# Drainage to remove standing water in yard after rain



## damian51 (Jan 28, 2012)

Bringing in dirt really isnt an option right now, since the way my land is located. I have attached a picture of what happens after a medium rain storm

red = areas that hold more water
blue = area that holds just a little bit of water
yellow = french drain










would this work? and also any other ideas? I am pretty much open to any idea. The reason i am against more dirt is I have a fence so the dirt would have to be dropped in the front (where my septic leech field is) and then moved by hand to the back, not to mention it would be a lot of dirt.

What happens is my house is built pretty high up, the sides where the neigbors are, are pretty high up, and my land general slops from front to the back (where the drain ditch is) just these few areas are lower than the rest so the water tends to get stuck there. Thanks for any help!


----------



## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

It would be 100 times better to just raise the grade in those areas.
At some point those lines or the grates will plug up.


----------



## damian51 (Jan 28, 2012)

It would take probably 25-30 loads of dirt if I had to guess, what I have that i didnt draw is a fence, that isnt big enough to allow a dump truck in...another reason I am against the dirt since the cost and all that

figured this french drain will take what, 300 bucks + my back digging the trenches lol

Edit: I mistyped the loads of dirt, It would be probably 10 loads on the right and 5 loads on the left.


----------



## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Take down a section of fence or use a bob cat to move it.


----------



## damian51 (Jan 28, 2012)

never thought about using a bob cat, hmm i wonder if itll be worth it to just rent one for a weekend and try to level it myself.


----------



## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

Ayuh,... Insteada importin' dirt,...

Start cuttin' the top off the rise at the drainage ditch, 'n push it up into the holes, til ya have an even drainage grade from low to high....

You'd have to remove enough fence to get a dozer back in there...


----------



## jasonreck71 (Jan 14, 2012)

I had a similar issue. I used a trencher to put in the black pipe. I didn't do a proper french drain if you will, but 2 years later it is still doing what I need it too. I rented a trencher that went 3 feet deep because there were areas that I actually needed to be that deep to keep the pipe going down hill. the trencher dug a 4" wide trench, which I easily increased a bit with a shovel to easily get the pipe to the bottom


----------



## damian51 (Jan 28, 2012)

jasonreck71 said:


> I had a similar issue. I used a trencher to put in the black pipe. I didn't do a proper french drain if you will, but 2 years later it is still doing what I need it too. I rented a trencher that went 3 feet deep because there were areas that I actually needed to be that deep to keep the pipe going down hill. the trencher dug a 4" wide trench, which I easily increased a bit with a shovel to easily get the pipe to the bottom


well i am going to get a quote for some dirt, since once i get it level it will be a done deal with the problem, if the quotes are too high, then i will just install a drain and see how that does.


----------



## pls8xx (May 2, 2009)

Bondo was exactly correct! Re-grade the existing dirt for a uniform slope to the ditch.

Everyone else was wrong and anyone suggesting subsurface trenching or piping should be shot.


----------

