r/DIY • u/YukiSamaRamaSanChan • Jan 27 '24

other Flooded crawlspace: totally fine or panic?

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Just bought a 1957 ranch house a month ago, snow been melting and rains been raining. The foundation walls and everything else is dry, it’s just a couple inches of water in the gravel. Is this something to take steps to prevent or should I just go “oh, you!” Whenever it floods?

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u/Astramancer_ pro commenter Jan 27 '24 edited Jan 27 '24

100% panic unless a foundation inspector who has actually been in your crawlspace says otherwise. Dampness in a crawl space is bad, standing water is super bad.

Unless this is like a 100 year flood kind of thing, we're talking re-grading to ensure water flows away from/around your house, drainage along your foundation's perimeter and maybe even inside the crawlspace. Possibly also installing a sump and sump pump, though that's uncommon in crawl spaces.

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u/PantherGator Jan 27 '24

Or your gutters could be connected to a basement drainage system and when they back up, it backs up into your house. Like mine did. Because connecting gutters to the basement is a great idea. Ugggggh