I have a problem that I'm not sure has a solution.

[jaxs]

Why is it a problem?

Because during drought,every armadillo within 2 miles come there to hunt grubs at night.

 

[kenmbz]

In my last house we had a 30 x 20 foot area that was always wet. Put down some larger stone with smaller stone on top and piping to let it drain down hill a bit.
Not ideal, but maybe some version of a drain field under some top soil for that area?

 

[Diggin It]

Me tinks you are overlooking something,but that's ok because TBN need's a new Who-done-it and this sound's far more interesting than some recent examples. I've never noticed that dramatic difference simply from being shaded by a building.
Unless you personally developed the site and there can be no doubt about what was there before,it's possible that there is some sort of water line under ground.


If all else fails,have you considered a bog garden? :confused3:

Zero chance of anything. House was built in the 40s. Didn't have water, sewer, septic, phone, not even sure about power back then. Septic was put in sometime in the 80s and is well below this area. County water wasn't installed until about 15 years ago and doesn't come near there. Until then, water had to be trucked in and dumped in a cistern. House is built on top of a red rock gravel hill and they were never able to get a well even after drilling over 200'.

Cistern is 16' deep and on the other side of the house. It has maybe a couple of feet of water in it (that I need to pump out someday) but even that level is far below this wet area.

I planted several Cedars about 15-20' from the house a few years ago to try and suck some of the water, but it hasn't worked.

 

[Diggin It]

Why is it a problem?

Termites and other bugs love moisture. I hate termites.

In my last house we had a 30 x 20 foot area that was always wet. Put down some larger stone with smaller stone on top and piping to let it drain down hill a bit.
Not ideal, but maybe some version of a drain field under some top soil for that area?

I thought I had that dealt with since the ground slopes down and away from the house in two directions. I may have to look into something else though.

 

[MossRoad]

Termites and other bugs love moisture. I hate termites.



I thought I had that dealt with since the ground slopes down and away from the house in two directions. I may have to look into something else though.

Do you have termites?

 

[dodge man]

Sometimes there is a layer of soil that doesn’t allow water to pass, hence the area stays wet. About all you could do is tile it, which may or may not help.

 

[MossRoad]

....I've never noticed that dramatic difference simply from being shaded by a building.
...

The soil on the north side of our house never dries out. It's in perpetual shade. In summer, trees block the sun before it goes behind the house. In winter, it never sees sun. For that matter, the driveway is on the north side of the house and in the winter, the ice never melts in the shade.

My employer has several buildings with north/south and east/west wings. The corners in the landscaping on the north-facing walls never dry out.

 

[MossRoad]

You could take a manual post hole digger and dig a 1' deep hole and do a perk test. Then a 2' hole, and so on. That might tell you a couple things, like soil types, depth, etc....

 

[radios1]

there's something wrong with the soil deep down that won't allow drainage, maybe clay, because no matter what, the soil will eventually drain the water out, clay stops that..

 

[GeneV]

I have one area of ground that remains damp even when everywhere else is rock dry. The whole front yard is so dry and hard, I have trouble breaking it with the backhoe and I can't get a hand held shovel into it at all. Same for the south side and part of the back near the house. They get full Sun year round. But then there is the north side. It gets good Sun in June and July, but that's about it. Digging that today, it's damp and soft down to 20" or below. Not mud wet, but noticeable darker in color and damp enough to stick in the BH bucket. Closer to the house where I couldn't use the BH and had to resort to a shovel, it's soft enough that I could dig without even standing on the shovel.

I don't really want it this wet, but I can't figure out if there is a reasonable way to dry this area. It's not a drainage issue because it's at the top of a substantial hill. I don't have gutters draining there to add moisture and there are no water lines or anything that could be leaking. There is no more rain hitting this area than anywhere else. I don't see that adding a slope, drain or swale of any kind will help.

The only thing I can figure is causing this is the lack of Sun. The green growth on the siding tells me that.

Hmm well, if it's far enough away from the house (sounds like it's not), plant a willow tree there. If it's too close, plant a river birch.