Dear Dr. Drainage,   

"Even several days after a rain, my back yard is squishy and muddy for days afterwards.  My kids can't even play out there and when they do, they and the dog track mud all over the house. 

What can I do?" 

Muddy in McLean

Dear Muddy,

I assume you've already put your kids on notice not to track mud through the house and you're washing Fido's paws after every outing.  Now, it's time to really solve the problem.  In many cases we recommend installing a french drain. 

Many properties have low spots that naturally collect water.  In those cases, sometimes you can just re-grade the yard and voila! problem solved.   

But in other cases, a yard may have soils with a low infiltration rate that remain soft, wet and muddy for days after the storms are gone.  In these cases, homeowners can install what is called a french drain.  We excavate a "main trunk line," usually through a drainage feature such as a swale and then extend branches out from the main trunk to the problem areas of the yard.    

French drains comprise perforated pipe protected by a silt sock and surrounded by open-graded gravel and then protected further by a geotextile fabric to keep soil from clogging the gravel.

Once the french drain is in place, the sod that was cut and set aside is now placed back over the soil. It allows water to infiltrate into the drain and is then carried away to a storm drain or other drainage system.  The results: Dry yard, happy kids and parents, clean house and nice doggy. 

Thanks and best wishes!  

(And be sure to see the FAQs on our website) 

Ken Fraine and Mark Lane

Drainage & Erosion Solutions, LLC

1889 Preston White Drive #104

Reston, VA 20191

www.drainageanderosion.com

703-391-0040

This article was posted in Drainage and Erosion Blog and tagged with french drain, french drain mclean va

One of the many services we provide to our clients is the installation of window well egress systems. 

Window wells are small retaining walls made of a variety of materials built around basement windows to hold earth away from the windows. Current building codes require that basement windows in new homes be built with a  means of egress (door or window). Any living space in a basement, such as a bedroom, must also have a means of egress in case of emergency. The code also requires that the addition of a bedroom to an older home must include at a minimum a window well egress. 

Our clients like them for a number of reasons: 

1. A window well lets natural daylight into an otherwise dark basement. This can brighten up your basement and make it more pleasant especially if you have a finished basement where family members can relax.
2. Safety is also a big factor. In the event of an emergency, a window well egress will provide an emergency escape for family members and an entry for fire and rescue personnel. Basement windows open into a small space with stairs built into the retaining wall.
3. Most older homes have retaining walls built from galvanized steel and are open at the top and bottom. Today, we use high-strength plastic, masonry or stone. The new window well system is fully enclosed including the bottom to prevent weed growth and to keep small animals from burrowing their way under the window well and into the foundation. In many cases we use a high-strength polycarbonate clear cover to keep leaves and other debris from filling the well and to keep children from falling in.  

You'll want a qualified professional to install a window well egress system. It needs to be installed properly to keep  moisture from rain and snow out of your basement. According to the building permit department of a local jurisdiction (Fairfax County), DES installs more egress systems than all other contractors combined!

Please call us for an estimate on installing these beautiful features in your home and check out our gallery of photos and a video with examples of beautiful window well egress systems! 

Ken Fraine and Mark Lane 

Drainage & Erosion Solutions, LLC

Click here for more information on drainage and erosion solutions.

This article was posted in Drainage and Erosion Blog and tagged with window well anne arundel county md, window well egress anne arundel county md

Winter and spring are the wettest times of the year in the DC region. 

As a result, Soil and Structure Consulting often is called upon to evaluate and/or prevent retaining wall damage. One of the main causes of retaining wall damage is excessive water build-up behind the wall, or hydrostatic pressure. 

Whether it's a simple retaining wall of wood, stone or brick -- or a large complex retaining wall of concrete -- water damage is an ever-present danger to a wall's integrity. Water pressure can crack and deform retaining walls leading to costly repairs and in some cases replacement.

The solution: 

Wall drainage systems installed on the back end of a retaining wall can minimize the damage due to water and extend the life and integrity of any retaining wall.

If you have reason to suspect any problems with your retaining wall, please contact us and we'll come out and do an inspection. Acting now can save thousands in repair costs.

Soil & Structure Consulting, Inc. 

1889 Preston White Drive, Suite 104

Reston, VA 20191

http://www.soilandstructure.com/

703-391-8911

This article was posted in Drainage and Erosion Blog and tagged with retaining wall washington dc, retaining wall damage washington dc, wall drainage washington dc

Drainage and Erosion Solutions was named a 2012 Best Pick by EBSCO for its A-rating, reliability, high standards and top performance!

We're very excited that Drainage & Erosion Solutions has been named a 2012 Best Pick in three categories by EBSCO Research, an independent consumer research firm that produces Best Pick Reports.  

EBSCO conducts phone surveys of customers to pick the top performing companies!   

Ken Fraine and Mark Lane Drainage & Erosion Solutions, LLC

Drainage & Erosion Solutions proudly services Maryland, DC & Virginia

Including Fairfax, VA

Phone: 703-391-0040

Fax: 703-991-0421

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This article was posted in Drainage and Erosion Blog and tagged with ebsco best pick 2012

Dear Dr. Drainage: 

The below-ground walls inside my house are water-stained. What causes this?

Excess moisture in foundation walls is generally caused by one of three things:  

1. Surface water infiltration
2. Groundwater infiltration or
3. A broken exterior pipe.

 Generally the culprit is #1, surface water infiltration. In most cases, the water is coming from a gutter downspout dumping water right next to the foundation, or the ground surface is graded toward the house instead of away (negative drainage). 

The problem is often misdiagnosed. Very often we are asked by homeowners to inspect their basement or crawl space after a "waterproofing contractor" has provided them a quote for installation of an interior perimeter drainage system (sometimes referred to as a "french drain"). That would be the solution for problem #2 - a rising groundwater table, but does not solve problem #1. 

If the problem is indeed water coming from the gutter downspout or negative drainage conditions, you need to regrade for positive drainage and extend the downspouts away from the foundation.   

Call us to come take a look at the problem - we've solved it for many clients.  

Ken Fraine and Mark Lane Drainage & Erosion Solutions, LLC

Drainage & Erosion Solutions proudly services Maryland, DC & Virginia

Including Fairfax, VA

Phone: 703-391-0040

Fax: 703-991-0421

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Click here for more tips from Drainage and Erosion.

This article was posted in Drainage and Erosion Blog and tagged with water stain, basement flooding, basement water damage

Drainage & Erosion Solutions (DES) is an award-winning company that provides assessment and repair of all drainage and erosion problems for residential and commercial properties. We are a design-build firm, with both engineering and contracting divisions. 

Our team members all are year-round, full-time employees with a strong reputation for technical knowledge, attention to detail, great customer service and general excellence.   

Another happy Fairfax, VA resident said: 

“Ken fixed our drainage problems by directing the water away from the house and putting in a very attractive river rock drainage ditch on the side of our property. We have been dry for 7 years!”

All DES consultations, assessments, and installations are performed by a licensed professional soils engineer or landscape designer. These professionals have over 35 years of combined design and contracting experience.

DES uses state-of-the-art materials and experienced crews with a supervisor that is always approachable and available on-site to address questions and concerns.

Our inspector will perform an assessment of the current situation and provide design solutions for:

Drainage & Erosion Solutions proudly services Maryland, DC & Virginia

Including Fairfax, VA

Phone: 703-391-0040

Fax: 703-991-0421

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This article was posted in Drainage and Erosion Blog and tagged with Virginia, Erosion, Drainage, fairfax, Drainage and Erosion Solutions, DES