What do drainage contractors do?
All Seasons Outdoor Solutions can walk you through the ins and outs of landscape drainage. Give us a call at (682) 521-9164 for more information about landscape drainage and our other landscaping services.
Where land is flat, soils are dense, or the water table is high, a well-designed and well-implemented drainage system is a priority. Without proper drainage solutions in place, water may collect and it will undermine structures and drown expensive plants, turning parts of your new landscape into perpetually wet swamps. This can be the most important issue to a landscape architect due to this potential for damage. Backyard drainage may also be overlooked entirely by a designer poorly trained in grading and drainage or lacking drainage knowledge at all.
Do You Have Drainage Problems?
A good designer will analyze the nature of your yard, and may “shoot the grades” to establish the exact topography no matter how flat the site may seem appear to the “naked eye.” Spot elevations tell the designer where problems lie so that he or she can solve them through design.
Ground water can also play an important role in drainage, and it is directly related to rainfall patterns. In the low lying areas of the South, the water table can be just inches below the surface. Such conditions create all sorts of problems for construction and also limit planting options.
Rainfall is the periodic catalyst that sets drainage problems in gear. Where heavy downpours are common, poorly drained sites can become flooded for a short time if drainage structures are in place, or extended periods if they are not. Add heavy rainfall to a high water table and the potential for damage increases exponentially.
Problem #1: Surface Water
Solution: Surface Drainage
Homesites with clay soils suffer problems with lingering surface water. In theory every lot was graded to drain so that water in the backyard flows through a swale down the sideyard to the curb or storm drain. The reality is that builders don’t always get their grades right and water becomes trapped, causing muddy zones in lawns and planting areas. When your designer creates the new drainage plan, it may utilize surface grading to ensure there is enough fall to drain. If there is not, another option must be found.
The French drain is an age old drainage solution that gathers water and provides a place underground where it may take its time percolating down through dense soils. It is essentially a trench that is dug to any depth and filled with gravel and possibly a perforated drain line. Roofing felt or geotextiles are laid over the top of the gravel and the soil replaced. The surrounding area is graded to drain to this trench so water no longer gathers on the surface to create problems.
Other issues
Other issues, such as hardpan or high water level, call for educated solutions which can only be provided by professionals such as All Seasons Outdoor Solutions.
We invite you to look at our photo album of lawn drainage solutions, and please call us if we can be of assistance with your landscaping needs and other services. Our name is All Seasons Outdoor Solutions, and no drainage problem is too big for us to tackle.