Damp garden

Damp gardener

Help

I have moved into a old house and it comes with a massive garden. Easily 100 foot log by approx 30 to 40 foot wide.

The builder basically spread soil back over the garden after his trucks had wreck it. We took trees down the whole lot.

From day one I noticed the garden was wet. So much so even my daughter says daddy the garden is like a wet sponge.

While digging a hole at the end of the site I noticed what looks like a drainage pipe. I have no idea what it is...any help would be appreciated. I reckon it's e councils and if it is what do I do about it.

Any help is appreciated.

Damp gardener

Damp gardener

Sorry pic of the mystery object

Saruman

Is that copper pipe? Score if it is

miller50841

Every bit of green is saturated because of all the wet weather.

If you find it's bad in the summer hopefully if we get some dry spells and you find it's still bad there may be a spring or with the tree cover not drying too quick

Damp gardener

Miller any thoughts on what the pipe is at the bottling of my garden....it reinforced concrete.

I shoul say that before the work was even started the garden always had a very spongy feel to it....I dug a hole at the top of my garden as I was told dig a hole pour in water and see how long it takes to drain.

I dug the whole and it actually filled up with water...I dug down the depth of a garden spade and it completely filled with water....right to the point it overflowed over out onto the grass.

I was hoping that if that pipe was a blocked drainage system that 1) I could get the council to clear it so it drains...it's currently drains very very slowly. 2) if it was I was going to put in a drainage pipe system from the top of the garden right down to the bottom and drain into the pipe!!

Any thoughts.

miller50841

Damp gardener wrote: »

Miller any thoughts on what the pipe is at the bottling of my garden....it reinforced concrete.

I shoul say that before the work was even started the garden always had a very spongy feel to it....I dug a hole at the top of my garden as I was told dig a hole pour in water and see how long it takes to drain.

I dug the whole and it actually filled up with water...I dug down the depth of a garden spade and it completely filled with water....right to the point it overflowed over out onto the grass.

I was hoping that if that pipe was a blocked drainage system that 1) I could get the council to clear it so it drains...it's currently drains very very slowly. 2) if it was I was going to put in a drainage pipe system from the top of the garden right down to the bottom and drain into the pipe!!

Any thoughts.

It could be a drain pipe or old water main hard to know you would have to see it and where it goes.

It could be possible the water run off is getting clogged and backing up.
Are any of the other gardens similar?

eggox

Damp gardener wrote: »

Sorry pic of the mystery object

From the photo it looks like you havent got a lot of top soil untill you reach compacted stone and clay, i have that problem to and the only way i found was, to put in some drainage and improve the soil, and where it was really bad raised bed. Also if we get a long dry spell the soil goes like concrete. As you say that house is old are you sure its not a old sceptic tank

Damp gardener

Re topsoil I have though the same. What's the best way to add more top soil. Can I add just on top of the existing top soil and then re seed it. Not much point digging up the soil to take off the grass considering I don't have that much top soil anyhow.

Re raised beds I was thinking along that line myself. Want to grow some veg and I was going to put one or two raised beds over the worst affected spots. Once I have them in I was then going to dig up some path around them. I was then going to put some drainage pipes under the path.

The right hand side of the lawn closest to my house is the wettest spot. It's where the hole filled with water. If I run one drainage pipe from their to the bottom of he garden will it help that much. I think it would as the amount of water coming from that corner is slowly draining down my garden. If I can divert it it must surely help.

Thoughts?

Tawny Owl

Damp gardener wrote: »

Sorry pic of the mystery object

I have what looks the same in my garden but and a big but mine has a manhole cover over it and has wire like that in your photo but the one in my garden is about 8ft deet the wire across it is I would say to stop someone falling in I have laid pipes in the garden an run them to this manhole it's a soak away but first I would dig up more around the one you found first to give you a better idea of what is there and if possible where it runs too best of luck with the swamp I know what your going through I still have sections to be completed yet

ponddigger

hi to,:eek: any photos

Tawny Owl

I hope the photos loaded ok

Damp gardener

Thànks for that. I have been advised to get a council engineer out and let them have a look at it. I am hoping its a blocked drain that I can unblock and then drain into it.

I will have to put in pipes into a soak hole of sorts in some shape or form. Anyone recommended the best way to do it.

I was thinking of marking out the four or five worst damp spots and just putting pipes in their and draining into a soak hole, or that drain if it can be used...would need advice re type of piping, depth of pipe etc

paddy147

Damp gardener wrote: »

Thànks for that. I have been advised to get a council engineer out and let them have a look at it. I am hoping its a blocked drain that I can unblock and then drain into it.

I will have to put in pipes into a soak hole of sorts in some shape or form. Anyone recommended the best way to do it.

I was thinking of marking out the four or five worst damp spots and just putting pipes in their and draining into a soak hole, or that drain if it can be used...would need advice re type of piping, depth of pipe etc

Theres a few threads here on the gardening forum,with pictures of people installing land drainage piping in their back gardens to sort out the problem of swampy back gardens.

If you use the search funtion on the garden forum home page,then Im sure you will find detailed pics of whats involved and how to resolve the issue.:)