Stagnant water under playground tiles

s7ryf3925pivug

Not sure if this the best forum for this? ...

We have interlocking rubber playground tiles on a concrete base. The base is enclosed on all sides by walls/edge of patio/access ramp. There is an aco drain on one side and it's supposed to slope towards that for drainage. However this is done imperfectly and if you lift the tiles there is water sitting underneath.

The water is not skanky and there is no mould as of yet. However what drew my attention to it was the presence of midges that I think might be there because of the water. There are also new midges due to new muddy parts of our lawn, but I think the midges around the play area are due to the water underneath the tiles. Open to correction on that.

I thought about just drilling holes in the concrete to provide drainage but that is a bad idea because the ground is clay so they would just fill with water and crack the concrete when it freezes.

There are waste pipes running under the concrete in one place so we'd need to be careful about them.

Any ideas about how to address this in both the short term (cleaning it? Putting something safe that would stop the midges in it?)and the long term (structural changes to stop stagnant water from staying there).

nthclare

Midges as you pointed out thrive in wet places as they hatch in the water and they come up after the pond life cycle transitions to when they get their wings.

1 You could have a leak, the water is not stagnant so obviously its from a fresh source or the water table is high, but there could be a leak or underwater stream.

If it's not a leak it'll go stagnant and those pesky midges will be a nightmare.

You could put another structure over the original, pull up the rubber, put it down over hard-core, then gravel, grit and sand.
That's if there's no leak underneath.
It's just the water not being stagnant that's a worry for me.
As water that has movement doesn't get stagnant, and we're going through a dry spell at the moment.
So that's another bone of contention.

Investigation prior to contempt is how I try to figure out a problem in the gardens I work in.


I wish you well and hope I shone light on the subject.

s7ryf3925pivug

nthclare wrote: »

Midges as you pointed out thrive in wet places as they hatch in the water and they come up after the pond life cycle transitions to when they get their wings.

1 You could have a leak, the water is not stagnant so obviously its from a fresh source or the water table is high, but there could be a leak or underwater stream.

If it's not a leak it'll go stagnant and those pesky midges will be a nightmare.

You could put another structure over the original, pull up the rubber, put it down over hard-core, then gravel, grit and sand.
That's if there's no leak underneath.
It's just the water not being stagnant that's a worry for me.
As water that has movement doesn't get stagnant, and we're going through a dry spell at the moment.
So that's another bone of contention.

Investigation prior to contempt is how I try to figure out a problem in the gardens I work in.


I wish you well and hope I shone light on the subject.

Thanks. I'm pretty sure it's not a leak. The pipe is waste only and is pretty deep under it so it wouldn't soak upwards if it were leaking to pool on top.

It's pretty much a saucer, apart from the drain. The tiles are permeable so they let water trough but also keep it cool so it doesn't evaporate quickly even in the hot weather. (We are getting some rain here in Limerick.)

Putting another layer underneath wouldn't work because it's against our house as it is and is already too high. Raising it further would put it above the floor of the house/damp proof membrane.

I think structural changes would have to involve either removing a lot of the concrete and replacing it with the hardcore/gravel/grit/sand combo you referred to. I think that's what I'd be happiest with but it might be expensive and I don't know if there would be structural issues. (It overlaps the floating slab our house is on, and there is a retaining wall with a lot of earth behind it opposite that.) Otherwise I think it would be inserting drains where the water pools and also against the house.

For a short term fix, given that it's pretty shallow, would it be enough to just run a hose or power washer over it every week or so to prevent the water being stagnant?

s7ryf3925pivug

Actually thinking about the leak idea, it could be water from the kitchen/bathroom sinks. They both run into a drain outside which has an outdoor tap above it. I don't think they go into that drain perfectly nearly and some water from them is probably going under the tiles.

nthclare

Chase Proud Throwback wrote: »

Actually thinking about the leak idea, it could be water from the kitchen/bathroom sinks. They both run into a drain outside which has an outdoor tap above it. I don't think they go into that drain perfectly nearly and some water from them is probably going under the tiles.

I had a similar problem myself, its easy enough to fix, I'd be like a plumber wiring a house so a friend gave me a hand, and I pruned his roses.

I'd say you'll be able to fix it easily enough if you're good at pipe work etc, it could be a simple gap or something loose or needing to be freed up, twisted off again and put back together.

Or a Monday morning job with the builders, not saying you've a bad builder we all make simple mistakes.

I once cut a 30 year old wisteria in the wrong place, im still getting flash backs of the look on Mervyns face when I has to tell him.

But him being a good baptist Christian he said God willed it

Hocus Focus

You mention a retaining wall with earth behind it; could the water be draining down from this?