Poor drainage

[davejoemeg]

I have a problem with poor drainage from my lawn. I have dug a soak awa

but still the rain water does not go away. The house & surrounding are is built on clay which is very deep, I know this from the amount o digging I have done in it. Does anyone have any idea's

-- davejoemeg

[Phisherman]

There are several solutions, but the picking the most effective one will be based on the specifics of the area. One solution is to add layers of soil to the lower areas--you can add 1/2" at a time to a lawn area without disturbing the existing grass. Of course, this means you must have a mound of soil to use. If your situation is really bad, you may need to re-grade the entire area, then re-seed the lawn. If you pick this method, this would be an excellent time to add organic matter, such as mushroom compost, to the soil and till it in. Another method is to install a perforated pipe and have it drain off to another area.

[davejoemeg]

Thanks, I have tried a perforated pipe but to no avail. I believe th water has no means of escape & as my lawn is west facing the specifi area in question does not get much sunlight. I have been told tha bruching sharp sand into the lawn may do the trick

-- davejoemeg

[Gideon]

Dave,

More information please. If you visit the doctor for a $50 office call, you will not expect him to help you if you provide little more information than "my stomach hurts; I tried some Tums; my stomach still hurts."

You are seeking advice for a problem which is much bigger than a $50 issue. I'm willing to offer advice and I'm certain that others will also, but you need to take the effort to give us some details.

Please describe you problems and describe the terrain: Standing water, poorly graded lawn, wet basement, saturated soil (clay), estimated depth of topsoil (if any!), estimated depth of surface clay (until you hit hardpan), runoff from adjacent properties, natural springs in your area, etc. ? You don't have to answer all issues, but the more the better.

Describe you attempted fix: DIY "soak away" system or a "professionally installed system", type and size of aggregate used, type and diameter of drain pipe, installed using civil engineering transit/level/tape/leveling rod or just hillbilly guess & dig approach, pitch of terrain, pitch of drainage system, distance between laterals, specifics on the "soak aways" (dry basins), depth of laterals, etc. Once again, it is best if we aren't guessing about your specifics.

From my experience, 90% of subsurface drainage systems are improperly installed. About 50% of them fail to work adequately in the first year, another 25% eventually fail as the poorly installed systems degrade, and the other 25% work moderately well to extremely well, based upon blind luck rather than the skill of the installer. I know professional sports turf builders (golf course builders in particular) who can't understand why the exact same drainage design worked in situation #1 but not in situation #2. Their method of installation is quit simple: "That's the way we've always done it."

The more you tell us, the more we can help.

FYI: If you are attempted to correct poor drainage in a large area with extremely high clay content, you are usually wasting your effort unless you have laterals spaced at 3' or less. Yes, that sucks, but that is the reality of trying to make clay "soil" behave nicely. Even with 3' laterals, you need to have a reasonably good understanding of some soil engineering principals. Also, that pretty white crushed stone that everybody uses is one of the worst choices for aggregrate. It works fine for a while, but ultimately degrades as it shifts, compacts, and fills with clay.

Good luck, Gideon

================

[Travis M.]

"davejoemeg" wrote in message news: [e-mail]

What do you mean by "soak away"?

Do you mean you have to dug down several feet to get to the clay?

[Travis M.]

What does "brunching" mean?

[Gideon]

Travis M. wrote What does "brunching" mean?

===============

Please note that he said "bruching" and not "brunching."

Perhaps he is referring to the practice of core aerating a lawn and then topdressing with so-called "sharp sand" (ie, course sand). The topdressing is rake to get as much as possible down into the aeration cores.

I don't like the term "sharp sand" - I prefer the phrase "course sand."

[Gideon]

Travis M. wrote What do you mean by "soak away"?

================

I'm not the original poster, but I believe that he is referring to a system in which a lawn drainage system terminates in one or more dry wells. The water is, in theory, drained from problems areas, routed to dry wells, and hopefully it "soaks away" underground far from the original problem area.

For any sort of serious drainage problem, especially in heavy clay, this is generally an unsuitable approach. Instead, drain "to daylight" and get the water as far away as possible.

[Travis M.]

I don't find the word "bruching" in any dictionary I own.

[George.com]

essentially a soak hole eh.

rob