Small Uneven Yard Puddles

johnny_s

I have a very small rear yard, approximately 4 metres sq. It leads on to an alley. The yard doesn't get much footfall an is rarely used.

There's a drain in the corner of the yard and some water flows into this, but right in the centre theres a dip and a large puddle appears there when it rains. Then I have to brush this out into the alley drainage to clear it.

The surface is concrete, not in great shape.

I had a builder out for unrelated work and he drilled a few holes into the ground where the puddle is, said it might help, but it hasn't.

Is there anything I can do to improve the level of the ground? Ideally I'd like to keep this an inexpensive as possible. I was thinking about some sort of self levelling mixture that I could apply myself?

I was considering laying some wodden tiles on the ground (IKEA kind) but I don't think there's much point until I get the ground level and puddles may appear over the tiles?
Any help is appreciated!

(amateur at DIY here!)

Mutton_Geoff

You don't want self levelling, you need a fall towards the drain. I'm surprised the builder drilled holes, that would last 5 minutes outside as the holes will fill with crud and block up again. If you add more concrete to the top, it would need to be thick to avoid cracking. You could tile with a fall toward the drain but tiling is not cheap.

johnny_s

Mutton_Geoff said:

You don't want self levelling, you need a fall towards the drain. I'm surprised the builder drilled holes, that would last 5 minutes outside as the holes will fill with crud and block up again. If you add more concrete to the top, it would need to be thick to avoid cracking. You could tile with a fall toward the drain but tiling is not cheap.

Thanks. I want to avoid anything that's not cheap, so tiling isn't an option. I'm planning to lay decking so I won't actually see the puddles, so I wasneven considering leaving them as they are

Emmia

johnny_s said:

Mutton_Geoff said:

You don't want self levelling, you need a fall towards the drain. I'm surprised the builder drilled holes, that would last 5 minutes outside as the holes will fill with crud and block up again. If you add more concrete to the top, it would need to be thick to avoid cracking. You could tile with a fall toward the drain but tiling is not cheap.

Thanks. I want to avoid anything that's not cheap, so tiling isn't an option. I'm planning to lay decking so I won't actually see the puddles, so I wasneven considering leaving them as they are

If you lay decking, you need to ensure the supporting structure is ok with some standing water/dampness - otherwise you'll end up with the supports rotting in the wetter section.

Mutton_Geoff

johnny_s said:

Thanks. I want to avoid anything that's not cheap, so tiling isn't an option. I'm planning to lay decking so I won't actually see the puddles, so I wasneven considering leaving them as they are

Oh, I misunderstood. I thought "wodden tiles" were an Ikea ceramic product. You can't lay wooden stuff on the ground, it will soak up water whenever it rains and rot away in no time.

johnny_s said:

I was considering laying some wodden tiles on the ground (IKEA kind) but I don't think there's much point until I get the ground level and puddles may appear over the tiles?

Now you mention decking, but that needs to be raised from the ground and the supports not sitting in water so good drainage is vital. If you are going for decking, you could dig up all the old concrete so the water just soaks naturally into the ground.