Show #41/2202
Landscape Makeover Part 2

Designing A Swale

Drainage was another concern for the homeowner. That was one of the first things the homeowners told Doug. Their basement was flooding. The ground had settled around the foundation, which is something fairly common around foundations. After building originally the construction crew simply filled in around the foundation with loose dirt. But that dirt settles over time, creating a negative drainage situation. Additionally, in this landscape water comes off the back yard, plus comes off the roof of the houseand ends up around the foundation. Doug wants to capture that water and send it on its way around the house. He resolved the drainage issue a number of ways. First, he put in a drainage swale. Then, when they took out the soil for the swale they took that soil and put it around the foundation, raising the grade to where it was supposed to be. They didn't over raise the soil there is still a good 3 boards width up to the siding. When installing the swale they checked the drainage by running water from a hosto make sure the water would run away from the house. A swale is a natural feature, it's just as low point in the soil. Doug says a swale is basically a fancy name for a ditch. Doug and the crew did a wonderful job of constructing this swale. It marries well with the other natural and earth tone elements.