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Question
The cement patio in the back of the house is cracking and settling down. I know that the gutters are not handling the heavy rains we had in the past years. The gutters are connected to French drains that go nowhere.
I'm looking at connecting the gutters downsprout to pipes going away from the house to the front yard where it can disperse onto the grass.
Will it be a good idea, since the cement will be cut to NOT replace it but instead put a nice bed of rocks that will take any surface water away from the house too.
I was thinking that it'll give a chance to the ground to dry out better instead of trapping water under a vast surface of cement.
Is this an overkill since I'll have the gutters downsprout fixed?
Do I need to mention that the underground is Rocks and clay and that I have a big swimming pool at the end of the cement patio which is uphill from the house?
It is difficult to say without doing an onsite visit but it sounds that if your remedy should work. It also could be that your pool issue could be causing the patio issue as well. A geotechnical engineer would be able to assure your assumptions.
Bryan Lindsey
www.seengineering.com
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| Rating(1-10) | Knowledgeability = 10 | Clarity of Response = 10 | Politeness = 10 |
| Comment | It does sound like I'm making things better, but I'll check with a geotechnical engineer for the pool. That's actually the answer I was looking for even knowing I did not know that was the question I was supposed to ask (if that makes sense). | ||
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Answers by Expert:
Bryan P. Lindsey, P.E.
Expertise
I am an expert in Civil Engineering with a degree form the Georgia Institute of Technology with 12 years experience in the following fields of Civil engineering; Transportation, General civil, Civil site design, drainage, project management and many others.
Experience
I have 12 years experience in multiple fields of civil engineering. I spent the first four years of my career in the transportation industry by being a design engineer for prominent transpotation firm in Atlanta. I moved from there to civil site design and worked as a project manager for the next six years and currently I am the Director of Transportation for same firm.
Organizations
Member of American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE), Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Education/Credentials
Bachelors of Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1996.
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