If your yard is soggy and mushy with clogged water, then it is time to install a good drainage syste...

1. How to Install Yard Drainage
If your yard is soggy and mushy with clogged water, then it is time to install a good drainage system.
It is surprisingly easy to install it yourself.
The problem of not having a proper drainage system in your yard is not hard to miss. Soggy lawns
and waterlogged gardens are some of the problems that you might encounter if you do not have a
good drainage system installed. Installing a drainage system might seem like a challenging project,
but if you plan well and have the right supplies, this project can be done over a weekend. There are
many yard drainage solutions that you can consider; from installing dry creeks, to French drains, or
underground pipes placed in trenches. Some of these solutions require the services of a professional,
however there are some that you can install yourself. The whole process might be time-consuming
and labor intensive, but you will have a yard that is dry with no standing water.
Installing a Yard Drainage System
French Drain
One of the best and simplest drainage solutions for yard is a French drain. This is a deep trench in
which a perforated drain pipe is laid which is then covered with gravel. Before installing a French
drain in your yard, you need to make a layout plan to mark the area of the yard in which the drain is
to be installed. To do this you need to study the elevation of your property. The water needs to be
rerouted from low elevation areas to a place where it can exit from the property. The exit point for
the water should ideally be a dry well. Under no circumstances should you allow water to flow out to
your neighbors property or on the street. Once you have a design for a French drain ready, it is time
to install this drainage system. A few materials are required for this project and they can be
purchased from any good home improvement store.
Things required
Landscape fabric
Gravel
Shovel
PVC pipes
Hand held drill
Landscape paint
Procedure
The first step in installing a French drain system in your yard, is to mark the area where you are
going to dig up the ground with landscape paint. Now start digging this marked path with the
shovel. The trenches should be about 2 - 2 ½ inches in depth with a width of about 5 - 6 inches.

2. Make sure that you place the dug out soil in a neat heap on either sides of the trench, so that you
can use it later. Once you have dug the entire course of the yard, place the landscape fabric over the
trench neatly in such a way that the excess landscape fabric is on either side of the trench.
Now take a section of the PVC drain pipe and drill small holes on one side with a hand held drill.
Make sure that the holes are spaced at a distance of 1½ - 2 inches and are all on the same side. Now
place this perforated PVC drain pipe inside the trench which has been layered with landscape fabric.
Ensure that the perforations on the pipe are facing downwards inside the trench. Once you are done
laying the entire length of the pipe inside the trench, place gravel on the trench. Round gravel with
no distinct sharp edges is preferred for this project. Once the gravel has been filled up to 2 inches
from the ground, cover it with the landscape fabric. Place the dug up soil on top of the landscape
fabric and then compact the soil. Your yard drainage installation is complete.
Dry Well
If you have moderate water logging in your yard and are looking for a low-cost drainage solution for
the yard, then installing a dry well is your best bet. In essence a dry well is nothing more than a
deep hole or ditch that is dug in the ground. For installing a dry well, you need to study the elevation
of the yard and find out which is the lowest point in the yard, where standing water accumulates.
When you have located the area with the lowest elevation in the yard, you need to mark this spot
and dig a hole in the ground that is about 3 - 4 feet deep. The hole need not be too wide, but it
should have sufficient depth. Next line the hole with a piece of landscape fabric and then begin
filling the hole with gravel. When you have filled the hole to about eight inches from the ground,
wrap the fabric over the gravel. Next, fill the hole with sand and soil and compact the surface.
If you have difficulty carrying out this task, then call a professional and get the job done. It is very
important that your yard has a drainage system.

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