So since our house was built two years ago, we’ve had a big problem with drainage in the back garden. Front garden drains really well, the big common area in the centre of the development does too. So not sure what the issue is in the back garden. Several people have the same issue so suspect a lot of rubble underneath and shallow topsoil.
It is waterlogged all winter, and for weeks after any significant rain. So it is full of larvae and weeds that like wet ground, no matter how much I weed/fertilise etc.
Have spoken to the builder several times on it and he’s said he’ll “take a look”. They’ve just finished the last house and now saying he doesn’t know what he could do!
So for a totally flat, 9m x 9m garden like this what would improve drainage? Short of digging the whole thing up and starting again. Aerating isn’t going to be enough I think. Some sort of French drain? Or a simpler solution of just a big, deep trench angled towards the fence with stones below the topsoil?
by Possible_Ice9371
2 Comments
You can try digging a couple of small areas to see if it is just full of rubble. If it is, you’ll want to get it removed somehow. If not, and it’s just very heavy clay soil, you’ll need to add a lot of organic material to improve the soil structure.
If you can get the builders to build a ditch around the perimeter you can fill this with organic matter and compost and form some flowerbeds it could drain to?
I think the first step is to cut out some 50 cm square tests areas from the lawn and then dig down to see what’s there