5 Yard Drainage Solutions You Can Do Yourself

So your yard isn’t draining properly? Maybe you have a large puddle of water in one area of your yard. Or, worse, your whole yard feels soggy all year long. Poor yard drainage happens to homeowners across the country, but yard drainage in Atlanta is extremely common. Because of the amount of rain this part of the country receives on a yearly basis (well above the average of other states/cities). Atlanta and surrounding homeowners find themselves with the need to install exterior drainage solutions. If you are feeling adventurous here are 5 yard drainage solutions you can do yourself. Or if you are not a DIY type of person, an experienced landscaping company and drainage solutions expert can help. Venyscapes has over 15 years of experience and can evaluate your drainage needs and come up with an expert drainage solution.

Common Causes of Yard Drainage Issues

There are several factors that can lead your yard drainage issues. If your yard if failing to vacate excess water properly, you will want to get to the root of the problem before trying to solve it. Different causes os yard drainage problems can call for different solutions and/or DIY approaches. Some of the following are the most common yard drainage issues you may be having.

• Too Short of a downspout. If your gutter’s downspouts are too short and land directly into a flower bed or other landscaped area, excess water will collect in the mulch and the soil around that area. Eventually you may even see your mulch and soil washing away from the amount of water it is receiving.
• Front Walkways. You may have a concrete pathway or sidewalk that either sits in front of your house, or leads to the front door. If so, this could be blocking runoff water and preventing excess water from running through your yard down into the storm drains.
• Erosion from excess water. If the runoff water from your downspout has stripped away some of the top soil in your yard, this can lead to heavy collection of water beneath the eroded area. This can lead to serious leakage in your home and potentially cause major foundations issues.
• Yard Slope or Pitch. In many cases water will pool in your yard because the soils slope or pitch is too flat and doesn’t divert enough water away from the house.
• Oversaturated Soil. Your soil isn’t collecting and absorbing enough water so you have oversaturated soil no matter how little or how much excess water or rain your house gets.

5 Yard Drainage Solutions You Can Do Yourself

After reading through some of the common yard drainage issues homeowners find within their property, you may have been able to identify your issue. Now, it’s time to make a game plan for how to improve drainage in your hard. Like an DIY project, make sure you have done proper research and have carefully selected which tools are necessary.

1.) Extend Your Downspout

If you find that the runoff from your gutters and downspouts is causing your yard drainage problems. A simple fix could be as easy as extending the downspout further away from your house. ( A more complicated fix that Venyscapes can help with is adding downspout drain lines). By running his downspout away from your house you are diverting the water from directly impacting the surrounding soil, mulch, sod, etc. Make sure you’re pointing it toward a storm drain, or other safe drainage source, and not your neighboring property.

2.) Dig a Dry Creek Bed

Do you have excess water that seems to always be creating a main soggy area of your property? Consider adding a dry creek bed to your yard. Typically this usually involves digging the soil into a long, shallow trench and filling it with gravel and decorative rocks. Additionally, Dry creek beds can not only help with drainage but they can add an aesthetic appeal to your home as well. Assuming your yard has the right downward slope. The installation of a dry creek bed will essentially act as a slide for runoff water to escape through.

3.) Construct a Rain Garden

Does your property have a low spot that collects water? Maybe there isn’t enough of a slope to drain the water with a dry creek bed. You can consider making that soggy patch work for you by turning it into a rain garden. Rain gardens are usually designed to catch rainfall and are filled with water-loving plants like hosts, ferns and ornamental mosses. These water loving plants can help dry out saturated areas. Although they don’t necessarily solve the yard drainage issues, they definitely are more attractive than a muddy puddle of water in your yard. Ideally, a rain garden with drain water within 24 hours. Your rain garden can also be the ending point of a downspout or creek bed.

4.) Installing a French Drain

When your soil has drainage issues that can’t be fixed with simple adjustments, it may be time to go bigger. French drains are installed bellow your soil to disperse and redirect excess water, but there are key differences in their application so you will want to make sure you have researched the best way to install a French drain. You can read here to learn more about how to install a French drain.

5.) Reduce Your Watering Schedule.

This may be the easiest DIY drainage project. Before lunging into any of the above yard drainage solutions try reducing your watering schedule. Cutting down on your watering and watch the trouble spots to see if they start to drain properly. If they do, the soil could be draining properly but simply can’t keep up with your watering schedule. If not, it may be time to get your hands dirty or call the experts at Venyscapes.

Call a Yard Drainage Solutions Expert

Digging in, literally, to yard work might not be for you. That’s ok, Venyscapes can help.

Creative Landscaping, excellent drainage solutions and unbeatable customer service. 

Atlanta landscaping and expert drainage solutions company. Offering custom landscaping, hardscaping, French drains, catch basins, and so much more. Servicing Atlanta and surrounding areas. Quality work, experienced landscapers, dependable landscaping company, custom landscaping jobs. We offer custom landscaping and drainage solutions. Contact us today to schedule your free estimate.