sunken driveway

[Floody2]

My problem is that my driveway, right in the middle is sunken in at least about 1-2 inches compared to the height of the driveway where it meets the street. What happens is that when it rains heavily, the water runs into this low area in my driveway, it fills up and the water than flows towards my carport and the walkway to the front door. In addition to this low area, the left side of the driveway is also a low area and water also collects in here as well. I have thought about putting a drain in the driveway to collect the water and as I come closer to the carport, maybe put a little hump there to guide the water way from coming into the carport and going into the walkway that leads into the front door. I have discussed this plan with my neighbor who was going to do the work but now he is telling me that this plan would be too expensive.

My next idea is to maybe elevate my driveway up to the same height as the driveway that meets the street. I wanted to elevate the driveway at least by 2-3 inches, maybe the same height as the street or a little higher so the water will just run down the street to the drain that is at the end of the street. I am also thinking about regrading the left side of the front yard that is also low lying to be about the same height as the driveway. I'm planning on leaving the right side of the driveway the way it is and if anything possibly making it lower so that the water can flow onto this side and maybe around my shed into my backyard and into the lake .

I have a limited budget to get this problem fix and also want it done right the first time. If you have any suggestions or ideas on how to fix my problem, please let me know. So far, the weather has been pretty good but living in Florida, the hurricane season is still very active for us. I've never had a flooding problem but I feel that my luck will eventually run out because I've had several close calls.


Desperately in need of good suggestions to fix problem before it is too late!
Floody 2

[Mike44]

Hi, did you check out the thread just before yours? It's called ' stormwater management issue...point me in the right direction'. I don't want to sound like a broken record here, but if you read that thread, I swear by those little drains that you were talking about. If your neighbor says that its too expensive, he may not be the right person for the job (that is if your paying him to do it??? or was he going to do it as a favour?)

If you've got a lake behind you, all you've got to do it put that drain in the low spot and the outflow down towards the lake - the only expense comes in renting a small backhoe or ditcher to dig a small trench to lay the outflow pipe. If you still wanted to make it even better, regrade your lawn (and driveway if you like) so that it slopes down to this drain. I guarantee you that you wont see one puddle on your driveway with this no matter how low you install it! I'm asuming that the lake though is quite a bit lower than your lawn and not just a little pond or something out in the back yard.

But do check out the previous thread - I had put some pictures of the drain there; you should look at those and maybe show them to your neighbor too.

Attach a picture or sketch of your lawn too - it's always easier to visualize that way!!

Mike