Winter brings a beautiful blanket of snow, but this beauty can be quite dangerous. Snowfall, and cold weather in general, results in a serious risk of flooding as temperatures fluctuate.
When snow melts and the ground has been frozen or saturated, water has nowhere to go but downhill. Usually, the ground is either too wet or too cold to absorb the water. In many cases, the direction it flows is right toward your foundation. For homeowners, protecting your property from this seasonal water damage is a real concern. It may be necessary to schedule excavation work.
Excavation: Perception vs. Reality
While many people think of excavation as a service only for major construction, it goes well beyond that. It’s also a process that can protect your property. Strategic residential and commercial excavation is one of the most effective ways to provide permanent, preventative measures against winter flooding. By addressing the root causes of poor drainage around your property, Reed’s Plumbing, Excavating, Septic, Heating & Air can save you from costly water damage, basement flooding, and foundation issues.
Understanding Winter Flooding Risks
Winter flooding differs from typical heavy rain events. Flooding in warmer seasons is certainly dangerous, but the water usually has different routes it can take. It can soak into the ground, and the surrounding infrastructure isn’t frozen. In the winter, the combination of saturated soil, snowpack, and freezing temperatures creates a unique and often severe drainage challenge for homes in Springfield, MO.
The Problem of Frozen Ground and Thaw Cycles
When the ground freezes, it becomes nearly impermeable. If a significant snow accumulation is followed by a sudden warm spell or heavy winter rain, the water cannot seep naturally into the soil. Instead, it runs off the frozen surface, pooling in low areas. This can include your home’s foundation, resulting in catastrophic damage. The pooling water is known as hydrostatic pressure, where water presses against basement walls and slabs. Water will find any crack or weakness and enter your home.
If your yard slopes toward your house, or if your property features natural depressions, you are at an elevated risk. Effective winter flood prevention requires engineering of the landscape to manage the flow and movement of water away from the structure.
The Role of Excavation in Drainage Solutions
Excavation services provided by a professional like Reed’s Plumbing, Excavating, Septic, Heating & Air are used to create or install different types of subsurface systems. These systems manage large volumes of water effectively, ensuring moisture never flows toward your property. This process creates an engineered path for water to follow that minimizes its impact on your building.
Installing Footer Drains and Perimeter Drainage
Many sealants and kits are sold for use in home basements. However, these options aren’t ideal. In the Springfield region, more robust protection is often necessary. The most common and effective way to protect a basement from water intrusion is to install a comprehensive perimeter drainage system. This system is often referred to as a footer drain or French drain system. This service requires careful excavation around the home’s foundation.
During this process, we dig a trench down to the level of the home’s footing and install perforated pipe wrapped in filtration fabric. This pipe collects water that pools around the foundation and guides it to a safe exit point, far away from the structure. This work must be done meticulously to ensure the trench is properly graded and the system is backfilled correctly to maintain long-term effectiveness. You’re effectively having more sewer infrastructure installed on your property, so the process is complex.
Correcting Landscape Grading (Positive Slope)
Many yards in the area slope toward the house, which is called “negative grading.” This is a huge contributor to foundation flooding. Even if you have a perimeter drain, negative grading forces excessive water toward the foundation. There is simply nowhere else for it to go if winter conditions prevent proper draining. Our excavation team can correct this by using fill dirt to reverse the slope in a positive direction. All water should run away from the building. This process is often combined with other drainage work for a total, permanent solution to surface water runoff.
Advanced Excavation for Water Management
In properties with challenging terrain, high water tables, or extreme runoff issues, more advanced drainage solutions may be required. This may also ultimately include more excavation. Though more excavation means a lot more drainage and a decreased risk of any water reaching your foundation.
Creating Dry Wells and Catch Basins
A dry well can be an excellent solution for a lot of properties. Sometimes, simply diverting water is not enough, or a safe public discharge point is unavailable. A dry well is the solution here. This system features an underground chamber where collected runoff water is temporarily stored and allowed to slowly seep back into the ground. Installing a dry well requires significant excavation to bury the large collection tank and connect it to a network of drains.
Catch basins are also installed to quickly collect large volumes of surface water from driveways or patios before the water can reach the home. Professionals like our team ensure that these basins do not affect the surface level of your landscaping. While excavation to lay the underground pipes is necessary, everything is out of the way when finished.
Preventing Septic Field Over-Saturation
Homes with septic systems face the added winter risk of a flooded drain field. When the ground is frozen or overly saturated, your septic tank’s liquid cannot drain properly into the soil. A septic system replacement is a major excavation project. However, our team can use excavation to install curtain drains or interceptor drains uphill of the septic field. These drains catch groundwater and runoff and divert it away, protecting the drain field from becoming saturated. This is a much simpler job than a full tank replacement.
Why Choose a Professional Excavation Contractor
Effective drainage work is a blend of specialized plumbing knowledge and heavy equipment operation. It is not a DIY type of task, and certainly not one to leave in the hands of amateurs. One error in grading or pipe installation can lead to a more severe water issue. This is why professional service is crucial.
Reed’s Plumbing, Excavating, Septic, Heating & Air is a trusted excavation contractor in the Springfield area. We use the right heavy machinery and deep knowledge of local grading regulations and soil conditions to get the job done right. When we perform this type of preventative work, you gain peace of mind knowing that your foundation is protected against hydrostatic pressure, thaw cycles, and general flooding.
Selecting Reed’s Plumbing, Excavating, Septic, Heating & Air Makes All the Difference
Experienced plumbing and excavating professionals, Reed’s Plumbing, Excavating, Septic, Heating & Air provides comprehensive services that address water problems from the surface to the sewer line. This includes essential services like water main and sewer line repair and replacement.
We are experts in installing, repairing, and replacing all subsurface plumbing and drainage systems. For residents of Springfield, it’s important to have a professional service that’s always one call away. Contact Reed’s Plumbing, Excavating, Septic, Heating & Air today to schedule an evaluation of your property’s winter drainage needs.
Today!