Garden Hell

BoarderSchool

Hi,

My back garden has been neglected for quite a while. It was cleared and almost emptied about seven years ago after being similarly neglected, but since then no work has been done on it at all. As the problem got worse, it got more ignored. I was thinking I’d have to get to it at some point this summer, but yesterday I met my neighbour while heading out who asked when I was going to sort it out. He told me there was a smell. I headed off to work and spent the day hoping this smell was just weediness or something natural. Then I started thinking the worst, and had the realisation that there may be animals, living or dead in there somewhere. I got home and had a look out the door, going as far as I could push past the giant weeds. It took a while to figure out what I was looking at, but eventually it hit me that there’s a lot of sewage out there. It seems to have collected at the lowest point in the garden, which is a four-by-four square in front of the garage door, right next to my poor neighbour’s wall.

First thing I need to do is clear the garage to make way for whatever needs to be done out there. I’ll be throwing things in a skip tomorrow. The next part is worrying me. I’m not certain who to hire to do what. If it removes complication, I’ll do some of it myself, though I’m afraid of stupidly spending ages shovelling something that can be vacuumed up by a pro in an hour. I wouldn’t even know where to put it unless I can find a working drain.

The overflowing drain and the pool of sewage are near the garage door, but there’s a bit of overgrowth around there. It’s not the worst part of the garden but there’s some long grass and greenery. It doesn’t look inaccessible, but I can’t tell for sure unless I get to that door from the inside, and then stand in the problem. The pool is between the drain and the door, like a sh*t moate. Since the pool is on the same level as the garage, I’m assuming even getting that far will be ugly. Is a drain cleaner suited to such environments or do I have to clear a tidy path? If possible, I’d like to avoid standing in a pool of my families waste while I cut weeds. I think this is a good goal to have in life.

I’m working on the idea that I’ll get the drain fixed / waste cleared, and then deal with the garden. The overgrowth seems like such an easy issue now. If anyone knows of a single professional that does all of this for a fair price (or even a slightly unfair one), I’d like to hear about it. I’m wondering how a drain cleaner would even ‘clean’ this area. How do you clean weedy overgrowth? I’m guessing there are just going to be remnants of it as long as the weeds are there.

This whole thing has me mortified. I knew I was being a terrible neighbour with how I let my garden grow, but this is on a different level. I want to fix this as soon as possible. Unfortunately I think the skip in the driveway will prevent the drain cleaners from working otherwise I would have called them already. While I’m waiting to call them, I’d like to figure out exactly what I’m going to do? I’m sure something similar has happened to someone else at some point, so any advice much be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading all of this.

Tom44

BoarderSchool wrote: »

Hi,

My back garden has been neglected for quite a while. It was cleared and almost emptied about seven years ago after being similarly neglected, but since then no work has been done on it at all. As the problem got worse, it got more ignored. I was thinking I’d have to get to it at some point this summer, but yesterday I met my neighbour while heading out who asked when I was going to sort it out. He told me there was a smell. I headed off to work and spent the day hoping this smell was just weediness or something natural. Then I started thinking the worst, and had the realisation that there may be animals, living or dead in there somewhere. I got home and had a look out the door, going as far as I could push past the giant weeds. It took a while to figure out what I was looking at, but eventually it hit me that there’s a lot of sewage out there. It seems to have collected at the lowest point in the garden, which is a four-by-four square in front of the garage door, right next to my poor neighbour’s wall.

First thing I need to do is clear the garage to make way for whatever needs to be done out there. I’ll be throwing things in a skip tomorrow. The next part is worrying me. I’m not certain who to hire to do what. If it removes complication, I’ll do some of it myself, though I’m afraid of stupidly spending ages shovelling something that can be vacuumed up by a pro in an hour. I wouldn’t even know where to put it unless I can find a working drain.

The overflowing drain and the pool of sewage are near the garage door, but there’s a bit of overgrowth around there. It’s not the worst part of the garden but there’s some long grass and greenery. It doesn’t look inaccessible, but I can’t tell for sure unless I get to that door from the inside, and then stand in the problem. The pool is between the drain and the door, like a sh*t moate. Since the pool is on the same level as the garage, I’m assuming even getting that far will be ugly. Is a drain cleaner suited to such environments or do I have to clear a tidy path? If possible, I’d like to avoid standing in a pool of my families waste while I cut weeds. I think this is a good goal to have in life.

I’m working on the idea that I’ll get the drain fixed / waste cleared, and then deal with the garden. The overgrowth seems like such an easy issue now. If anyone knows of a single professional that does all of this for a fair price (or even a slightly unfair one), I’d like to hear about it. I’m wondering how a drain cleaner would even ‘clean’ this area. How do you clean weedy overgrowth? I’m guessing there are just going to be remnants of it as long as the weeds are there.

This whole thing has me mortified. I knew I was being a terrible neighbour with how I let my garden grow, but this is on a different level. I want to fix this as soon as possible. Unfortunately I think the skip in the driveway will prevent the drain cleaners from working otherwise I would have called them already. While I’m waiting to call them, I’d like to figure out exactly what I’m going to do? I’m sure something similar has happened to someone else at some point, so any advice much be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading all of this.

Domestos weed killer is all you need.
Forget the professionals

sky6

What part of the country are you in as that will help with recommendations.
Get a bottle of Roundup weed killer. It's all weeds. Follow the instructions carefully and when spraying less is more so to speak. Any contact with the weeds will kill them so you don't need to keep spraying. just walk up and down spraying as you go. The best time to apply is just after a little rain as the weeds are open to accepting in liquid. you'll see them turn yellow and start wilting after 2 to 3 days.

As to the drain is it a mains council drain or a Septic tank. As said spray the area with Bleach or Jeyes Fluid to sterilize first. You obviously have a blockage whatever type of drain you have. Unlikely Drain unblocker will solve the problem as there's a build up. I think you will need to use Drain Rods. ( Every home should have a set. )

When you've cleared that problem then you can get back to sorting out the Garden. I might be able to help with a contact depending on your location.

Bonzo Delaney

Best case scenario is that the problem stems from the garden running wild and roots finding their way in to the sewer pipe through a loose manhole cover maybe.
First port of call is clear away all the over growth and see what you're dealing with. If you could locate the sewer inspection lid a lot of the waste could be put back in there assuming you've a tank and it's not full. It's a dirty job someone gotta do it So suit up mask up extremely light breakfast and get stuck in.