# My House Is My Castle!!



## dirkydog (Jan 30, 2006)

hey guys just have a quick ?i just bought a house about 2 weeks ago and when it rained the other day i realizes that the house also comes with its own real castle moat!(8ft x 20ft puddles strait across the front and back yard,<slightly angry about this since the previous owner signed somthing saying that the property has no drainage issues.luckily there is a creek on the other side of my house and was wondering if there is a way that i can fill the dips in the yard and direct the water flow to the street and the creek?what kind of dirt do i use?somthing that will take well to grass seed after or do u think sod is the way to go? ,what kind of machines do u think i will need?think my plan is to start at the foundation with the new dirt fill it up maybe 2 inches higher and work my way out towards the road getting a little lower every couple of feet,(therefore filling the huge dip in the lawn?).any help at all how i might go about fixing this would be greatly appreciated...thanks,keith


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## JustaFramer (Jan 21, 2005)

Look into using yard drains. If you can you can pipe them to underground working of your gutter system. Now draining the water into the creek maybe or will be a issue with the EPA. Draining the water off your property is a issue you would have to take up with the building dept.


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## Glasshousebltr (Feb 9, 2004)

Spread some sand and call it a beach. 

Where are ya at Dirky?

Bob


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## LandscapePro (Dec 31, 2005)

Keith,
Your standing water problem will be most easily corrected by regrading the property to direct the water where you want it to go. No, it's not rocket science but you can get into trouble in a hurry messing with drainage issues.

What kind of shape is the lawn in now? How large of an area are we talking about?

You mention a creek on the side of your property. Is this creek directly adjacent to you or would you have to direct water across another's property to get to it?

You've got the right idea in mind as you explain it but solving the problem is a bit more complicated.

The whole area should be shot with a rotary laser and grade stick to see exactly what you've got. With those measurements in hand, then you'll know how much topsoil you will need and where it needs to go. 

Depending on what you find after the area is "shot", you may be able to push around what you've got and fix the problem without additional topsoil.

Mike
La. Landscape Contractor #2576


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## dirkydog (Jan 30, 2006)

thanks for all the replies guys,mike_the front lawn doesnt flood as quickly as the back and the front lawn has grass even where it floods,the back yard is pretty brown looking (think it might be moss?)the area the puddles cover is about 6' to 10'ft wide and anywhere from 20' to 40' long,although i havent gotten any couple day rain storms yet,the puddle in the back gets about 8''deep.i have also taken a couple of pictures i may be able to post on here if it lets me,glasshouse -i'm in connecticut!sry wife doesnt like your beach idea!justaframer-i did toy with the idea of putting some kinda drainage system in the yards,but,if i have to dig the yard up anyway i might as well level off the yard therefore eliminating the need for drains,i think?..hey mike who would i look to talk to to get them out to do the laser level thing with the grade stick?(not sure who i call to do somthing like that.),,thanks again for all the replies,and help with fixing up my yard,...keith


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## sage (Feb 3, 2005)

Dirkydog, Where are you in CT. I'm too busy, but I might be able to get one of the guy's I work with often to come out and shoot your lawn. PM me and give me the info if you want.


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## dirkydog (Jan 30, 2006)

i'm in west haven ,,thanks sage


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