Garden Drainage

VinylJunkie

Hi All,

This is the first winter i our house and we have a drainage issue in our back garden the last few weeks. We have been forking the area and noticed there is conrete below the surface of the grass in parts of the area that needs drainage so I assume the first job is to dig that up and get rid.

Ive read online the solution is a soakaway (1mx1mx1m) and underground pvc pipes with holes in them leading to the soakaway.

- Do you have any general advise?

- Where should I be looking to dig the soakaway? ie. where we need the drainage or in a dry area?

- Should I wait until the spring to start this project?

Link to image of garden below.

https://imgur.com/yEhjfuk


From the ball to the far side of the shed is very mushy.

Thanks in advance!

magicbastarder

it's been an exceptionally wet few weeks, i wouldn't worry too much about drainage unless this is an ongoing issue (which i appreciate you can't tell yet if you've only started your first winter there).

Reckless Abandonment

As said its been very wet the last while. Would give it a dry few days and see how it drains.
Other option is build a pond in that area.
You've a nice blank canvas to work with there. Best of look

macraignil

Flooding in the north of England and in Italy at the moment due to the amount of rain we have had recently. As mentioned already you probably need a longer period over which to assess your garden more accurately.

I think you are right to wait until spring to see how bad the situation actually is. It might be worth talking with some of your neighbours and seeing what the drainage in the wider area is like. A soak away relies on the water table being low enough for water to flow away naturally and if the water table is too high in your area it might not be as effective. What type of soil you have and where the nearest land drain, river or stream is and what level that is related to your garden could be relevant. It may be just that with only shallow rooting grass growing there over a long period the soil has become compacted and less free draining as a result. If it does not stay waterlogged for too long just planting some small trees or shrubs and adding some organic material could help improve the soil structure sufficiently for it to drain better. If it is waterlogged over a longer period of time you will be restricted in what varieties of plant will do well and you may need the soak away to improve the drainage situation first.

Lumen

Now is a great time to be looking at this because you have more or les the worst case scenario.

Last spring I was covered head to foot in mud from digging out land drains in that horrendous wet period we had, now my drainage is perfect.

Maybe dig a narrow but deep hole (foot or so) in the middle of that waterlogged area and see what's going on. It it waterlogged all the way down or just a compacted layer?

macraignil

+1 on digging a hole to see what is happening. In my parents back garden which is my main experience with dealing with poor drainage I found there was only a thin layer of top soil and then a hard pan of rust and then yellow clay under that so it was clear it was a long standing issue and needed drains and planting deep rooted plants to sort it out.

VinylJunkie

Thanks all for your responses so far, really helpful. Its just annoying as the dog is coming in destroyed in muck so Im looking to see if I can sort this quick or do I need to just put up with it until Spring.

I spoke to the neighbours it seems the back gardens are very wet in winters in fact a number of them have installed drainage french drains and a soakaway in one of the gardens.

I will take the advise and dig a trench tomorrow to see what is happening - If drainage is required it's just knowing what to do, how to do it, when to do it really as I have never done anything like this before

VinylJunkie

So had a bit of a dig there and as suspected there was a load of bricks in a really wet area.
https://imgur.com/J3WzppS
In other areas I can get the fork about 3/4 into the ground under body weight - if I give it a bit of a wiggle I can get it in the rest of the way :pac::pac: soil seems very hard.

What am I looking for if I dig out a trench in the garden? Should I dig the trench in a dry or wet area?

The wet areas are noticeably lower that the dry areas - Im guessing will need to install drains and level out the garden with top soil to bring it up to the level of the dry area.

Is there any companies that would specialise in this or should I be doing myself?

macraignil

VinylJunkie wrote: »

So had a bit of a dig there and as suspected there was a load of bricks in a really wet area.
https://imgur.com/J3WzppS
In other areas I can get the fork about 3/4 into the ground under body weight - if I give it a bit of a wiggle I can get it in the rest of the way :pac::pac: soil seems very hard.

What am I looking for if I dig out a trench in the garden? Should I dig the trench in a dry or wet area?

The wet areas are noticeably lower that the dry areas - Im guessing will need to install drains and level out the garden with top soil to bring it up to the level of the dry area.

Is there any companies that would specialise in this or should I be doing myself?

Levels in your garden are vital for understanding what way the water will flow. Part of the effort of digging a hole is to check what the soil is like. You could have great soil but the water is being blocked from flowing away in which case digging will possibly reveal what is blocking it from flowing. You could have clay soil that retains water more than other types so then you might find just adding organic material and growing some deep rooting plants will improve the soil structure to form peds that will allow water to flow through.


I would look for the lowest point in the garden and dig from there to the highest point that is still water logged.



With drainage the water has to flow somewhere and you may need to bale the water out of the hole you dig so you can go further down. If the hole continually fills with water again very quickly even if it is not raining it probably indicates you are at the water table. Then my approach would be to dig as deep as practical with bailing it out in between and then fill the lowest part with larger stones and then gravel and top soil at the top level which you can organise to be fairly level with the rest of your garden. You can run a drainage pipe from the soak away to the higher parts of the garden that are water logged once you are careful that it is all done so the water can flow through the pipes to the new soak away and the pipes are all below the new level of your garden. You can get specific drainage pipe from agricultural supply stores that is already perforated but normal PVC pipe can also be used particularly if you drill holes to allow it drain along the full length.


I enjoyed doing a project like this myself but it would be fairly muddy this time of year. Don't know of any companies that specialise in this but any experienced builder or ground worker should be able to do the job.

Hocus Focus

If your neighbours are agreeable to come together and dig a drain across all the gardens affected, you could then drain the water off downhill to somewhere it can disperse naturally or go into a land drain or roadside storm drain,depending on your location.