The way to Install Drain Tiles from the Back Yard
Excess moisture in a lawn can interfere with recreational activities, restrict landscaping alternatives or create mowing and other maintenance jobs hard, and also pose a threat to neighboring structures exposed to seepage or leaks. One possible way to address a wet lawn involves installing underground drain liners that goes out of tough low spots in the landscape to an appropriate outlet like a ditch or swale. Installing the drain tiles, or perforated piping, properly helps to make sure that the system will work efficiently for a protracted period of time.
Dig a trench at least 24 inches deep and 12 inches wide that goes in the problematic low spots in the lawn to an outlet like a ditch, swale or pond. If you are installing the drain tiles next to a structure to address issues with seepage, dig the trench down to the depth of the ground if the humidity is a subsurface, not surface problem. Produce a rough slope on the bottom of the trench. Pile the soil and vegetation you remove on tarps to keep the site clean and permit for easier reuse later.
Pound a stake into the ground at each end of this trench.
Tie a length of string to the bottom of the stake at the upper end of this trench, stretch it out on another stake, place a line level on the string and mark the point on the lower stake where the degree string intersects with the wager.
Gauge the distance between both bets and figure out the drop in elevation needed to achieve the necessary slope of at least 1 percent. For example, if the distance between the two bets is 50 feet, then this amount is multiplied by 0.01 to compute a necessary drop of 0.5 feet or 6 inches.
Measure the determined drop in elevation back on the stake at the lower position and tie the string for this new stage.
Shape the bottom of the trench so that the line is hardly touching the soil along the whole length of the trench. Eliminate the string and bets.
Place filter material or landscaping cloth from the trench so it covers the bottom and goes up the trench sides. This isn’t necessary but helps, particularly when the soil is very silty, to prolong the life of this drain.
Establish the 4-inch perforated PVC piping at the trench. Place it at the middle of the trench with its perforations oriented horizontally. Put the level in addition to the pipe at regular intervals to be sure that the slight slope based on the trench bottom remains. Move soil around under the pipe and fabric as needed to fix the slope.
Cover the pipe with at least 12 inches of rough, clean gravel.
Fold the ends of the filter material over the surface of the gravel layer or lay a brand new section of filter material over the gravel if the existing fabric in the trench does not reach, if needed.
Fill in the rest of the trench with gravel, soil or other fill and vegetate the cover of the trench using shallow-rooted plants, if desired.
