Cure for a wet
basement
Q This summer we had water
in our basement during a heavy rain. We have 3-ft. extensions on our
downspouts, but our lot is fairly flat. Our neighbor suggested a dry well. Is
that a good idea?
R. Malz, via e-mail
A Although
it sounds as if you have a tough drainage problem, use a dry well only as a
last resort. Ideally the ground around your home should slope between 1/2 and 1
in. per foot away from the foundation for at least the first 6 ft. If you
don’t have this much slope, the 3-ft. extensions of your downspouts
probably won’t do much good. Water from a severe storm can really add up
fast—a 1,000-sq.-ft. roof will shed about 620 gallons of water during a
1-in. rain, or about 103 gallons per downspout if you have six downspouts.
That’s a lot of water dumped right next to the
basement.
First, try longer (6-ft.) downspout extensions. Make them
removable so you can move them when you mow your lawn.
The next best solution is to install an underground drain
using plastic drainage pipe. Basically, it’s the drainage pipe portion of
the illustration below that runs at a downward slope until it reaches daylight,
rather than the dry well. The only catch with this system on a flat lot is
whether you actually have a low area where the drainage pipe can come out. And,
of course, it takes a lot of digging!
As a last resort, consider running the underground pipe to a
dry well (below) that’s at least 20 ft. from the foundation. This will
hold much of the water until it can naturally seep into the surrounding
soil.
Keep in mind the limitations of a dry well. You probably
can’t size it large enough to hold more than a portion of a heavy
rainfall. If your subsoil is heavy clay, drainage will be slow. And once the
dry well fills, the water will fill up the drainage trench back toward the
house and potentially cause more leakage. An overflow tube added to the dry
well (not shown) or a slotted grate on the catch basin (below) will help
relieve this problem.
To begin, find the downspout nearest the spot where water
enters your basement and install a 6-ft. downspout extension and elbow
(illustration below). Center a small catch basin ($10) at that spot. Then mark
the dry well location and drainage pipe path and dig the trench and dry well
hole. Make the trench about 12 in. wide to contain the 4-in. pipe ($2.50 per
10-ft. section) plus 3 to 4 in. of surrounding crushed rock (1-1/2 to 2 in.
diameter). Slope the trench downhill at least 1-1/2 in. every 10 ft. Make the
dry well hole about 8 in. wider in diameter than the plastic well to allow
space for at least 3 to 4 in. of crushed rock.
TIP:
Insert the downspout elbow directly into
the catch basin by cutting a hole in the top plastic grate. This allows water
to quickly flow underground.
Click Image to enlarge.
We purchased a sump liner with heavy-duty lid ($33) for our
dry well. Before installing it, remove the cutout for the 4-in. tubing and
drill 1-in. holes every 8 to 12 in. so water will escape and percolate into the
surrounding soil profile. Wrap landscape fabric completely around the sump
liner and pull a fabric sock over the tubing to keep out silt (both products
are available at home centers).
Finally, install all components and backfill with rock.
Close the holes and trench with dirt. Don’t forget to use screens on your
gutters and a screen inside the catch basin to keep leaves and debris out of
the tubing and dry well.
How much gas is
left in the tank?
Q Is there an accurate
method to tell how much propane is left in my barbecue grill tank? A
half-cooked steak is frustrating.
R. Thomas, via e-mail
A I had
that happen too (until I bought a second tank). The most accurate method is to
grab the bathroom scale and weigh the tank, then calculate how much cooking
time remains.
A normal-size tank with a 20-lb. capacity weighs about 17 to
18 lbs. empty and about 37 to 38 lbs. when full of propane. A full-size gas
grill (35,000 Btu) will cook for 30 minutes per pound of
propane.
My buddy’s tank (shown) tipped the scale at 21 lbs.,
so it contains about 4 lbs.—or approximately two hours of grilling time
(4 lbs. x 30 min.). Fortunately for him, my rib eye will only take him about 13
minutes.
Also check out the two new tank gauges featured in
“New Products,” July/Aug. ’04, p. 98. (To order a copy, see
p. 7.) Happy grilling!
It’s a
mystery
Q When I built my window
well 12 years ago, I used treated wood so it wouldn’t rot—yet I
recently noticed an end of one timber was rotting. I know I bought the right
treated wood for ground contact, so what happened?
D. Hest, St. Paul, MN
Click Image to enlarge.
A Even
though you used treated lumber that contained the proper 0.40 lbs. of
preservative per cubic foot that is recommended for ground contact, the rot
started on the end of the 6x6 that was cut.
Although pressure treatment forces preservatives deep into
treated wood, the heaviest concentration of preservative is toward the outside.
Your cut exposed the inner core of the wood, which wasn’t treated. To
protect these cut ends, soak them in a wood preservative that contains 2
percent copper (look for the words “copper naphthenate” on the
label). One such product is No. 10 Green Preservative by Cuprinol. It’s
available or can be ordered at Sherwin-Williams, Ace Hardware, Sears, Kmart and
Menards. Call (800) 424-5837 for a retailer near you.
Do you have a mystery challenge around
your house or property?
Send a photo with a detailed description
to “Ask The Family Handyman,” 2915 Commers Drive, Suite 700, Eagan,
MN 55121. Include your name and phone number.
Where are the
power lines?
Q I’m planting trees
this fall, so I called to have my underground utilities marked. How close can I
dig to those painted lines, and do they reflect everything that’s
underground?
S. Smith, via e-mail
Click Image to enlarge.
A Most
states require that you dig at least 1-1/2 to 2 ft. (or farther) away from
either side of a painted line. For exact distances, call your state’s
one-call service. To get a phone number, call the nationwide Dig Safely hotline
at (888) 258-0808 or visit www.digsafely.com.
The painted lines may not indicate everything that lies
underground—especially items like electrical lines to garages or utility
sheds, irrigation lines or satellite TV cables that have been installed
underground by you or previous homeowners. Here again, state laws (as well as
some local codes) vary on what utilities are marked—as well as where they
are marked (see the universal color code chart at right).
Almost all states require that gas, electric and telephone
utilities mark their lines. Some states also mark water lines and television
cables. And not all states mark these lines all the way to the house, so make
sure you call and inquire. Kudos to you for being safe. We hope all readers
call at least three or four days before digging!
Correction
In our article, “The Comfortable Adirondack Chair and
Love Seat” (May ’04, p. 59), we labeled the angle on the rear legs
(F) as 47 degrees. The correct angle is 43 degrees. Legs cut at 47 degrees will
slightly alter how the chair sits. The rough length of part F is 34-1/2 in., as
given in the Cutting List. The final length of part F (with the angle cuts) is
30-3/4 in., as shown in the drawing here.
Adding GFCI
protection
Q Our old house has an
outlet on each side of the kitchen sink (on the same circuit) and we want to
protect them with a GFCI. Can we install one GFCI outlet to protect both of
them?
K. McMahon, via e-mail
A GFCI receptacle can protect other
outlets if the wires to those outlets are connected to the “load”
terminals of the GFCI.
A The
answer is sometimes, but unless you have a pretty good familiarity with
electrical wiring, using a single GFCI is probably not worth the
effort.
A GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) is a shock
prevention device that’s required by the National Electrical Code in
certain outlets, including kitchen counter outlets. Older homes built before
code requirements went into effect usually won’t have them. But
it’s a good idea to add them, as you’re doing.
A single GFCI receptacle can protect additional standard
outlets if the power flows to those outlets through the GFCI, that is, if the
GFCI is “upstream” of the outlets. (See photo.) In your case, the
challenge is to figure out if both receptacles are on the same circuit (easy)
and which one, if either, is upstream of the other
(complicated).
We recommend that you avoid unnecessary complexity. GFCIs
only cost about $8 each. Simply replace both outlets with GFCI receptacles.
Remember to check the electrical box sizes when you do this and to upgrade any
box that’s too small. (See “Install a Dimmer Switch,” June
’04, p. 101, for details. To order a copy, see p. 7.)
Paint vinyl
siding?
Q We bought a house last
year that we absolutely love, except for the vinyl siding color. Do we have to
spend the bucks to replace the vinyl, or can I paint it
instead?
J. Fittante, Iron River,
MI
A Yes, you
can paint it, but you have to choose the right paint and prepare the siding
well. Getting paint to stick to vinyl is a challenge because it expands and
contracts considerably with temperature changes. So the paint must not only
bond tightly but remain flexible as well.
Select a top-quality 100 percent acrylic latex exterior
paint that has a blend of urethane and acrylic resins (such as MoorGard
Fortified Acrylic from Benjamin Moore). It offers a good combination of flex
and adhesive qualities that can handle the normal movement of vinyl siding. It
also “levels” well, so the paint retains its original surface,
whether it’s smooth or textured. And be sure to buy a light color (no
darker than your current vinyl color). Dark colors absorb more heat and can
cause excessive expansion and buckling.
Finally, clean the siding thoroughly to remove all the dirt,
grime and especially chalk. Use a pressure washer to knock off the initial
layer of grime. Make sure the spray hits the vinyl at a downward angle. An
upward angle can force water where it doesn’t belong—under the
siding. Then take a rag and a bucket of hot water and detergent to scrub the
vinyl clean. If you have mildew, add 1 cup of bleach per gallon of water to
kill it.
Art Direction • GREGG
WEIGAND
Photography • BILL
ZUEHLKE
Technical Art • EUGENE
THOMPSON
Consultants • AL
HILDENBRAND and JOHN WILLIAMSON, MASTER ELECTRICIANS
