I think I screwed up. Been stressed about it all winter. In SK. Last year summer I set 6 6x6 12 ft posts PT in concrete for a future gazebo. 4 feet deep in sonotubes filled with concrete. Then I finished the pavers around them in the fall.

If I could do it all over again I would do as you said. Concrete piles and brackets. Have been debating all winter about starting over, but man that would be so much work.

You can redo the French drain network. Add the 2nd box. That will help for sure.

I'm a retired contractor and had several jobs somewhat similar though clearly not exactly... IME The best long term solution was to re landscape, redo some of the concrete and put a permanent drain in a welled out concrete section with a cleanout. The cleanout is really important.

I also don't hate the idea of putting in a little retaining wall and if you want to diy it, it's not as hard as you might think.

Good luck

Damn this subreddit has been outstanding. Keep the comments coming, I am genuinely thrilled with everyone’s help!!

I can understand that, a legit contractor wouldn't want to reuse old posts. I'll shoot you a message of the brackets I'm talking about. I'm glad to walk you through it.

Alright, you are the second person to mention sleeves. I need to look at this. I wonder if I can buy them pre-cut or if I need to have them done as a one-off by a fencing pro?

I have been using Diablo, but potentially not rigid enough. It was a 25 pack of metal cutting blades from Amazon (don’t yell at me!)

We’ve had people out to look - 3 companies here in Seattle. All of them wanted to do the work, but we never got past the initial quote and pipe replacement/removal options because the lowest bid was $9,600 for 88 linear feet 😳

Never heard of anyone getting rid of a bathroom to make more storage space. Yes, cap every drain, too late to consider what the loss in resale value will be.

Thanks man

I have considered this option but wasn’t sold on it. Someone below mentioned a sleeve - I need to look into that. The bracket option is probably the easiest, but I’m also trying to appease a really great next door neighbor and my wife, who wants it done right (read: looks great all around) if we aren’t going to hire a fence company and I do it myself lol

Lmfao. This is above my pay grade and I’m too much of a sissy to do this.

Probably an ideal solution. I am considering this but will need to test it on a section first. Part of my concern is that the concrete foundation they are sitting in right now isn’t in great shape. Enough force and sections of it might fail.

I bought an acetylene kit years ago and I actually didn't need one at the time, I just wanted one. Now I'm one torch cutting m'fer...😅

Yes, I think specifically because of that 1” gap. Things are going to fall down there all the time, going to need a skinny broom handle to fish the stuff out, if something spills down the cabinet or onto the floor— forget being able to clean it, imagine the dust and grime. I would say yeah, a 1” gap is going to be awful to clean and maintain.

I just put in a new cement pad driveway, and at the transition from cement to aggregate I put a perforated pipe in front of the slab with drain rock, fabric sleeve, some extra drain fabric, and a clean out. Works great so far and I can keep it clean with that clean out.

Good thought but a 1” gap is not big enough to fit a hand. The outlet would have to be right at the front or else it would be functionally useless.

Every one is giving complicated solutions that won't fix the underlying problem. Nothing about this drain is inherently flawed from drainage perspective. Will I clog maybe but most of it looks fine and free if clogs the issue with the pooling by the drive way is that the area in the blue circle is a low spot. What probably happened is that water flowing to that spot and then draining slowly and eventually pooling cause that portion of the drain/driveway/sidewalk to settle so it is a localized low spot. (either that or it was graded incorrectly initially) Finding a way to elevate that area relative to the surrounding area will fix your flow issues. You could also reslope the whole drain if that's easier.

People saying replace it with a French Drain don't actually know what a French Drain is or what they are talking about because this is technically a type of French Drain.

Lol thank you! If anything I'd be okay with at least figuring out how to keep the rocks cleaner and free from weeds.

I tried multiple depths and tight as possible, the looser they get the larger the opening.

OH velcro is a doable idea too and I have white velcro dots which would work well.

These are original to the house not something I installed. It could be that they have bent the plastic overtime and now the angle is wrong but that's as far as something behind them as it gets for me.

Fencer Here -

Stop cutting now and save yourself some work.

You can buy pipe post adapters, for 1 7/8 or 2 3/8 pipe. Even if you need to sleeve the existing to make it work you'll be better off.

Lowes advertises that they have the adapters. Call a local fence contractor to get them to cut sleeves if you need them, don't bother with the light wall stuff at the home stores.

House and walkway are beautiful. I'd relax and be happy this is the worst you've got. Needless to say, bigger problems will come up eventually. Sincerely, 100-year old house owner.

I have a similar issue, on my hinges there is a little plastic piece lining the arm that like to break off and cause this. Similar vintage house and hinge type.

I still haven’t been able to track down the make/model to even find out if the piece is serviceable or not. I’m using those little hard Velcro strips until enough break to warrant new hardware.

thanks!!

>You won't have any rotting in winter as everything will be frozen.

haha I was mostly worried about in the spring when the snow starts to melt.