Another soak away question

suki · Post: # 13921Post **suki** Sun Sep 03, 2006 4:15 pm

i have had a customer ask me who has a very waterlogged clay based lawn to install a soak away at the lowest point on the lawn, i am not that knowledgable about these am i right in thinking if i dig down to break through the clay and then say another 500mm, fill this with gravel or mot then top off with soil and relay the turf over the top as i have been asked to do, would this do anything at all?? tia

Post: # 13922Post **seanandruby** Sun Sep 03, 2006 4:33 pm

yes it would make a nice water feature. just add fish and away you go.

Sun Sep 03, 2006 6:15 pm

if you can hit chalk it would work as chalk is pervious,otherwise the water will just tend to lay there
is there any way of digging a drain to the foul run??this way at least the water gets away
cheers tony

Post: # 13925Post **seanandruby** Sun Sep 03, 2006 7:02 pm

go to the main site and look at s.u.d.s. suki. the answer is there.

Post: # 13927Post **Dave_L** Sun Sep 03, 2006 9:39 pm

How many times have we heard that reply! There is almost too much information here perhaps!

Soakaway we just dug and installed to the front of my house last month - 1300mm deep, filled with 75mm clean stone and covered with a sheet of terram.

No water on my driveway now!

Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:31 pm

thats cheating using a digger dave!!!
i like to set the lads a benchmark to dig a soakaway by hand, 4 hrs is allocated if they do it quicker they can have a tea break
lol
tony

Post: # 13938Post **Dave_L** Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:44 pm

You don't get them digging like that, by hand??

Mon Sep 04, 2006 9:19 pm

if they are lucky i give them a teaspoon,no really 8 times out of ten on domestic jobs there is no access for a machine at the rear of properties so it has to be done by hand,my record was 45 minutes for a m2 but that was in built up ground
i like machines but they can make a right mess of nice gardens
cheers tony

Post: # 13942Post **Dave_L** Mon Sep 04, 2006 9:36 pm

We tend to put down boards on the garden to protect it from too much track damage from (mostly 1.5ton) machines. Seems to work well. Hard work bringing them in and removing them (with loads of soil stuck to them!)

Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:06 pm

i find 1.5 tonners a bit underpowered for digging foundations ,we normally get a guy in with a 3 tonner,but he did a monkey of damage on the last job,the previous owners had laid their patio on soft sand!!
i have hand dug down to 2.4 m before but i wouldn't recommend it as an aerobic excercise
cheers tony