Poor landscaping work - garden resembles a swamp
- Thread starter Adam
- Start date
With your garden being lower than your neighbours unfortunately your garden is where all the water will be going.
If your garden is clay it doesn't matter how much drainage you put in the water will never pentrate thick clay. Our garden (1970s build) is all heavy clay and the water just sits on top. Where we have conditioned the soil in the boarders you can see the water running off and soaking in.
I'd personally go overkill, dig a sump circa 1m3 line it with gravel which will act as buffer, do the channels and piping but also remove a foot of the mud and replace with top soil. This will enable the water to soak and be retained rather than running off.
Maybe plant a couple of trees (apple? / plum?), it is amazing how much water a tree will remove from the ground (this is just in general and not to fix the problems caused by the builder).
If your garden is clay it doesn't matter how much drainage you put in the water will never pentrate thick clay. Our garden (1970s build) is all heavy clay and the water just sits on top. Where we have conditioned the soil in the boarders you can see the water running off and soaking in.
I'd personally go overkill, dig a sump circa 1m3 line it with gravel which will act as buffer, do the channels and piping but also remove a foot of the mud and replace with top soil. This will enable the water to soak and be retained rather than running off.
Maybe plant a couple of trees (apple? / plum?), it is amazing how much water a tree will remove from the ground (this is just in general and not to fix the problems caused by the builder).
And in general this garden looks like a typical newbuild life desert, a few trees and plants would make it much nicer for me.
It's heavy clay and new build around here, I've been on the estate since 2014 and now in my second house. I had French drains and a soaraway put in the first, the clay still played havoc and it would be full of water regardless, but not as bad as yours. New house has a load of trees in the garden but the garden is still soaked over winter but not getting near the house as the garden is a step down. It's better than the first though, the trees help.
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Spoke to him this morning to get more information on what he is doing with the drainage. He said he cannot use 100mm perforated land drainage as the fall to the drain wouldn't be sufficient due to the diameter of the pipe. His solution is to use downpipe with slits cut in it with shingle over the top. This is similar to the solution he tried at the front of the patio which failed. I asked him what the difference would be and he said the membrane couldn't release the water quick enough but shingle over the top would solve this problem. He has assured me this solution will work 100%.
I've googled and 1) you can get 60mm perforated land drainage and 2) it's cheaper than down pipe and you don't need to cut slats in it yourself. I really can't work out why he would be going down this route other than the fact that perhaps by using the downpipe he can control where the water enters and it will only come in via the top of the pipe and not leak out the bottom of the pipe?
I'm very worried about this. The relationship has broken down and it's very difficult to talk to him. They won't accept teas and coffees etc anymore and left yesterday without saying bye or telling us they were leaving. Minor but it gives a sense of the situation.
I'm in a situation where I'm trying to use the knowledge I have gained to make sure this is done properly but how can I tell a so called expert how to do his job. I have 0 experience when it comes to drainage, laying patios or turfing a garden. I feel like my only option is to let him get on with it, hope he saw I was serious when I sent him the letter and trust when it rains his solution is sufficient.
I've googled and 1) you can get 60mm perforated land drainage and 2) it's cheaper than down pipe and you don't need to cut slats in it yourself. I really can't work out why he would be going down this route other than the fact that perhaps by using the downpipe he can control where the water enters and it will only come in via the top of the pipe and not leak out the bottom of the pipe?
I'm very worried about this. The relationship has broken down and it's very difficult to talk to him. They won't accept teas and coffees etc anymore and left yesterday without saying bye or telling us they were leaving. Minor but it gives a sense of the situation.
I'm in a situation where I'm trying to use the knowledge I have gained to make sure this is done properly but how can I tell a so called expert how to do his job. I have 0 experience when it comes to drainage, laying patios or turfing a garden. I feel like my only option is to let him get on with it, hope he saw I was serious when I sent him the letter and trust when it rains his solution is sufficient.
Caporegime
The bloke sounds like an absolute charlatan, and that price is absolutely ridiculous for the work done.
Don't worry about him getting the hump, all tradies are like this when someone calls them out on their shoddy work as they'd rather be at another job, ripping someone else off.
Don't worry about him getting the hump, all tradies are like this when someone calls them out on their shoddy work as they'd rather be at another job, ripping someone else off.
Associate
- Joined
- 19 Oct 2010
- Posts
- 2,371
I really feel for you mate. You're in a **** situation. All I would do is document everything with photos etc in case you need it in the future.
Good luck.
Man of Honour
I'm surprised he didn't just refund you to save the extra hassle/cost of redoing it knowing that you'll now be on at him questioning everything to make sure he doesn't just make a bigger mess.
Soldato
Seems legit to query it with him, he's done it wrong once.
Who cares he's upset at redoing his own previous work, wouldn't be in that situation if he did it properly.
Has he/does he intend to build a soakaway or anything (needs to be 5+m from property)or is the idea just to drain it all to the surface water drainage? Fyi the latter isnt allowed by regs.
Who cares he's upset at redoing his own previous work, wouldn't be in that situation if he did it properly.
Has he/does he intend to build a soakaway or anything (needs to be 5+m from property)or is the idea just to drain it all to the surface water drainage? Fyi the latter isnt allowed by regs.
Soldato
- Joined
- 19 Jan 2006
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- 4,571
I have experienced this a lot when dealing with tradesmen while renovating our house - it's frustrating to say the least!
I do feel people who are easily fleeced, and my partner would easily fall for it, but I'm quite meticulous in researching the products promised to me, and also how things should be done so I'm able to see through it - communicating that to the tradesmen is the fun part.
Most recently we were quoted for a new hot water cylinder, and were provided a spec sheet of the cylinder we'd be receiving - a pre-plumbed, 210l cylinder wth 60mm of insulation, specifically designed by Mitsubishi to be paired with their air source heat pumps - https://library.mitsubishielectric....15-30X-UKHDW_Product_Information_Sheet#page-1
What instead we received was a 200l Joule high gain cylinder with 50mm insulation (which did cause faster heat loss, not a better quality 50mm insulation) with all ancillaries supplied as separate parts.
With plumbers and electricians costing an exorbitant amount hourly, we'd have been spending hundreds and hundreds more just to get it to the same stage as the pre-plumbed unit, as well as having a lesser product than originally quoted for, costing us more to run given the heat loss differences, and with less capacity than what we paid for! Their suggestion? Offering us a laughable £250 discount to take what they supplied, they'd made that off us in supplying an inferior product and then some!
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Soldato
I know nothing about drainage, but when we had our garden done, new build, heavy clay layer. The builders dug two large deep soakaways? lined and filled with aggregate type material through the top compacted clay layers into the deeper soil. Is this not something they should be doing?
Hence why I recommended posting on the landscaping Facebook group earlier in the thread.
You would have got a multitude of responses from actual professionals and there's a chance the person working for you is a member and would see it also.
Thanks for the comments. As work has got underway it seems slightly better conditions today as the ground is frozen and it's not a mud bath like yesterday was.
I just want to make it clear that I don't really care too much that they are unhappy with me but it does make asking questions and understanding their thought process a lot more difficult. On Saturday afternoon's I referee men's football so it takes a lot to upset me
Here's where we are as of midday today. They have pulled the paving stones up and are breaking up the concrete underneath them. At the same time they are going ahead with their drainage plan and are cutting slits in the pipes ready to be laid in the ground.
I just want to make it clear that I don't really care too much that they are unhappy with me but it does make asking questions and understanding their thought process a lot more difficult. On Saturday afternoon's I referee men's football so it takes a lot to upset me
Here's where we are as of midday today. They have pulled the paving stones up and are breaking up the concrete underneath them. At the same time they are going ahead with their drainage plan and are cutting slits in the pipes ready to be laid in the ground.
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Soldato
Yeah to be fair to the contractor, they're going to be unwilling to tell/show you much of anything now for fear of further litigation I guessThanks for the comments. As work has got underway it seems slightly better conditions today as the ground is frozen and it's not a mud bath like yesterday was.
I just want to make it clear that I don't really care too much that they are unhappy with me but it does make asking questions and understanding their thought process a lot more difficult. On Saturday afternoon's I referee men's football so it takes a lot to upset me
Here's where we are as of midday today. They have pulled the paving stones up and are breaking up the concrete underneath them. At the same time they are going ahead with their drainage plan and are cutting slits in the pipes ready to be laid in the ground.
. Are those paving slabs laid on an extremely thin base right on top of soil? or is there compacted layers of type 1 hardcore in there? I've not really done much of it just doesnt look right..
Are they going to lower the level relative to the property also? I. E. 150mm below damp proof course?
At this point id just let them crack on, wait for it to fail again and then smash them into court.
What a bunch of charlatans.
What a bunch of charlatans.
Nothing wrong with a decent Joule High gain cylinder and the insulation difference isn't much to worry about.
But as they quoted you for the Mitsi, then they should have provided it!
I'm no expert though I have laid patios, my own and a couple more for friends, I wouldn't do it for someone I didn't know, mainly because it takes me a while .
But please don't tell me they laid them on the soil, those pictures look like soil, under the mix.
But please don't tell me they laid them on the soil, those pictures look like soil, under the mix.