Drainage Problems

Ardentfrost · 05-23-2008, 12:42 PM

My yard has drainage problems in a couple places. Due to poor grading and a tree, running a pipe to the road isn't impossible, but difficult.

I'm entertaining the idea of a trench with permeable in it running along the back of my house (where the problems are plus extra length for more water holding space).

Does anyone have any experience with this sorta thing? I was thinking a trench a foot wide and 3 feet deep (spanning roughly 50 feet probably) would be good. I'd wrap the rock in gardner's fabric so soil doesn't gunk it up, and leave about 3" at the top for soil so grass can grow. I can't find a trencher that digs a foot wide though (biggest I've seen is 6").

Just wondering if anyone has done this or knows anything about it. I figure I should be able to get away with doing this for about $600-700 in materials (most of that cost being rock, but that's just using Lowe's prices... I'm betting I can find a better price at a quarry or something).

Scrum · 05-23-2008, 03:11 PM

I clicked on this thread expecting some scat humor.

Ardentfrost · 05-23-2008, 06:14 PM

Thread failure

motivez · 05-24-2008, 06:12 AM

We had a similar problem out back of my apartment because we're at the bottom of a hill.. they dug a little trench and ran a pipe, but it still collects pretty badly ;/

WickedLou9 · 05-25-2008, 03:47 PM

You could dig a trench, fill it partially with gravel, then put down a fabric membrane to keep out the mud and silt, lay in some perforated PVC pipe and run it to somewhere. You don't have to run it to the street or anything, I think you can just run it to a large basin.

I watch way too much DIY channel

Ardentfrost · 05-26-2008, 12:03 AM

Yeah, that's called a French Drain and Dry Well. That's what I'm thinking of, just wondering if anyone else had done that. Maybe suggestions on execution, size, etc...

Phantom · 05-27-2008, 11:42 AM

I helped my dad dig a trench for a similar situation when I was younger. It's extremely hard work. Buy yourself some day laborers and save your back.

BTW the trench did solve the drainage problems. We did about 3 ft deep as you described above, I just can't remember what we put in there.

WickedLou9 · 05-27-2008, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by Ardentfrost

Yeah, that's called a French Drain and Dry Well. That's what I'm thinking of, just wondering if anyone else had done that. Maybe suggestions on execution, size, etc...

I'm not sure about that

I know at HD they have standard sized PVC pipes with holes already drilled in them specifically for drain systems like that. As for the size of the basin, the bigger the better I guess. Maybe you could use the type of basin that they install a sump pump in but just leave it empty or filled with gravel or something.

Roonie · 05-28-2008, 06:05 PM

I have done the french drain thing and dry well. Our yard always had standing water in it during the winter months and took forever to dry out during the summer. So I rented the smallest excavator they had and dug about 4 straight trenches about 40 feet long and at least a foot deep. I laid in the pipe you can get at Home Depot with holes in the top. I first wrapped the pipe in landscaping cloth and zip tied it around the pipe to make sure no mud could get into holes and clog the system. Also made sure pipe had slope on it going downhill. I connected the 4 trenches together on one end and in the middle so it looked almost like a grid pattern. I covered pipe with some gravel and then filled in trenches. At the lowest point I dug a big hole and put a bunch of old concrete and rocks I had laying around the property. Also put a couple loads of gravel in the hole. Had pipe terminate in the hole with landscaper cloth on end ziptied. Then I had another pipe exit the hole again with cloth zip tied and had that pipe go to a drainage pipe that the neighbor had installed as he also did the french drain thing in his yard so it went to a street collection. Since install the yard has been dry even during the wettest months. It took me a long day to do it all.

Ardentfrost · 05-28-2008, 06:17 PM

Great info. How big do you think your dry well is? Or did you make it kinda small just as sort of a collection bin for all the pipes to empty into the neighbor's drainage system?

motivez · 05-29-2008, 03:19 AM

Originally Posted by Roonie

I have done the french drain thing and dry well. Our yard always had standing water in it during the winter months and took forever to dry out during the summer. So I rented the smallest excavator they had and dug about 4 straight trenches about 40 feet long and at least a foot deep. I laid in the pipe you can get at Home Depot with holes in the top. I first wrapped the pipe in landscaping cloth and zip tied it around the pipe to make sure no mud could get into holes and clog the system. Also made sure pipe had slope on it going downhill. I connected the 4 trenches together on one end and in the middle so it looked almost like a grid pattern. I covered pipe with some gravel and then filled in trenches. At the lowest point I dug a big hole and put a bunch of old concrete and rocks I had laying around the property. Also put a couple loads of gravel in the hole. Had pipe terminate in the hole with landscaper cloth on end ziptied. Then I had another pipe exit the hole again with cloth zip tied and had that pipe go to a drainage pipe that the neighbor had installed as he also did the french drain thing in his yard so it went to a street collection. Since install the yard has been dry even during the wettest months. It took me a long day to do it all.

Have any pics of the process?

This sounds like what they tried to do here, but have failed miserably.