drainage

[cat320]

I have a yard that i am looking at it has a slight hill in the back. The owner wants to get the yard dry , the otherday when i was there his yard was still very wet when everywhere else was bone dry. he gets no real sun back there,has run off from other yards higher up and has no grass but moss growing .
Like every job wants it done cheap ,so what else is new has his brotherinlaw there advising him .dose not want a show yard because it's the dog pound for his dogs. i didn't take any pics.

I would like to level everything trees bushes ,re-grade then lay out some pipe and stone lots of stone.

I think what i have to tell him is there is no cheap solution to doing drainage. I will have to get some measurements and pics to show when the owner calls back to let me know if he has a drain system already in the back because of the pipe i found going into the drain in front of his house that comes from his yard from what it looked like.

[gslam88]

Well my first thought is if in the winter time when there is nothing blocking the light and its staying damp.. clearing some trees out of there will do a little. but a curtain drain or something is needed if he's getting wash from neighbors yard.

As far as the pipe up in the front yard, could it be a drain for the gutters? I also take it he is not the first owner?

[cat320]

house is probably 20-30 years old he just bought about a year or so ago. tree clearing was one of my sugestions too .He is getting alot from nieghbors i think

[PSDF350]

Cutting the trees is a double edged sword. On the one side it will allow more light to enter. But on the other side the trees wont be absorbing the water. If the trees are small then there not sucking up much. But if they are large trees you will be surprised how much wetter it gets. So more than removing trees is needed.

[Big Dog D]

By the sounds of it it is groundwater seeping out of the hill in the back(assuming it is an uphill slope). Could be the old drain has failed and that's whats making it worse. The line you saw leading into the CB could also be a perimeter drain from the house.

[cat320]

The owner is checking on the drain pipe into the cb I think it runs up into the yard to some kind of dry well

[Big Dog D]

Drywells are used for dispersion not collection. What type of pipe is running into the CB?

[cat320]

looks like a white 4"

[gordyo]

Like every job wants it done cheap.

Cheap? :rolling

Last time I checked, excavating work was not cheap. Tell him that it is not wise to cut corners on drainage work.
Talk to me someday about the 4" crush pipe some contractor used on a commercial building that I had to replace.

[Big Dog D]

looks like a white 4"

Thinwall or Sch40?

[cat320]

hard to tell how thick just barly saw the pipe ,but who ever put it in it's down at least 2' or so in the cb

[chipsearthworks]

I do not know much about excavation ...yet still learning. but i do know that what you want to do will not be cheap by anymeans. Just tell him what you think will work the best and that is it , what it cost is what it costs. I do not have to tell you, but do not get screwed by this guy.

[Rocket]

Is it just wet or standing water. If standing water, for how long? What soil type?

[cat320]

He says it comes running down during a rain fall and littlerly stays wet for a long time after like waking on a sponge when i went to look at it. Oh yeah plenty of moss.

[hlntoiz]

Sounds like clay to me.....if you can dig a curtain drain at the base of the hill and lead it to the catchbasin you have a home run and the best way to do it....JM$.02

[GMC Driver]

Not familiar with curtain drains - they must be what we call a french drain.

We usually get a few drainage improvement project a year. Last year seemed to be a record - one job we put over 3000' of french drain! And it works great.

Usually get a trencher (have used an MT52 Bobcat alot for this - excellent little machine) and trench a 6" trench, ensuring grade away from the area to be drained - either by increasing depth or down slope. If the trench can be brought to a swale/ditch or CB for the outlet, then that is what is done. Or else we terminate into a dry well system. Drill a hole with the 36" auger at least 6' deep - two if conditions dictate (ie. clay, alot of moisture).

Place clear garnular in the bottom of the trench, about 2-4" worth. Place 4" corrugated weeping tile with sediment sock in the trench. Make sure connections, joints, Tees, etc. have appropriate sediment protection. Then continue backfilling trench with clear granular (we use 3/4" stone), to within 2" from top of grade. Then proceed with topsoil and seed/sod.

At dry wells, place large stone in the bottom 1' of well (we use 3-6" gabion rock - river rock will work as well). Then fill to within 4" from top with clear granular. If a twin dry well system, be sure to put an overflow pipe between the two.

We have used this method extensively with fantastic results - I have one yard in Welland - their sump pump used to run every 20 mins. Now runs twice daily (every 12 hours).

That's what works here - in alot of heavy clay.

[hlntoiz]

Not familiar with curtain drains - they must be what we call a french drain.


Same thing, same installation process. As long as you have a place to direct the water in the clay you are good.

[Rocket]

Curtain drains last longer and keep silt out better than the old fashioned French drain. You can run a curtain 6" to more than a couple feet tall/deep. You probably have seen them at work without knowing it if you watch college and pro sports.