Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 12:56 pm
Soakaway and clay soil – yes, I know you must be fed up with questions like this, but I’m a newbie and I’ve got to ask!!!!
My garden slopes away from the house. Hurrah so far!! At the bottom of the garden is a “blind� ditch – it used to serve the ends of the gardens in the street to drain away surface water from the gardens, but over the years has gradually been blocked up beyond my property.
The soil is clay and when it rains the "ditch" fills up and overflows into the garden, flooding the bottom part.
Could I solve this problem by sinking Attenuation Cells into the centre of the ditch and covering them with soil and turf, and having French Drains running into these from either side (also covered with soil and turf)? My thinking is that the French Drains would act as extra drainage as well as diverting water into the Attenuation Cells, especially if the drains were deep and wide. I know that in clay soil the Cells will only provide a “storage tank� for the water but perhaps it will prevent the flooding that is currently happening, especially with the “back-up� of the French Drains which would act as a sort of soakaway in their own right. Or would it be just as good to use a traditional soakaway in the middle of the French Drains instead of the Cells?
If this is a feasible solution should the French Drains be surrounded with a permeable material to prevent silt build up? Also, how would I “connect� the French Drain to the Attenuation Cells as I couldn’t use a pipe – or could I, somehow?
For the French Drain (or traditional soakaway, if this is the way forward) does it matter what materials I use? I have loads of old slabs that I could break up into small pieces and also old bricks.
This is a bit of a rambling post, but I hope it makes sense!!
My garden slopes away from the house. Hurrah so far!! At the bottom of the garden is a “blind� ditch – it used to serve the ends of the gardens in the street to drain away surface water from the gardens, but over the years has gradually been blocked up beyond my property.
The soil is clay and when it rains the "ditch" fills up and overflows into the garden, flooding the bottom part.
Could I solve this problem by sinking Attenuation Cells into the centre of the ditch and covering them with soil and turf, and having French Drains running into these from either side (also covered with soil and turf)? My thinking is that the French Drains would act as extra drainage as well as diverting water into the Attenuation Cells, especially if the drains were deep and wide. I know that in clay soil the Cells will only provide a “storage tank� for the water but perhaps it will prevent the flooding that is currently happening, especially with the “back-up� of the French Drains which would act as a sort of soakaway in their own right. Or would it be just as good to use a traditional soakaway in the middle of the French Drains instead of the Cells?
If this is a feasible solution should the French Drains be surrounded with a permeable material to prevent silt build up? Also, how would I “connect� the French Drain to the Attenuation Cells as I couldn’t use a pipe – or could I, somehow?
For the French Drain (or traditional soakaway, if this is the way forward) does it matter what materials I use? I have loads of old slabs that I could break up into small pieces and also old bricks.
This is a bit of a rambling post, but I hope it makes sense!!
