draining ditch..

[santa2u]

If that were my place, I would haul in some fill dirt and be done with it. Just sayin'.

 

[Egon]

Has a rental trencher been considered ?

Might eliminate a few blisters and a sore back.

 

[boggen]

google "french drain"

there be tons of DIY step by step guides. in installing holed or slot pipe. to remove water from areas.

you might want to install a sock over pipe. (geotextile fabric that goes over or around the pipe). along with possibly another layer of geotextile fabric over the rock. before you put top soil down, if you even do that.

neighbor at another house. installed 1x4 treated lumber on both sides of the trench. and just tossed rocks all the way up to ground level. ((looks ugly in my thoughts, but *shrugs* to each there own))

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but i am with others, that has to be one soggy messy muddy yard to deal with. and in that bring in some top soil. and regrade / re slope the entire yard first. and if need be install french drain at that later time.

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call up local "machine rental" places open up the actual paper phone book vs internet yellow pages. there should be a few places nearby. to rent a small trencher, or small excavator or small utility tractor with backhoe.

when calling call around even if it is an hour drive away. rental prices can change a lot! and double check on daily vs weekly rental. longer you rent, more likely you get a bigger discount.

also call around to local sand/rock/dirt quarries, (look up , sand or dirt, or rock in phone book) and see about price of delivery. give them length, depth and width. and they can figure it out for ya of how much you need and cost of delivery.

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also call. *forgets number" is it 811? or juelie? the folks that come out and check for electrical, gas, telephone and like lines in the ground. and flag / paint lines for you. before you do any work.

 

[jbooth]

I can't see the whole area from your picture, but the area looks pretty flat and a good candidate for a mini water way. I have made longer than 200 ft. water ways with nothing more than a tiller and garden rake. Transit would be nice to shoot grade, but the next rain will tell where the hi spots are.

 

[JB4310]

You are not correct. The holes go at the 5 o'clock and 7 o'clock positions.

I would only use it that way for a leach field set up, where the pipe is used to drain water out, not to collect water.

If I were using it to collect water in a stone trap filled trench, I would put the holes up.
With the holes down, the pipe is useless once it reaches 25% sediment, with the holes up, the pipe could be 75% full of silt/sediment/blockage and still function.

I wouldn't use PVC period, I would use ADS slotted pipe, that pipe could be 95% full and still drain water. At one time ADS pipe was thought of as a compromise, cause it was so easy to use, (must not be as good) doesn't look as good as PVC etc. The only advantage to PVC is the smooth walls.

We never use perforated PVC in the waterproofing/drainage business, we do use the solid PVC sometimes.

As far as the sock type filter over the pipe, I do not recommend it in any circumstance. Anything that will fill and block the pipe will clog the sock even faster. It's easier to flush and clean the pipe, you have to rip everything out if the sock has failed.
I had a pretty heated argument with the town's building inspector, when he ordered me to install a filter sock over my own footing drain at my house. I told him I wouldn't do it and why. He finally gave in.
I do recommend filter fabric as conditions call for, sometimes line the trench with it, or cover the stone filled trench with it.

For OP's situation, if there is one low point in that flooded spot, one surface drain with solid pipe to the drainage ditch would be all that needed. Would be much less work, no need for perf pipe and crushed stone.
From the pic, looks like a surface drain would take care of most of that pond.

Good luck, JB.

 

[JB4310]

any suggestions, no tractors or mobile equipment its going to be 200ft trench done with a banjo!

Since you say, no tractors or equipment. Just start going at it while it's flooded, start cutting a path with hand tools like jbooth mentioned, the water will show you how deep you have to go, no need for a level or transit.
The pick mattock that was brought up works excellent for that job, basically your gonna hack a channel in the ground to the lower drain ditch.
It's a messy job, but doing it while it's flooded, your using nature's best level (water) and you are sure not to over dig or under dig.
Afterwards, if it's not to deep, you could, taper the sides so you don't break a leg, and leave it as a surface swale.

I can't see the whole area from your picture, but the area looks pretty flat and a good candidate for a mini water way. I have made longer than 200 ft. water ways with nothing more than a tiller and garden rake. Transit would be nice to shoot grade, but the next rain will tell where the hi spots are.

I did a long one in my own back lot, thru 2 neighbors lots. Almost 500 feet with only about 10 inches to work with. No pipe just a surface swale.
I did use a tripod level (transit) and got it as close as I could with my box blade, but with such a slight percentage of pitch, I had to wait for a few good rains to fine tune it.

Now no more flooding, just a 5 foot wide channel of water.

JB.

 

[boggen]

forget them transits, laser levels, stake/strings/string levels.

DIY: Water Level Gauge

cheap, easy to create and use. and extremely accurate.

 

[notme]

years ago i bought a water level with a unit on one end that had a beeper when the tube reached the level of the beeper it beeped... think it was from lowes or **** depot they were quite common for awhile, it worked decent enough...eventually i got tired of playing games and just went out and bought a transit (builders level) they arent as much as most people think, much easier and more accurate, and ur not limited by a dam rubber hose!

 

[crbr]

good idea.

 

[CurlyDave]

years ago i bought a water level with a unit on one end that had a beeper when the tube reached the level of the beeper it beeped... think it was from lowes or **** depot they were quite common for awhile, it worked decent enough...eventually i got tired of playing games and just went out and bought a transit (builders level) they arent as much as most people think, much easier and more accurate, and ur not limited by a dam rubber hose!

Actually, a water level is much more accurate than a transit or a rotary laser level.

I have a rotary laser because it is much faster and more convenient in many situations, but a water level is more accurate and never needs calibration.

The few projects where I have considered hiring a contractor I will ask them about water levels and if they claim that their expensive laser is more accurate, they do not get the job. They just do not have the engineering skills I want.