First off, I'm CHASS alumni so take it easy if this is ridiculous. The area between my outdoor AC unit and the base of the house tends to get a couple inches of standing water when we have long torrential rain. Never enough to come up to the AC unit since it's on a low platform, but enough that I'm concerned about this storm. I was thinking I'd just put trash cans around each side of the AC unit (with a cinder block inside so they don't blow away) to catch the rain thats falling from the sky and running off my roof. Will this help at all? I don't have time for any drainage systems or anything like that. I realize water is still going to move to the lowest point, but this would help alleviate some of the rain wouldn't it? The water from the neighboring areas of that one spot doesn't really flow into that spot, it's just that spot puddles up real bad. Please help.

9/12/2018 7:50:15 PM

Won't the trash cans just fill up with water?

9/12/2018 7:55:30 PM

yes they should. I'll dump them in my woods when they get heavy.

[Edited on September 12, 2018 at 8:01 PM. Reason : a]

9/12/2018 8:01:18 PM

will the water not just pool until it's level with the surrounding yard and then run off into the yard?

9/12/2018 8:04:07 PM

I'll try to get a pic. It's a stretch along the back of my house where the water pools up against the house. My AC unit is back there.

9/12/2018 8:11:00 PM

Water pooling against your house seems bad.

9/12/2018 10:22:53 PM

is it a slab house or do you have a crawlspace?

9/12/2018 10:44:37 PM

sounds like you need a french drain or similar. Pretty easy weekend project if there are no utilities in the area you need to dig... especially with a rented ditch witch

in my experience grass/mulch/etc act a lot like a sponge. If you left a 5x5 tarp on your front yard during heavy rain it would still get wet under it because the grass will wick it all over the place (past the grass root system at my house its clayish - you can easily route water at this layer.)

french drains are basically a tube with a bunch of holes that you bury just under the surface of your yard. Water flows or soaks into the tube, then is routed away. If it's a small problem having grass on top is possible, or for big problems (like a gutter downspout or roof with no gutter) you can cover it in small rocks or pipe the source straight into it.

If you don't care about the grass around the A/C unit you can install some pavers or other surface barrier to encourage it to relocate a few feet.

9/12/2018 10:54:29 PM

No fucking way any of this guy's posts are serious.

9/12/2018 10:54:59 PM

You will have to put the trash cans on a treadmill...

9/13/2018 6:38:05 AM

you aint gonna collect enough water for it to be worth hauling heavy ass cans to the woods thats for damn sure

[Edited on September 13, 2018 at 8:32 AM. Reason : s]

9/13/2018 8:27:05 AM

put fans there, the rain will blow away so no water can fall on that area

9/13/2018 8:42:36 AM

Put a 10x10 tailgating canopy over the AC units

9/13/2018 11:57:51 AM

gravel or stones to displace the water where it would pool up.

9/13/2018 12:17:50 PM

Quote :

"put fans there, the rain will blow away so no water can fall on that area"

GENIUS

9/13/2018 12:20:06 PM

Having a particular major has nothing to do with intelligence. You don't need a major in hydrology to understand how water flows/pools around your house.

9/13/2018 12:23:25 PM

First, an 18 inch diameter trash can that's 36 inches tall will weight 330 pounds when full of water.

Second, if you spread all that water on the ground, it will cover an 8' x 8' area, one inch deep.

See the problem yet?

9/13/2018 1:18:32 PM

put a spout in the bottom of the trash can and attach a hose to it. essentially it's a rain barrel and have the hose divert the water away.

9/13/2018 1:20:26 PM

pour eastern NC BBQ on the ground. the water will seep away from it, in search for delicious western NC BBQ

9/13/2018 1:33:33 PM

thems fightin words

9/13/2018 1:35:53 PM

Drill large holes in your roof, that way the water won’t pool as much around the AC unit

9/13/2018 1:43:12 PM

Better yet, drill large holes in your skull so you'll never fucking post again.

9/13/2018 1:47:25 PM

I ended up just selling the house. Nobody was really able to help me.

9/13/2018 2:07:10 PM

That's rough

9/13/2018 2:14:24 PM

did you disclose your flood issues with the buyers?

9/13/2018 4:03:42 PM

^No I sold it to my Grandmother

9/13/2018 4:07:16 PM

Quick sale... no time for chit chat

[Edited on September 13, 2018 at 4:10 PM. Reason : ]

9/13/2018 4:09:46 PM

She's a Christian so I doubt it will flood, at least not without her receiving a warning.

9/13/2018 4:21:22 PM

I concur.

9/13/2018 11:08:30 PM