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Help! This is the situation with our subdeck in the backyard. For the first 8 years that we lived in the house, we never had any problems in the spring with the snow melting. The subdeck is shoveled clear of snow faithfully all winter long but the surrounding lawn has about 3 feet of snow by the time spring rolls around. Then, within the last 3 years, we have started to get flooding in the subdeck when the snow starts to melt. I used to deal with this by vacuuming up the water with a ShopVac but this was an incredibly labor intensive way of dealing with the problem. Can someone suggest some sort of pump that would be ideal for this situation?
I had a graphic of my situation in the original post but it didn't come across - perhaps this post will show the graphic - this time I tried attaching the graphic
Further to the original posting, I'd like to let you know that the deck floods in an even sheet of water. If this sheet rises to about 2.5", it will begin to crest over the doorsill and flood the basement. Is there some sort of pump that you could recommend, that I could stick into this 2 inch layer of water and perhaps attach a garden hose to - so that we could transport the water about 50 feet away from the house where I could be sure that the water would not flow back into the subdeck?
You could use a sump pump to get rid of the water, but ideally it should be diverted away before it gets that close to your house. Around here you can get a decent sump pump that connects to a hose for $60 and up.
Here's a link to a great site that explains how to address drainage problems around your house. You might need to install a drain of some kind in the lawn area. You can replace the lawn afterwards, it works fine beneath grass.
Thanks Clay for the response. Isn't a sump pump something that you immerse in water? Would a sump pump work in the situation that I have described above where I need to get rid of only 2" of water that covers a very wide surface - i.e. my entire subdeck?
I totally agree that diversion is the way to go rather than allowing the subdeck to flood and then pump the water away but for the moment I know that I am going to have this problem to deal with in the spring and the only way I can do it for the time being is with a pump of some sort.
I will definitely look for the diversion solution in the summer time.
Yes, I'm just trying to think of what might be available in a hurry, to prevent a crisis. Some sump pumps have the intake on the bottom and would draw water in a very shallow situation, but you're right, they're for deeper water. And it would be a serious pain trying to get it to switch on and off. If you just left it on, it would probably burn up.
You might use a bilge pump and float switch from a boat supply place. Switching it off and on would be easier, but still might be hard to switch at the right times. They're cheaper, but require a 12 volt supply.
Thanks for the tip Clay - no hurry here - you will notice that I'm way up north - spring wont arrive here until the end of April so I have some time to look into these pumps.
ttibsen, spring will be late this year...lucky you, if you will see it in spring.
But ...to your problem... you could use a small pump, the one they use for Water gardens, switch it on and off. Don't leave it out at night, it may still freeze up there.
Next, in the summer I would prepare a ditch away from your steps, to drain off to the lowest point.
Sorry but I have not been able to participate again until now. Look, I appreciate all the suggestions for dealing with the problem properly but that will have to wait until the spring at least. As I type, we are having yet another snowstorm that will easily bring the blanket of snow to 4 feet and who knows how many more there will be before spring finally arrives? So what I would really appreciate is getting some advice on a pump (forget a sump pump - I don't think I want to dig a hole through the lovely cedar decking that forms the surface of the subdeck) that could handle the 2 - 3 inches of water that builds up when the snow melts. A key criteria has to be the ability to attach a garden hose to the pump so that the water could be drained to a far enough location from the pump so that it would not flow back into the subdeck. Thanks for your suggestions.
