaul60]

Very interesting project Shawn. We haven't seen the Beak in a while. That's a great tool. You three make a good team.

[@futurecaredesign]

At 18:10 Ronald is working to force that pipe through the bricks with an axe. It got me wondering if there isn't something you could make specifically for this job? Maybe an old maul with piece of metal plate welded to it, covered in a car tire? Like a big hammer that is slightly padded to prevent breaking the PVC.

[@Matlockization]

I'm a little concerned that when the bulldozer nicked the pipe that was running along the window, that didn't unhook it from the top corner. Always welcome when you alert the viewer to the soil slope.

[@ipaddlemyowncanoe.7441]

Yeah nice job looking good. Been more stuff but that's all right. Drainage is going to be really good. You got a good slope on it. Don't have to worry about the water. Good stuff. 👍👍🙂🇨🇦

[@MooseTurder]

Cliffhanger: Did he make it to the fuel lines?

[@TomIslav-o7l]

Shawn's always making us sweat

[@ArmouryTerrain]

Question for you at 25mins - when you are struggling to break a corner of the slab without a hammer, why did you not just stand up a brick and hammer it down with the bobcat arm? you might destroy the brick, but the slab corner would be broken.

[@BWE1986]

I feel like when you put backfill against the foundation, you could make it more landscape, friendly by a gradual grade. I think you’re kind of extreme with the amount of dirt putting against things. You don’t need much slope to make the water runoff and away from the foundation. It’s not a ski slope.

[@ChaiLatte13]

I'm really jealous of everyone who has a street or other system to dump the water into. I'm the drainage system for the whole neighborhood and gas station across the street. 😬

[@TomIslav-o7l]

Build up the entrance of your driveway

[@ChaiLatte13]

@@TomIslav-o7l That's not the issue. Wish it were that simple. It may end up in the court or hopefully DEP will do their job and enforce their stormwater laws. Time will tell.

[@dhabbott41]

That was the first time I have seen you have a "positive" use for corrugated pipe.

[@Tony-InLosAngeles]

😊 👍🏻

[@larry323]

Shawn does it hurt anything building up the dirt on the brick that high without sealing it first with some type of waterproofing? Just wondering. Larry

[@josephj6521]

Was the owner showing you his basement before or after you installed the new pipes and dirt? Great video. 👍

[@GCFD]

After the pipes and grading

[@TomIslav-o7l]

​@GCFD Shawn from now on you must inspect & video all basements before all work is to commence! Thank you

[@josephj6521]

@@GCFD ooohhhhhh. It’ll be interesting to find out how and from which side of the home that new water seeped into the basement the customer claimed. This is a very interesting series. Keep it up! 👍

[@clayman1000x]

You should have made sure their was no soil touching the wooden surface of that window @21:14, not a good idea concerning termites. 👍

[@HappilyHomicidalHooligan]

If you end up having problems pulling tree and shrub root balls out, why not have a welder fabricate a tall, heavy duty sawhorse like frame out of steel and hang a hydraulic winch from it, wrap the root ball with a strong chain and connect the winch hook to the chain and power the winch off the Aux. tool feed of the Bobkitten or Miniexcavator... That way, ALL the pulling force is transferred straight down through the frame rather than at an angle through the machine boom which means there is little to no chance of overloading the machines and tipping them over... Alternately, you can use a smaller electric winch and drive it off the alternator of the truck via an extension cord or from a gas generator...

[@patdieon]

Hi from Ireland Shaun . Another great video . Just a question. Do you crush and recycle the concrete and use it as hard base filler ?

[@Obospeedo]

New video series!!

[@robertduffy5805]

Question - Is there a reason you don't put any cleanouts in them? Am I overthinking that I would want to pressure wash out the drains every few years, or does the volume keep the smooth pipe clean enough? I live in the southwest so we don't get your kind of rain.

[@EverydayKindaGuy]

That little hell strip along the driveway and the house I'd have thought best to dig it up, clean it, and pour a pitched slab along the side as well to help divert water. Doesn't look like anything's planted there, and not much reason to keep it IMHO.

[@TAGGdinc]

Why would you have the drain that high off the ground

[@Sku11Leader]

But did he make it to the gas station?

[@SlackerU]

Looks like you installed the pipe in a utility easement. That might also be a video topic. There is a channel called RedZot who has a neighbor learning that there is a 15ft easement between the properties that requires a 7.5ft setback. 4 surveys later & she is still resisting. Another reason why I want my county to actually be requiring the production of a "Comprehensive Drainage Plan" in the OSSF site-plan so that when I order a copy I get what the citizens should have always received. My county has harmed so many families as my warmer climate allows for excessive soil-parasite outbreaks.

[@SJ_999]

Why did you destroy the yard with the mini? Easily could’ve just gone back and forth and left zero marks. And lots of wear and tear on tracks and under carriage when you make 90 degree turns with one track not spinning

[@bobwatson957]

Time to down bubble it.

[@ZylonFPV]

5:03 - that looked a little close! 😮

[@DigitalIP]

Just an update: Whole house roof replacement is currently happening, they've been at it since 8am and are ALMOST done. Fox Hollow Grey actually looks pretty nice, wanted something light colored cuz the attic insulation SUCKS

[@HappilyHomicidalHooligan]

Always, ALWAYS chock Front AND Rear sides of BOTH sets of drive tires (Driver AND Passenger sides)... NEVER rely on JUST the spring brakes...they are meant to be used ONLY as a Parking Brake or as an Emergency Brake in the event of loss of air pressure... They were never designed or intended to hold the truck against external forces like loading or unloading ESPECIALLY the kind of loading/unloading you tend to do scraping the bucket up the length of the bed to get dirt/rock out or sliding large, heavy concrete chunks into the bed... I know, for 10 years, I was a Truck Driver and just having a forklift drive onto the back of the trailer from a level dock can push the truck and trailer forward against the spring brakes forcing you to eventually put the engine in reverse to back the trailer up against the dock so the forklift driver can finish loading you...Chocks are NOT an Option, they are a MUST!!!

[@SlackerU]

I'm thinking about just how many sunken-concrete jobs you've shown & maybe your area does have soil that is too expansive. In that if it is expansive-soil that does shrink when it dries out then you might want to promote smaller sections of concrete. I kinda wonder if we shouldn't be treating these slabs like we would drain tile in that the distance between tile is closer if the Ksat(water flow through soil) is low so if the soil is expansive then maybe the slabs need to be narrow or have more setbacks for water infiltration. Slabs on expansive soil might be the type of situation where you want a FD that dumps moisture back into the ground under the slab but you must make sure that none of the water is effluent that has untreated(with an OSSF aerator) soggy-soap.

[@karstenjensen6753]

The Laurel & Hardy show 🤣

[@ryanomac27]

Shawn, have you ever used triple wall hdpe pipe. I know you probably don't have worry about freeze thaw in your area, but I hear this pipe is used alot in northern climates.

[@wrenchdoozer]

I feel you should keep the slugs/core samples and make them into a nice display in your backyard. 😎

[@pedrobarradas3953]

Fear the BEAK.

[@tucobenedicto109]

I didn't notice that big crack on the front driveway portion, all the water will run under it as it goes to the street like the oroville dam 2017. Any plans on fixing it? After all the other is poured? Looks good so far. Don't bury the root of the plant or shrub let it breathe, as per Roger Cook this old house. I'm sure you know.

[@familyplans3788]

In the words of the guy talking to Dirty Harry after Harry says his famous line about "have i fired 5 or 6 bullets .......," "I gots to know" , did you make it to the petrol station without mis-hap ?? Or is that in part 3? Loving the series so far

[@sagebrushnw485]

Why is it necessary to have the "connection" to the new downspout by the front porch so high? The bigger drain pipe is SO UGLY compared to the regular downspout of the gutter. and so, and so, and so...

[@gregs8678]

Laziness, lack of skill and so and so and so, quite comical that people praise this shotty work let alone pay for it. Better yet was piling soil up damn near to the window that’ll work out well…

[@WildAcresFarms]

Head height. In the event of a heavy rain, imagine how much pressure that much water will exert on the slower moving water making the journey out into the front yard. In extremely heavy downpours it actually CAN help a long drain pipe with relatively shallow fall perform better. The obvious second benefit is that if the water is falling so heavily it backs up? It’s contained inside that 12” tall pipe providing that head pressure, instead of leaking out of the connection all over the yard. I agree that it needs painted to match the house and camolauged behind a shrub, aesthetically.

[@jeffs2809]

@@WildAcresFarmsif he was concerned with needing head height for capacity, I’d have thought they would’ve kept all of the other vertical runs high as well.🤷‍♂️ On the other hand, he could have just buried the pipe to begin with and not needed as much exposed vertical pipe and still kept extra space for heavy rains. On this lot, with so much fall, I was a bit surprised he started off with the pipe on top of the ground anyway. I was sure the grade on the side.would be lowered away from the window rather than raised to it.

[@BWE1986]

Dirt up to the windowsill no ring around it. You don’t need that much dirt on the side of that house. Get out of raking grade it right

[@bennywilks9367]

No offense...BUT... the unwillingness to step off the bobcat, I believe, is a problem. Grab a rake, a shovel, and any other hand tool that would balance the usefulness of the bobcat with the ability to create quality finishing dirt work.I really do enjoy your work and videos, I just said what I sincerely thought about that aspect of the work. A fan in Las Vegas.

[@TomIslav-o7l]

He didn't fininish the levelling in this video, he said he coming back to do it

[@danlux4954]

He got off to shovel. Maybe in part 3

[@MyCracker1234]

I know you don't mean to, but you make things hard to watch sometimes Sean, the start of the concrete removal with the beak was painful to watch......I totally get why you didn't want to break it up then use a bucket to scoop up the broken concrete. it' s just not great viewing.

[@TomIslav-o7l]

Are you a crack head?

[@rcrtvtv7084]

Lazy Union workers hahaha

[@silvesterpeel5379]

5:04 was there a full bubble?