Catch Runoff In French Drains
These gravel-filled trenches usually include perforated pipes that distribute runoff through the soil. French drains are easier to install than dry well systems, and theyre eco-friendly too.
Before you start a DIY drainage project, confirm the location of any underground utility lines on your property. Its a good idea to make sure youll be in compliance with neighborhood zoning regulations too.
Install A French Drain
The purpose of a French drain is to direct water away from your home. It can be made inexpensively without a lot of materials or tools. Simply dig a trench to direct the water toward the perimeter of your property, preferably near a storm drain or dry well, a shallow trench that has deep holes with rocks for drainage.
When water is diverted to a dry well, the water can gradually drain into the surrounding soil. To increase the longevity of the dry well, insert a perforated plastic tub to hold the rocks .
Fill the trench with gravel and place a plastic perforated pipe at the trenchs base and let gravity do the rest.
Downspout And Gutter Problems
Downspouts and gutters can be the source of flooding in your yard. If the downspouts are too short, they wont divert water far enough away from the house. Clogged gutters can also cause water to spill over and pool near the house foundation, in garden beds and on patios.
- Regularly clean your homes gutters to prevent clogging. Gutters should be cleaned twice a year, once in the spring and again in the fall. If you have many trees around your home, you may need to clean the gutters more often.
- Add an extension to the downspout so that it releases water farther away from your house.
- Create a gravel bed underneath the downspout to better absorb the runoff water so that it does not erode the soil and create a crater for water to fill.
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What To Do With A Pool Leak
A leaking pool can do just as much damage as an open, dried pool, when it comes to stagnant water. When your standing water is caused by a leak, the water seeps into nearby soil, which can cause compaction and dips in your soil.
Telltale signs of a leaky pool being the cause of your stagnant water include:
- Noticeable cracks or tears in the pool. If you can see the holes, its clear youve got a leak.
- Missing water. Does the pool never seem to stay entirely full? It could be a leak in the plumbing, or could be a sign that your pool has a small crack in it that causes leaks.
- A muddy patch that never seems to go away. If the patch lines up with pool plumbing, chances are that you have a leak in the piping that keeps your water in there.
- Standing water near your pool, despite dry weather. The water has to come from somewhere. If this is happening around your lawn frequently, it could be due to an unseen pool leak.
If you have a leaking pool, you are going tohave to find the source of the leak and fix it. With above-ground pools, thismay be a DIY project. However, if it involves an in-ground pool withspecialized plumbing, calling a trained professional is advisable.
Widespread Wetness After Storms
Widespread sogginess near landscaping that is too large or difficult to simply fill in, re-grade or replant, there are other solutions. Runoff can be redirected or captured to minimize water accumulation.
- Redirecting runoff safely takes it to a suitable area. This can be done using swales, French drains, catch basins or downspout extensions.
- Capturing and storing runoff helps protect streams and rivers and reuses the water. This can be done using rain barrels, cisterns, dry wells, soil amendment or rain gardens.
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Simple Steps To Fix Bumps In Your Lawn
How to fix a bumpy lawn is one of those things people tend to ignore But as your lawn gets worse the bumps can create puddling in heavy rains, and make the terrain difficult to mow. This unevenness greatly affects the usability and appearance of your yard.
The Good News If youve noticed lately that your lawn is bumpy and uneven theres a reasonably easy way to fix it.
Knowing How to fix a Bumpy lawnwithout using a lawn roller is a valuable skill for any Homeowner to know.
Not only will our method save you the trouble and hassle of renting or borrowing a lawn roller, but it also provides an easier, long-term solution for lawn depressions and bumps of all sizes.
Cause #: Lawn Equipment
Sometimes, lawn equipment can be a major source of standing water in a home. Water can pool in lawn equipment thats left outside after a storm. In most cases, this is due to wheelbarrows left out on the open, or water pooling in tarps covering equipment.
Most people dont realize how much water canpool in their lawn equipment! In most cases, the standing water will evaporaterelatively quickly and will not be a matter of concern. However, if you had aparticularly bad flood, the standing water might not evaporate entirely on itsown.
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What Blooms With What
Never know what to plant together? Find out with this FREE Plant Pairing Guide and become a pro at combining plants for the best garden design possible!
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Once you are panked and tamped and out of breath, you can get a drink of water, because you are done grading your yard.
Well, almost. Its kind of ugly now isnt it? Maybe we should plant some grass so noone will ever know about our yard grading project!
Reduce Your Watering Schedule
Before launching into a costly and extensive DIY drainage project, consider the possibility that you could be overwatering your yard and/or garden. Try cutting down on your watering and watch the trouble spots to see if they drain or not. If they do, the soil could be draining properly but simply cant keep up with your watering schedule. If not, it may be time to get your hands dirty.
Tools youll need: Most sprinkler systems can be set to operate at fewer or shorter intervals. If you water your yard manually, simply do so less often. Keep an eye on your wet zones over the next week or two to determine if your yard is indeed not draining.
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Should I Roll My Bumpy Lawn
Answer: In most cases, the answer is no. If you have a lawn with some moderate bumps, rolling may be a viable one-time solution. With that said, its a bad idea to roll frequently, as this could damage your grass. In the majority of cases, correction of the uneven areas by filling in with topsoil will be a better solution.
How To Fix Negative Grading
The home is the biggest investment for most people and they want the yard to look aesthetically pleasing. Adding in shrubs, trees, flowers etc. make it look really nice. But what if you notice on your dream home that there is negative grading in the yard?
Negative grading of the landscape is when the land is angled as such that the water can flow towards the home. Thus making it necessary to level or sculpt the land and make it slope away from the home and foundation.
Six inches of slope for every 6 feet is ideal. The idea is for the land to be graded to where the water flows away from the home. So how do you fix negative grading? Well, start with removing plants, shrubs, and grass and add in the soil to level it out.
Lets take a look at two types of grading, why you need a home inspection, how to fix negative grading and what can happen if you dont.
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Isnt Pool Water Standing Water
Pools are meant to contain water, and its notlike that water is meant to keep flowing in most cases. So, whats the dealwith stagnant water in pools? Isnt it all stagnant water?
Stagnant water refers to water that is not cleaned, not chlorinated, and prone to bacterial infections. Stagnant water is dirty water, water that is prone to causing infestations from pests.
Knowing this difference is crucial. Keeping your pool water well-maintained is vital to avoiding typical problems caused by stagnant water.
Standing Water In Yard Causes And Fix
Water pooling in yard is one of the bad news to a homeowner. In addition to damaging the stability of a foundation, unsightly stagnant water will stop your backyard enjoyments, gatherings and parties. If not mosquitoes, the smell of decomposing twigs and leaves in the water will typically keep you away from your patio or garden.
Water puddles on your patio will attract mold and mildews and gradually the concrete or pavers will start breaking down. This typically undermines the original purpose of improving your garden and if no action is taken, this is money going down the drain.
To permanently get rid of standing water in yard, begin by deducing the primary cause of the menace.
Water will pool in your yard due to a number of reasons including the following:
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What Is A French Drain And How Does It Work
If youve been looking up ways to deal with standing water in your yard, youve probably run across the term French drain. Sounds intimidating, right? Wondering what the heck it is? And what exactly it does?
This is one of those situations where the name makes it sound like a much bigger deal than it really is. The simplest way to describe a French drain is that its a flexible plastic drain pipe that you can place under your lawn to help channel water away.
Still sound complicated? Heres how to put in a French drain if you are experiencing drainage issues:
Now you have a French drain! Its a simple way to add very basic plumbing to your lawn and alleviate drainage issues in specific areas.
Get To Know Your Yard Drainage Options
In an effort to reduce the flooding that follows rainstorms, todays subdivisions are designed to direct runoff toward easements and curbs so water safely heads to the communitys stormwater drainage system. Unfortunately, that’s not always enough to prevent your property from looking a bit swampy after a storm. If, for example, your yard doesnt have enough slope to allow rainwater to run off, you could end up with standing water that kills your grass, leaks through your homes foundation, and even creates a perfect environment for mosquitoes to breed. Obviously, its a good idea to address drainage problems sooner rather than later.
If portions of your yard hold water every time it rains, first try contacting your local zoning and planning authority. They may be able to help fix the drainage issue at no cost to you. It may turn out that the problem isnt in their jurisdiction, but don’t panic. Homeowners can take measures to alleviate localized flooding. Daniel OBrian, technical expert for online plumbing retailer SupplyHouse.com, shared the following drainage and landscaping techniques for reducing flooding and directing water where its supposed to goaway from your house.
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Small Wet Area After Storms
In small wet areas after storms, poor grading prevents stormwater from flowing off the yard. Instead, stormwater is held in small, well-defined depressions until evaporation or infiltration into the soil eliminates the wetness.
A practical and environmentally beneficial option is to replant the wet area with water-tolerant plant species, preferably native. If you wish to eliminate the soggy depression, you can do so by filling or re-grading the depression.
Finding The Cause Of Moisture Damage
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How To Divert Water From The Home
As a homeowner, not much is scarier than hearing you have a water issue. The first thing that comes to mind is the foundation. When you discover a water drainage issue, dont go to the dark side just yet.
The good news is there are a number of ways you can lower the impact water can have on your home by redirecting its path. Heres how.
What Are The Signs Of A Water Drainage Problem
A lake-sized puddle may be a little dramatic. The indicators of drainage issues in your yard may be a little more subtle than that. Here are a few telltale signs that indicate you need to divert water in your yard:
- Overflowing gutters
- Efflorescence or flaking walls in your basement
- Basement leaks
- Mold
Don’t let water surprise you.
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Dig A Creek Bed Or Swale
If you have a soggy spot in your yard that a downspout extension cant fix, you may need an artificial creek or drainage swale to draw water away from low spots. These projects usually involve digging the soil into a long, shallow trench and filling it with gravel and decorative rocks. Assuming your yard has the right downward slope, this installation will essentially act as a slide for runoff to escape through.
An added bonus to this project is that even when its not in use, a dry man-made creek can be an attractive addition to your landscaping.
Tools youll need: Trench-digging tools such as shovels and spades, gravel, rocks and a method for disposing of excess dirt.
Problem #11 Watering Too Much
Overwatering your lawn can actually be a huge detriment and lead to standing water in your yard. Most professionals recommend that you DO NOT water your lawn everyday. Typically, once per week is acceptable since most lawns require about 1-1.5 of rain per/week. It is also best to water in the morning between 4 and 7 AM. To learn more about lawn watering tips for Minnesota, click here.
We hope that our Top 11 tips will help you to eliminate standing water issues in your yard. If you still have questions, please give Complete Building Solutions a call at 763-544-3355.
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Other Backyard Drainage Problems And Solutions
If weve learned anything in the years that weve been helping people with their landscape issues, its that there are as many specific drainage problems and solutions as there are yards. However, most of them fall into the basic categories already detailed above.
That being said, here are a few more issuesand solutionswe havent discussed:
Negative Effects Of Water Drainage Issues
Water may seem harmless enough, but it can cause a number of problems for homeowners ones that can be a minor inconvenience or cause thousands of dollars of damage. Here are a few reasons youll want to know how to divert water away from your home, so you can fix the issue before it becomes a major problem.
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Install A Rain Barrel
If you are unable to extend your downspout due to its location, a rain barrel could be another option. Instead of the water dumping onto the driveway or ground, it would dump into a rain barrel. The barrel would store the water until you can get rid of it, usually by reusing it to water your lawn.
This is especially helpful in reducing your water usage and lowering your water bill. While many people store their rain barrels beneath their downspouts, you can also place the barrel anywhere water collects from overhead sources.
If you decide to install a rain barrel on your property, make sure you place it on a flat surface that can hold the weight of a full barrel. Youll also want to get a rain water diverter, which keeps mosquitos out and prevents debris from flowing into the barrel.
