The Drainage Handbook: Essential Techniques for Dryer Landscapes

George Hughes

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Keeping your landscape free from too much water can help prevent non-temporary damage to the surrounding structures and property. While water may be necessary for the care of lawns, it needs to be properly distributed, so as to prevent the water from causing havoc to your property and other vital installations.

Excess water tends to saturate the soil, which may result in shifts in the foundation of homes and other properties. This could result in cracks and other possible damage to your property. Furthermore, muddy areas of stagnant water encourage the breeding of mosquitoes and other disease-causing insects.

Drainage is a critical part of any design of a landscape. Meanwhile, as a homeowner, appropriate drainage is crucial to maintaining a hazard-free and functional outdoor space. In this article, let us look into the effective drainage techniques that can enable you to efficiently manage water runoff and protect your landscape.

Essential Techniques for Dryer Landscapes

The Landscape Drainage Routes Should be Kept Running Freely

Ensure the run-off drainage paths are not being obstructed with planters or raised gardens. Instead, your yard should have a gentle slope that frequently drains the water to a given route. Note that if those routes are blocked, there’s a tendency for you to have a flooded lawn.

Ground runoff accounts for the majority of the surface drainage where in-ground drainage systems have been installed. It is also important to examine the natural ridges in your lawn where water flows and eliminate any heavy vegetation or objects that can obstruct water flow.

Plan Ahead

Ensure you plan the path for your dryer vent by making use of the shortest and most direct route. You could make a list of the necessary materials and the required ducting length. You could also examine the manufacturer’s recommendations for the highest length of duct, based on the kind of ducting you wish to utilize.

Likewise, you can choose to subtract about 4 to 10 feet from the highest length of the duct for every elbow you use. Typically, ensure you adhere to the manufacturer’s order, as design and installation may vary according to the kind of model.

Bear in mind that the most suitable route to venting outdoors is a horizontal path, most preferably pitching ¼-inch for every foot. This small angle contributes to preventing moisture from gathering in the ductwork or returning backward into the dryer.

Consider a Channel Drain or an Inlet Basin

A detention, trench drain, or inlet basin can be described as a place where water gets collected at a speed and then gradually released to minimize the impact it has on the surroundings. A detention basin can be installed just beneath the surface of your landscape. However, it is possible to have various basins installed across the yard to hold large amounts of water that could be transported by storms.

Basins are crucial to points of water collection, particularly if your property stays on top of the landscape. A large quantity of water gathered by your downspouts may figure out a way onto the ground if a drainage pipe is blocked, which means the water may damage the yard if it is left to flow as runoff down the landscape.

Besides, the inlet basins are expected to be positioned on the upper part of the landscape so as to collect as much water as possible before it goes downhill.

Incorporate Water-Absorbing Plants

Incorporating water-absorbing plants into your landscape can enable you to effectively manage excessive water and stop a drainage problem from taking place. These plants can survive in wet conditions and can help prevent runoff and erosion. Native species are generally the best choice, as they easily adapt to the local environment and do not require a high level of maintenance.

Examples of water-absorbing plants include red twigs, willows, and dogwoods. These plants can be useful in a rain garden. They can also be planted throughout your landscape to help absorb too much water. While this is more of a gardening task compared to landscaping, it can help sustain your yard drainage for a long time.

Paving Materials

Permeable paving materials are a creative response to managing runoff and excess water. Those materials include asphalt, concrete, and plastic pavers with little gaps that give room for water to filter through into fast-draining gravel layers underground.

Permeable paving materials are an excellent choice for walkways, driveways, with other outdoor surfaces. They do not only prevent runoff, but as well allow water to slowly seep into the soil. Additionally, they can be found in a wide range of colors and styles, making it easy to come up with a functional and beautiful outdoor area.

Artificial Drainage Systems

If, by chance, you have poorly drained soils, like clay or a bad design of landscape, you could still have an issue with water logging even when the runoff drains away from the yard. Likewise, you can enhance soil drainage by installing drainage systems in your yard. The following are the popular drainage systems you may consider:

Simple Ditches

Ditches can be dug several meters apart, and about 90cm deep. However, they should be slow along the lower end of your lawn. For uniformity and a gradual slope, a trenching machine can be hired for the work, including small pedestrian machines.

French Ditches

French ditches are usually built by filling a ditch with some coarse gravel, and topping it up with permeable membranes or upturned turf, in order to obstruct the entrance of the soil into the ditch.

Piped Drainage

In your yard, if your drainage issue is severe, then you could make use of pipe drainage that entails laying perforated plastic pipes on trenches that have been made solid through a 5cm bed of coarse gravel.

The pipe is then covered with a minimum of 10 cm of fine gravel. However, for the installation of pipe drainage, the help of an expert will be required.

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Proper Drainage

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Poor yard drainage will generally make it impossible to have a healthy and functional outdoor environment. This is because water will not easily be dispersed. However, through the usage of combined natural systems, drainage techniques, and sustainable practices, you could have a sustainable landscape.