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I purchased a new-build house 4 months ago and as such am covered under manufacturer's warranty through December.
On recurring issue that I'm having is drainage on my property. My house has a drainage system around the crawlspace that funnels water to a pipe that exits the front yard, next to the driveway. The property slopes down, so this drainage further flows to my neighbor and crosses his driveway.
The issue that issue that I have is that these pipes are always wet - there was water constantly dripping (not flowing heavily) out of the pipes. In January we had winter weather and my neighbor's driveway froze to a sheet of ice, so he complained to the builder who moved my pipes under ground with a system like this https://www.ndspro.com/products/drai...-emitters.html
The issue is that this ground is absolutely saturated regardless of the weather so something is draining. The builder came out and indicated that my HVAC was the cause of the problem (the HVAC drains into the ground above the drainage system around the crawlspace). Seems like a lot of water from just the HVAC but I could be wrong. Also when you drive through the development, my house is the only house that has a wet sidewalk in front of it.
I want some solution here because I don't want perpetually wet lawn - so wet you sink about 1-2 inches into the ground. My yard guy indicated that he sees this being an issue with fungus and if it goes into the neighbor's yard he could come after me for the cost of treatment.
I've logged one more warranty request with the homebuilder to do something about this. Assuming they come back with "it's the HVAC" my next step is to get someone out to tell me what the problem and solution is and then fight the homebuilder before the warranty expires.
But my question is - what type of professional(s) should I be looking for? An HVAC person to check the de-humidificaiton drainage, or someone who specializes in drainage systems? Are there engineering types who can dig deeper? I just don't know where to start but I don't want to be out a ton of money barking up the wrong tree.
We have had a wetter winter than normal here (NC) and we have notorious clay under the grass that does not absorb anything. And that is the argument the builder made initially, but with a one year warranty period I don't know how long to wait to press for more answers.
With respect to the water table, my street does run slightly down hill, there are 4 houses above mine and about 12 below mine. But my house is the only house that has this issue.
The water bill seems fine and our town has installed equipment on the meters that alerts the town if the water runs continuously for a certain period of time (I found this out after I moved in because the builder was using my water during the construction of the house next door).
I think the pop up emitters are a waste because the water just sits in that pipe and I already have odor and mosquitoes in that area from the standing water. I'm not sure what the solution is, which is why I'm here...just not sure where to turn to next.
I'm wondering if I should contact a drainage expert because they (I assume) would be able to point me to the right direction.
I would say not the HVAC guy. It's whoever designed the drainage system that is supposed to be keeping your crawlspace dry.
If they added it to your house, they must have discovered it necessary because of an abnormally high water table. It sounds like it's draining a lot of natural groundwater.
That system should certainly be able to handle the relatively small addition of your HVAC condensation.
The pop-up emitters should have weep holes with French drains under them so that after a rain has finished, the water remaining in the pipe can drain into the French drain volumn and then leak out into the surrounding soil.
I would say not the HVAC guy. It's whoever designed the drainage system that is supposed to be keeping your crawlspace dry.
If they added it to your house, they must have discovered it necessary because of an abnormally high water table. It sounds like it's draining a lot of natural groundwater.
That system should certainly be able to handle the relatively small addition of your HVAC condensation.
The pop-up emitters should have weep holes with French drains under them so that after a rain has finished, the water remaining in the pipe can drain into the French drain volumn and then leak out into the surrounding soil.
We have had a wetter winter than normal here...I'm wondering if I should contact a drainage expert because they (I assume) would be able to point me to the right direction.
So the "drainage expert" can tell you- "a lot of ground water"???
Seriously; diagnosing a fix before you diagnose the problem is not going to solve a "problem" that is most likely created by Mother Nature.
Well that's why I'm here...I asked, what professional should I be calling? There's two posts that say who NOT to call.
I can stand around all day and say, well my ground's wet. It could be this or it could be this or it could be this, or I can find out who can diagnose the problem.
High ground water, great. Now what's the next step.
Edited to add (since this is new to me) is high ground water a hyper local issue like this where my house, although it sits higher than 12 other houses, is the only one with this problem?
Well that's why I'm here...I asked, what professional should I be calling? There's two posts that say who NOT to call.
I can stand around all day and say, well my ground's wet. It could be this or it could be this or it could be this, or I can find out who can diagnose the problem.
High ground water, great. Now what's the next step.
Edited to add (since this is new to me) is high ground water a hyper local issue like this where my house, although it sits higher than 12 other houses, is the only one with this problem?
Hammer the builder who is responsible for your home warranty. Don't let him get away with blaming your HVAC system.
I know where you are (I used to live in Apex). HS has EXPLODED over the past several years with home builders, some from my area here in DC (does your builder have the initials DRB?)
High water table, is not the issue there. Jordan lake is too far, and water in general around the RDU area is so scarce that’s it a big problem for the area’s housing boom (both this time and the last time).
Call Wake County’s permitting office (I believe you’re in Wake). Have the county come take a look before you waste anymore of your time on this, as I’m sure you’re already feeling that warranty clock ticking down on you. The only way to get it to stop, and the builder’s complete attention for a proper fix, is to go after their posted bond on the house. You get the county to say something is wrong here, and you’ll see how fast your builder can move to get it fixed properly. If the county says it’s wrong, they’ll issue notice to the builder that their posted bond on your house that the county is holding (for 12 months, see the connection here now?) is being flagged for retention until this issue is fixed correctly. But you have to do this BEFORE the 12 month period expires. Once the builder gets the bond post back, they’re no longer incentives to fix anything. But if they can lose that money to the county (which damages their reputation with the county and therefore makes it harder to do future business in that county), then they’ve taken a profit hit on your unit, a serious no-no when it’s quality related and due to not wanting to make the county happy on your behalf.
Call the county!
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