How to Lay Drainage Tile
Water around your home can be a dramatic accent when used in ponds or water features. Water can also be a nightmare when poor drainage threatens your home. An important part of home landscaping is water runoff management. Many homes have drainage problems that can cause problems for maintaining landscape plants. A more difficult and expensive maintenance issue occurs when water enters into basements or under homes because of poor drainage. Installing drainage tile can reduce or eliminate water drainage problems as part of a landscape plan. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Shovel
- Landscape cloth
- Drainage tile or perforated piping, typically 4-inch diameter
- Gravel
- Powered trenching machine for larger areas
- Spray paint
- String and a string level
- Powered bucket
Instructions
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1
Spray paint lines where you will install drainage tile. Mark the path of the drainage tile from poor drainage areas to drier areas or established drains or culverts. You do not need to worry about minor yard elevation changes at this point, but avoid moving uphill as you plan your drains.
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2
Dig a trench starting at a point furthest from your drain area. Dig the trench no more than 6 inches wide to prevent crushing the tile later. Check for positive drainage with a string and string level along the length of the trench; keep one-half to one bubble off level.
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3
Line the trench with landscape or filter cloth to prevent roots or silt from clogging the drain. Leave enough extra cloth to overlap the trench near ground level. Install the drainage tile along the length of the trench. Use connectors to add additional lengths as needed. Leave excess tile at the drain area to allow for movement during backfilling; you can cut off excess pipe later.
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4
Backfill the trench with gravel to within one foot of the surface. Add the first few inches of gravel with a shovel to prevent crushing the drain. Use power equipment for the remaining backfill if needed. Use moderate-sized gravel for drainage; do not use granite dust or sand that can clog the drainage system.
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5
Overlap the landscape cloth and cover the gravel-filled trench. Cut off excess cloth and tuck in loose edges.
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6
Fill the remaining trench with topsoil and landscape as desired.
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Tips & Warnings
To check the slope of a drainage trench, lay a garden hose in a trench and fill it with water. The water will drain from the hose if you have a positive slope.
Dig trenches slowly to prevent digging the trench too deep. Backfilling dirt in a drainage trench can create low spots that can collect water or cause collapse of the drain.
You can create a longer lasting drain system by completely filling the trench with gravel. This will permit surface water to drain away without topsoil infiltrating the drainage field. Grass or plantings will slowly cover the exposed gravel.
You can damage your home's foundation if you dig too close to it. Hire a professional if you have an older home or an unstable foundation.
Shore trenches deeper than 3 to 4 feet with wood or metal shoring to prevent collapse. Never work in deep unshored trenches.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit drainage image by dinostock from Fotolia.com
