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Musty Odors, Swampy soil, and Drainage Issue

3K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  tnprogrammer 
#1 ·
Hi All,
The house we bought a year ago has a musty/mildew odor in the sun room. Just next to the sunroom outside there is an area of soil that appears to be poorly draining. I'm guessing that somehow the moisture from the soil is permeating the sunroom (maybe under the sunroom slab?) so last week I dug a french drain. It has been raining today and I've noticed that no water is coming out of the discharge of the drain and the ground above the drain is still super muddy. Gutters on this side of the house appear to be ok. Any ideas on whether or not this is the correct solution? Do I just need to give the french drain more time to dry out the soil? Could there be a leak somewhere underground? (We have an old pool next to the sunroom but as far as I can tell the water level has remained steady). I'm attaching some pictures.
 

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#4 · (Edited)
Did you use any stone in your French drain installation? Last picture seems to show fabric wrapped right on the perforated pipe, which might be OK if you used stone. If you just buried the wrapped perforated pipe in soil - it's already clogged, and you'll have to dig it up and bury it in stone. Also, the holes on the perforated pipe need to be on the bottom, not the top.
 
#6 · (Edited)
It looks to me like there was an add on that was botched. Gutters and french drains are never a complete solution to incorrect construction practices. To alleviate the soggy problem there will need to be a roof of proper construction to cover that area completely and surface drainage beyond that area it looks to be certain will need to be addressed.
 
#11 ·
I can't say that thought didn't cross my mind. In fact on the ceiling inside the home where the sunroom roof meets with the home's roof I had to repair some ceiling cracks that a friend of mine thought may have been related to leaking at one point. There is no active leak at this time however. Should the sunroom have a pitched roof? As of now it is just a slope with curved edges and not to mention it feels like a piece of rubber and not something that I think would be typically used like asphalt shingle or metal. So maybe if I had a pitched roof put on with gutters on all sides that might do the trick?
 
#8 · (Edited)
It may seem obvious, but what is the geography around the house like, further away?I owned a house with a musty smell in one area that came from water draining down thru the surrounding soil, perpetually, for many years but not superficially visible. In another house, I practiced drip irrigation but it was on a slope and it ended up in my neighbor's yard :icon_redface:
 
#12 ·
It may seem obvious, but what is the geography around the house like, further away?I owned a house with a musty smell in one area that came from water draining down thru the surrounding soil, perpetually, for many years but not superficially visible. In another house, I practiced drip irrigation but it was on a slope and it ended up in my neighbor's yard
The ground slopes away and down towards the neighbor's yard.
 
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