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danielj_2009

Foundation/Drainage Quote

danielj_2009
10 years ago

Hi. I've got a drainage problem and got a quote to repair that sounded like a good deal to me. Can anyone with some knowledge in pricing a job like this comment? The quote I got was $1400, which sounded very good to me, but the wife is pretty sure I must be wrong. :) What do you think?

Here's the situation. East side of the house has about 50 ft of sidewalk up against the house foundation (est 2' wide concrete sidewalk). There are 3 downspouts that drop water onto this sidewalk. The sidewalk is pitched TOWARD the house so that all the water is up against the house as it runs toward the front of the house and onto the driveway. I do have evidence of water making its way into the basement, possibly from this source. Here's what I was quoted:

1. Bust up and remove all concrete sidewalk from property.
2. Dig a 50' trench alongside the house and bury a PVC pipe to receive the water from the 3 downspouts (like the rest of the house has).
3. Run the trench another 40' to 50' out from the corner of the house to the street, remove a curbstone and run the PVC drain to this curbstone opening at the street.
4. Backfill the trench with topsoil, enough to raise the grade from the house approximately 12" and slope away from the house.

This company did the foundation work for the rest of this house when we had most of the house rebuilt and expanded several years ago. They seemed to do good work.

I am located in northern New Jersey. What do you think?

Comments (4)

  • bus_driver
    10 years ago

    Price does not sound bad.
    Do you have a strong back and a desire to save money? We dug our first septic tank system by hand-- so I know about digging. I was a teenager at the time.
    Neat cuts could be made across the concrete walk to permit the buried pipe to be run to the downspouts and the drain for those could be beside the existing walkway. Not much concrete to have to dig up and haul away. Three small places to patch. The remainder of the digging should move quickly.

  • danielj_2009
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Not a bad idea, bus driver. I think I want to get rid of the sidewalk, too, though. I do a large amount of DIY projects, but there's always a point when I have to let the experts take over. I've been told that just hauling away broken concrete that has been loaded into a dumpster can cost $400 or $500 alone. Topsoil would have to be another couple hundred. So I'm already at half the $1400 in my cost. Add a jack hammer rental and 100+ feet of PVC and maybe I'm at $800 or so.

  • live_wire_oak
    10 years ago

    Sounds way too good to be true for the amount of work described and your location. Does that include the dumpster rental and dumping fees? Do they own their own trencher, or are they having to rent? Does the municipality even allow runoff to be channeled in the described manner? What types of permits will you need for this storm water management? Environmental impact statements? When you channel water off of your property rather than containing it on yours, all of those things come into play in a heavy regulatory state like NJ. Check with your local AHJ to inquire about the bureaucratic side of the issue.

  • danielj_2009
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    live wire oak: The rest of the downspouts on the house already drain to the street, and most other houses in the area do the same, so I don't think that will be an issue.

    His price was turnkey. They do foundation work, and did the work on our prior expansion so I know they have all the equipment.