drainage issue

berkgrass – posted 01 September 2004 11:46

Not sure if this is the proper forum, but I’ve got a drainage issue on my lawn.I’ve got an area that’s 10′ X 5′ on my lawn (new construction property), thatdoes have a downgrade slope towards the street, to it. When it rains, waterjust collects on top of the grass (what little there is…kentucky), and just pools. It does not rundown towards the street, and does not drain very well into the dirt below. Usually takes a week before it completely dries up and that’s mostly due to the hot weather/sun.

Do you think I should put in a french drain, perforated corex tubing, or is it a dirtissue. I suspect there may be fill dirt there, so should I just chop up the area, add in top soil or other dirt and build up the area a bit, and grow good grass? Thanksfor any help you may offer.

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 03 September 2004 10:51

Can you raise the height of the area without sending the water toward your house or other buildings? This might entail raising the height of the soil all the way to the nearest building to keep it from going that direction. What you NEVER want is watering heading for the building. At the same time, you don’t want soil to come up the side of the house. The soil should be no higher than 4 inches under the sill of the house.

If you can raise the height of the area, you might want to apply 1/3 inch of sand in there every week until it drains like it should. This is an easy way to change your drainage. The landscaper should never have let this happen. You might call him and let him offer to fix it for you before you go blabbing to all your neighbors about your problem and who your landscaper was and all.

Leaving it like it is will kill off the soil fungi right there. This will lead to compaction and to a dead spot that won’t grow anything but moss until you get it fixed.

tommy – posted 03 September 2004 12:45

You should not have to install drainage….but rather do as you suggested-and build the area up to acheive a better grade. You can also improve water infiltration into the soil- by rototilling and incorporating sand and organic matter. Mix a total of 4 inches of medium texture sand and two inches of peat moss or other organic material. Rototill the area and do a rough grade- Put down 2 inches of sand-rototill it in- smooth it out- apply another 2 inches of sand -rototill and smooth- and then mix 2 inches of organic material -rototill- smooth out- and do more grading. Water the area heavily for a couple of days to reveal any low spots. After the low spots are visiable-let the area dry out and then do your final grade to level the low spots.

BrandonC – posted 14 September 2004 05:54

If it allready has a slope to the street then you might want to try and loosen up the soil a little. At Home Depot you can buy some gypsum (same stuff they make sheetrock with)and its cheap, it will loosen the soil and let the water absorb.Try this first and see if it helps.