HELP - Drainage

annieb1981

In desperate need of help with regards to drainage at back of the house.  We have a patio area - still post renovation state without paving etc.  We have a retaining wall and the aim is to have a French drain along bottom of this wall to take water away.  Now, while that is the plan, we cannot get anyone to come quote.  Wait, that's a lie, one company came and quoted £5k to install pipe along bottom of wall to a take water to a new soakaway at front side of the house.  We contacted 5 other companies to come quote because as hard lessons have taught me I need to have a couple of different takes and prices on the job.  NO ONE else has come.  I phone, they say they will be here at such a time, date, and they just don't appear. It is so frustrating and having had a horrendous cowboy builder experience in the past I honestly don't want to be jumping on the only quote we got.

What do I do? We have had to do so much DIY ourlseves, is this something we can do? Would a soakaway in the middle of the patio area work?? the aim is to have some decking at one side, and a mixture then of gravel and spaced pavers. I've spent quite a few months chasing people to quote. If they can't do a simple quote I'm not sure id want to entrust them with coming to do and finish the job.

Please, any advice would be really appreciated.

stuart45

A French drain is normally a relatively simple DIY job. The main problem for a lot of people is the physical work. If you have a good idea of what you need to do, a couple of young labourers could do all the digging for you. A digger is another option. 

annieb1981

It's getting the water to run along the wall and then almost right angle to front that worries me. The water laying at back isn't a massive deal, it's only when there's been really heavy rain and it does soak away itself shortly after but I don't want it to become a problem down the line after er go to effort of paving etc. my neighbours did their own for very reasonable. The price of digger hire and materials wasn't much at all which makes me think the £5k quote could have been more for labour.

bjorn_toby_wilde

If I’m visualising your project right, then would Aco drain be a solution? It shouldn’t have to be dug as deep as a French drain. Quite easy to install.

A soakaway might work but depends very much on your soil type. In clay they aren’t great.  I believe they also have to be 5m from the house, which is probably why the contractor wants to run it to the front of the house.

Eldi_Dos

bjorn_toby_wilde said:

If I’m visualising your project right, then would Aco drain be a solution? It shouldn’t have to be dug as deep as a French drain. Quite easy to install.

When our council spent a lot of money and time resurfacing the pedestrian area of our local High St they put some of these in , about 2.5 mts from the entrance to some of the bigger shops.Within months they were silting up and causing standing water on new paving,which isn't very non slip when wet.

I suspect they where silting up with fag ends and the grit put down during icy weather, but anyway are now a bit of a logistical problem to keep clear.

JohnB47

I'm wondering if a simple type of french drain would work - a trench dug fairly deep and filled with chippings - topped with nice stones from the garden centre and with the level well below the damp proof course. No drainage pipe fitted.

Water would simply enter the drain area and soak away in the soil underneath. We have a small area done like that and it works well. We have heavy clay soil - you could make bricks with the stuff (and they did, years ago).

Eldi_Dos

@annieb1981

If you are doing a excavation along the rear of patio then down side of house and then over to where the proposed soakaway will be, there is a good chance you will be exposing almost all the services supplying your property,so you really have to do due diligence to make sure whoever does the work is competent and has the correct insurance.
I would say you need experienced ground or utility workers.

If you can make contact with a plumber who does replacing lead piping they may point you in the direction of who they use for such work.

stuart45

French drains are for ground water, and Aco drains for surface water. It depends what the issue will be. Retaining walls generally need a drainage system behind them to stop hydrostatic pressure causing the wall to fail. Smaller ones that retain the earth for a patio don't usually need a drainage system at their base, as most of the rain water run over the top into the garden.

bjorn_toby_wilde

Eldi_Dos said:

bjorn_toby_wilde said:

If I’m visualising your project right, then would Aco drain be a solution? It shouldn’t have to be dug as deep as a French drain. Quite easy to install.

When our council spent a lot of money and time resurfacing the pedestrian area of our local High St they put some of these in , about 2.5 mts from the entrance to some of the bigger shops.Within months they were silting up and causing standing water on new paving,which isn't very non slip when wet.

I suspect they were silting up with fag ends and the grit put down during icy weather, but anyway are now a bit of a logistical problem to keep clear.

I have them at the bottom of my sloping driveway and I have to clean out the silt maybe once every three years or so. Not really a problem and better than heavy rain flowing in under the garage door.

annieb1981

All your comments have been so helpful! I am now a bit clearer in that a aco drain might be the best option as it's to ensure the surface water gets away. We have hard clay ground so the water lays on top.

stuart45

If you are on heavy clay, you might find that a soakaway won't work properly. Does your rainwater go into the drains or a soakaway?