Providing Proper Drainage for Your Lawn

Written by Lee Wyatt (last updated June 17, 2020)

Have you ever noticed that some lawns don't exactly drain the best? When faced with such a situation, you can either fix it, or learn to live with the possible consequences. One of the more serious possible consequences that you can find yourself faced with is having the slow draining water resting against the foundation of your home, and end up with things like mold, or weakened foundations, and more. However, providing proper drainage for your lawn is a project that most people can handle, as long as they are willing to get a little dirty.

  1. Inspect the current drainage. Before you can actually begin doing any kind of work on improving the drainage of your lawn, you need to see if there really is any problem. The best way to inspect the current drainage (without having to pay a huge water bill that is) is by looking at your lawn right after a heavy rain. Make note of the areas that have problems, and begin thinking of different ways that you can draw the water away from those areas.
  2. Choose the drain system. Once you know what you are faced with, you will need to go and look at the various different types of drainage systems. Often you can find kits at your local home improvement store that you can use to improve the drainage.
  3. Read and understand the instructions. Once you have chosen the kit type that you want to use, take it home and begin reading the instructions before you do anything else. On the average, you should really read through them at least two times to make sure that you really know and understand what to do.
  4. Dig out the trenches. Dig out the trenches according to the instructions that came with your kit, and according to where your yard needs to most help. You can do this either with the help of a shovel, or a trencher. You can easily rent a trencher at most home improvement stores.
  5. Install the pipes. Once again, according to the directions that came with your kit, begin installing the pipes. Be careful that you thoroughly seal and link each pipe together, and that you also use the right type of pipe for the job. Generally speaking, you want to use PVC pipe since it is less expensive and easier to work with.
  6. Backfill. After you have installed the pipes, begin backfilling the trenches that you have already dug out. This is simply done by covering the pipes with the dirt that you dug out earlier. Continue to replace all the dirt until you have covered all of the pipes.
  7. Test the work. Once you have finished filling in the trenches, it's time to go ahead and test your work. Simply do this by turning on the sprinklers, and letting them run for a good long while to simulate a rain storm. You should notice that there are no longer any standing pools of water, at least if you followed the directions on the kit properly.
  8. Replant the grass. All that you have left to do is replant the grass on the dirt piles that you placed over the pipes. This can easily be done by either laying sod over the dirt tracks, or by planting grass seed.

Author Bio

Lee Wyatt

Contributor of numerous Tips.Net articles, Lee Wyatt is quickly becoming a regular "Jack of all trades." He is currently an independent contractor specializing in writing and editing. Contact him today for all of your writing and editing needs! Click here to contact. ...

MORE FROM LEE

Cooking Garden

Is there really anything better than creating a wonderful meal directly from your own garden? A cooking garden is ...

Discover More

Orange Chicken

If you, and your family, are in the mood for some fine Asian cuisine, but don't want to have the same old dish again, ...

Discover More

Working with Pressure Treated Lumber

Pressure treated lumber is a material that is exceedingly popular among those in the construction and do-it-yourself ...

Discover More
More Gardening Tips

Installing New Sod

Sod is a great alternative to growing grass from seeds. When laying sod, be sure the area is prepared before hand. It is ...

Discover More

Preventing Fairy Rings

Fairy rings may have a magical name, and inspire thoughts of magical scenes and fantastic nights but they are nothing ...

Discover More

Repairing Fairy Rings

It is rather easy to tell if you have fairy rings in your lawn or not. However, there is a bit more work involved in ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Receive an e-mail several times each week with a featured gardening tip. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is one minus 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Receive an e-mail several times each week with a featured gardening tip. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)