Where I want to keep some firewood just outside my door to bring it to the fireplace... it's the end of my driveway... concrete... where we used to park our vehicles but I moved a storage building there. Over time, I don't know if it's the weight of the storage building or just natural sink but this concrete area is lower and it holds water. And we get rain pretty often around here! It's a pain these days because I have this large area of puddled water that takes days to dry out. It's not just under the building, it extends to a large area, including where I want to put the wood. It's, what, 1/4" deep? A half inch at the most. Anyone know how I could pump this out? I have my eye on a cordless transfer pump. Could even use an electric transfer pump but I sometimes could use a cordless one for this and that. Just wondering how you could suck that water up without having to hack out a sump area. Or is that the only way to suck up water that is shallow like that? I could build a french drain or something but that's a pretty major project. My firewood will stay damp without fixing this. Hmmm... I guess I could hack out an area of the concrete a few inches square to make a sump but I'd rather not destroy my concrete!
A wet vac would work but it's too much water. A squeegee would work but it's too much, would take too much work. Well, pumping would just be easier. I also don't know if there is a squeegee that would be tough enough to hold up over time. I have actually done the squeegee thing with a push broom. EDIT: Is there a wet vac attachment such that you could place the end of the hose on a flat area like this concrete and not have to physically hold the hose? Just set it down and let it pump? If so, could maybe attach that to a transfer pump. The wet vac would fill up with water too quick... need to extend a hose to dump it down the driveway. But... an attachment to pick up water from a puddle is what I need. This area is maybe 20 ft x 20 ft. Here is a wet pickup attachment. What I'm seeking is something I could just set down and walk away for awhile while it pumps. RIDGID 2-1/2 in. Locking Accessory Wet Nozzle for Wet/Dry Vacs-LA2510 - The Home Depot
This is a little pricey, but it does work... Had one at work to drain out an area that occasionally flooded. It worked ok, but not great. It would vacuum more than it could pump, so sometimes it would shut down when it got full. https://www.menards.com/main/tools/...t-dry-shop-vacuum/5821200/p-1470102582584.htm They are available a lot of places, and I used this link only because it was the 1st one that popped up when I searched for it.
Did the slab sink from edge to edge or is there a depression in the middle? Can you remove any soil/regrade at the lowest edge to allow it to drain?
The wet vac i have, has a garden hose connection. It'll pump itself out. It also has a flat, hard plastic piece, to lay flat on the wet surface.
You can get utility pumps (looks like a sump pump) that will pump down to 1/4" or so. Bottom line is you need to make a permanent drain here...standing water will make things just continue to sink over time. Do you have your wood up off the ground, like on pallets or something?
Do you know what model? This flat, hard plastic piece, if you can post an online pic, appreciated! = FWIW, there is a low spot in the dip where it might be 1/2in deep. There is no way to make it drain without making a sump at that low spot. I can't reroute the lawn around the slab, it's high on that side. If I were to build a sump / french drain or something, I would have to crack up the slab to make a trench and don't want to do that just yet. As for raising the slab, I dunno how to do that. I did ponder... I wonder if I could build the slab up with some substance. My wood is off the ground but this wet spot just keeps everything damp and for a few days after a big rain, it's a pain to have standing water there. Another problem is my yard seeps onto that slab after a big rain... kind of like underground springs that fall to that slab because it's downhill from the back yard, which is uphill. I might have to tear up the concrete but I don't want to at this point. But I'm getting warmer on the idea. This house and driveway are 61 years old. I think this all started after the storage shed (on skids) was brought in. To really do it right, I suppose would need to put in a french drain where the low spot is and dig a trench across the slab and have it drain into the front yard, which is downhill.
I seem to have kept one from an older vac. They both measure 8.5in in width. I have had this one for a long time. It hasn't been used much, since having a French drain installed, in the uphill side of our house. Water was finding it's way in to our unfinished basement. Cement floor. The wet vac dealt with the water just fine. Not automatic, as with a sump pump.
Rent a concrete saw (chainsaw with a large diamond circular saw blade in it) and just put a small V shaped notch where it needs to be to drain better...that works pretty well on old concrete Its not "cheap" per say...but a whole lot less than new concrete! There are several different ways they do it...most inject a grout under the slab, but I see some use foam now too
Concrete saw is a good idea. Do you think one could make a fairly precise "v?" I also see another possibility that would be less of a "v" in length. I wonder if you could cut a "v" in concrete with a angle grinder wheel?
Yes, I've done it...but I run a concrete saw all the time, so I'm used to it...but its not that hard...WOT and take your time, control your cut. Absolutely...as long as its a diamond blade.
There are submersible water pumps that you can hook up a garden hose for the discharge that work quite well. Amazon, wally world, etc. etc. $35 and up
Home Depot has a water bug or Puddle Pump that will pump down to 1/16". Might be a thought. The best solution would be to permanently resolve the problem by slab jacking or pouring an overlay slab as some have mentioned.
Instead of trying to get rid of the water, why don't you try and source some free pallets? At 1/4" of an inch of water the pallets will be more than enough to clear that and you'll get some nice airflow underneath. I am extremely lucky because I have a neighbor who is a truck driver and gives me pallets whenever I want. With the 19 holz hausens stacks I have 100 pallets at the moment (4 per holz hausen) and the rest I am using to build raised garden beds. That said I got almost all the pallets for the holz hausens from a local flooring place that would just pile them up near their dumpster. I got permission to take whatever I wanted.....and the only stipulation they had was that I not hurt myself while taking them. Also, a few pictures would be helpful......I don't know if you're talking about putting splits in a pile, or rounds to dry first, or logs........
After you get the pallets I'd say figure out where the water is coming from. I have a french drain that was dug on the high side of the house....it used to be a river of water just cascading through the yard........and now it gets sucked up by a 2" wide x 3" deep gravel filled trench that has a buried 4" perforated pipe.........
