Okay, folks, let’s dive into this little project I tackled today. My backyard was turning into a swamp every time it rained, and I was tired of wading through mud. So, I decided to put in a quick and easy drainage solution.
First, I assessed the situation. I walked around the yard during a light rain and watched where the water was pooling. Turns out, there’s a slight slope from the back of the house towards the fence, but a little dip right in the middle was trapping all the water.
Next, I grabbed my shovel and started digging. Nothing fancy, just a shallow trench, maybe 6 inches deep and about 8 inches wide. I followed the natural flow of the water, starting from the problem area and leading it towards the back fence where there’s a bit more open space.
Then came the fun part – rocks! I had a bunch of leftover gravel from a previous project, so I dumped that into the trench. I filled it up almost to the top, making sure to leave a couple of inches of space.
- Dig a shallow trench.
- Fill with gravel.
- Leave room for the water to move quickly.
I packed the gravel down a bit, just by stepping on it. Not too tight, though, you still want the water to be able to flow through it.
The Final Result
And that’s it! Seriously, it was that simple. The next time it rained, I went outside and checked, and the water was flowing nicely through my little gravel trench, no more swamp! It’s not a perfect, professional-grade drainage system, but it did the trick and saved me from having a muddy mess every time it drizzles.
It took me an afternoon work and it really solved my drainage problem.