Side Yard Drainage Wrap-Up

Three months ago we didn't have access to the side of our house

After talking with our neighbor, she let us build a fence

Then once the rains started we realized we had a pretty bad drainage issue on the side of the house

So the next project would be digging and constructing a proper drainage system.

When we last left this project, we were about 1/2 there, but needed to finish the barrels, finish the trench, and lay some more gravel and dirt.

Over the last couple of weeks we've done a lot to finish this project up.

We bought A LOT of gravel and filled the top of the trench to help keep dirt from reaching the pipe


We covered the gravel with dirt to make it all level and even (we put a layer of filter fabric between every layer of new material just to try and keep dirt away from the pipe as much as we could)

We got lucky and had a few days of rain in-between to make sure the piping worked...no standing water along the side of the house, but A LOT in the holes for the barrels, so we know the pipe is doing its job!

We finished digging, lining, and dropping in the second barrel

Then we filled in the length of the side of the house with gravel. That way when it does rain and we have to get over there we won't be sliding around in muck and mud

Chris built two small brick retaining walls to surround the area above where the barrels are underground



Then we filled it with dirt

And soon, after a couple weekends, with the help of George, and a late night here and there, our side yard irrigation issues were SOLVED!

Here is a Photoshop drawing of a cross-section of what the trench looks like underground so you can get an idea of all the layers and what was involved

And our system works pretty well! With all the rain we've had, there hasn't been ANY standing water on the side of the house

Now we just have to tackle the drainage issues UNDER the house...