Soakaways in clay soil - ...they don't work

[chandd_t9]

Hi - new to this site and using all the really useful advice on the site and forum I'm in the process of installing my own lawn drainage into a soakaway and need some advice about the soakaway. I've currently got a hole 2m long x 1m wide and around 1m deep but am still digging clay. When it rains it just becomes a shallow pond and I have to pump out before I can carry on working. I was hoping that I'd have got through the clay by now and am wondering how far down I'll need to go before I get through the clay??
I'm now considering if I don't eventually break through, will making the hole big and deep enough create enough volume and pressure of water to slowly permeate the clay and disperse the water?

I've got two soakaway crates and am planning a fair surrounding of gravel to finish the pit off which is under a gravel path.
We are based in Cheshire and according to geological geekery sites and maps would indicate that we are in an area that shouldn't suffer from clay problems although quite a few people on the estate do suffer with bad drainage.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or advice anyone on here has.

thanks

[Forestboy1978]

I've got a bit of a drainage conundrum. Basically put a fence in for a customer. Wants us to go back and install large raised beds out of sleepers and such. Won the quote, no problem. Got to demolish a shed and concrete base, a bit of soft landscaping and such. Easy.

Here's the problem... he's decided he wants to add to the quote. He has a perimeter path running around the house. Then there's a gap with grass, then some more patio of the same style with the shed on it. There's already a drainage issue with the water running of the path, breeching the grass gap and onto the patio/ hard standing and ponding on the are that the current shed is on.

This shed is being demolished and being replaced with a a summer house. Now, he wants me to bridge the grass gap between the perimeter path and hard standing and extend the end of the hard standing right to our fence at the back of the garden restricting flow even further. Ordinarily no problem, only this is gonna greatly exacerbate the drainage issue and yeah it's clay soil.

There must be an existing soakaway somewhere so perhaps I can channel to it but how does one go about finding such a thing without digging the whole place up?

I don't do patios per se, but this sort of thing just keeps happening. I don't like them, I don't want them, I don't have a digger so I end up digging them out by hand. Don't want to lose the other work though as it's more than it sounds.

[seanandruby]

Does the "soakaway " take any downpipes etc thst you can rod along to get the distance. Judging by the water not draining it is likely the soakaway is shot anyway, if it was working in the first place with the heavy clay. You may have to use alternative means of drainage :;):

[Forestboy1978]

Yeah it does take downpipes I hadn't thought of that. However, I'm in line with your thinking that it clearly isn't up to the current task so perhaps installing another cell somewhere. Not sure if that's viable due to clay and also no digger. His patio just doesn't warrant that type of expense it's not very nice at all.

Could sell him a whole new patio NO!

cheers