TravelingChris Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 We got a lot of snow. I think it was nearly 2 feet. It is supposed to get above freezing starting tomorrow for a few hours each day. Then on Friday, we are getting rain. I know almost all the snow will still be here since the temperature will only rise a few degrees above freezing. I am worried about having flooding or an ice lake in my driveway. What do we do? We live midway on the hill and well below our house out our backyard is a stream. NOrmally that is where the water flows. Now what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Have you been at your house when there's a really, really big downpour? The water will want to go the same way. Greater Vancouver is well known for a 1-2 day dump of huge snow followed by rain so we go through this several times a year. We do have a drain on our driveway & I need to make sure it's been cleared of snow & keep the upslope side of it very well cleaned. I usually use the snow shovel to make a little path from the top of the street to my drain so all the water goes that way. The first year we were here I wasn't on it as well as I should have been & I woke up one morning to a lake. It was almost over my wellies; luckily whoever built this house did it right & put in awesome drain tiles because it still did not flood our basement..... People also go out onto the streets in front of their houses and make sure that all the storm drains are cleared of snow. Storm drains are generally well situated on proper slopes and water will go into them but not if they're banked with a foot of wet slush. So you just go out with a shovel - a gardening one & a snow one - and hack into the upstream side of the storm drains to keep them clear; this will stop lakes from forming on the streets & flooding into your basements. My house is on a hill too and I do them all around the top of the slope of our property, all along the block. If you're not sure how the water wants to flow through your property, just make some channels in the snow on the perimeter - several feet away from your house. Once it starts melting, you'll see how the water wants to flow. If it's pooling somewhere where you don't want pooling, then you go out and cut trenches downhill from there to let the water out. I don't think I'm making this clear but it's not that hard if you're there to see what's happening and have gumboots and a shovel. It doesn't take long either and once it starts making its own melting channel is just stays there & widens out as it melts. What is a PITA is if you're not going to be there. Then you have to know the slope of your land quite well & put in your drainage tunnels in the snow ahead of time & hope that you don't get a collapse on the sides which will cause a back up.... BTW, kids enjoy making channels for the water & hacking out there in the snow. My ds will spend ages buiding drainage channels; it's like building a marble run ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Great advice...I definitely second ensuring the storm drains are clear. Saucer bottom sleds make excellent snow trenches or channels for water to flow down. Have you been at your house when there's a really, really big downpour? The water will want to go the same way. Greater Vancouver is well known for a 1-2 day dump of huge snow followed by rain so we go through this several times a year. We do have a drain on our driveway & I need to make sure it's been cleared of snow & keep the upslope side of it very well cleaned. I usually use the snow shovel to make a little path from the top of the street to my drain so all the water goes that way. The first year we were here I wasn't on it as well as I should have been & I woke up one morning to a lake. It was almost over my wellies; luckily whoever built this house did it right & put in awesome drain tiles because it still did not flood our basement..... People also go out onto the streets in front of their houses and make sure that all the storm drains are cleared of snow. Storm drains are generally well situated on proper slopes and water will go into them but not if they're banked with a foot of wet slush. So you just go out with a shovel - a gardening one & a snow one - and hack into the upstream side of the storm drains to keep them clear; this will stop lakes from forming on the streets & flooding into your basements. My house is on a hill too and I do them all around the top of the slope of our property, all along the block. If you're not sure how the water wants to flow through your property, just make some channels in the snow on the perimeter - several feet away from your house. Once it starts melting, you'll see how the water wants to flow. If it's pooling somewhere where you don't want pooling, then you go out and cut trenches downhill from there to let the water out. I don't think I'm making this clear but it's not that hard if you're there to see what's happening and have gumboots and a shovel. It doesn't take long either and once it starts making its own melting channel is just stays there & widens out as it melts. What is a PITA is if you're not going to be there. Then you have to know the slope of your land quite well & put in your drainage tunnels in the snow ahead of time & hope that you don't get a collapse on the sides which will cause a back up.... BTW, kids enjoy making channels for the water & hacking out there in the snow. My ds will spend ages buiding drainage channels; it's like building a marble run ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Katia Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 What do you do? Try not to slip and hurt yourself! Buy a bunch of Ice-Melt and use it and use it and use it.....and also kitty litter works well to help you not to slip. Welcome to my world. My driveway is pure ice from the time it first snows (usually in Nov) until mid-March. I have no idea how we'd survive without Ice-Melt and kitty litter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 One more thing. Make sure any roof/gutter drains you have are directed away from the house. My son woke up to his lower lever bedroom flooded becasuse the drain had been moved and was pointing at his window well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Ironically, I was just discussing how wet snow is with a local farmer. I was asking him if the corn out by the elevators was dried already and then if it snows, is it still dry? The answer is "yes." Anyway, he told me that 12 inches of snow = 1 inch of rain. So, two feet of snow doesn't seem like that big of deal??? I don't know if he's right, but maybe it makes you feel better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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