JWM81274
Electrical
- Mar 27, 2003
- 3
I have recently purchased a house in Charleston, SC. and the low country name says it all. My yard is basically flat with a few low areas but the problem lies in the entire yard. 5 Days after a descent rain the yard is still soft.(i.e. sinking when you walk on it) I being an engineer, have come up with the following solution. I am planing on installing a french drain system but with a few twists. First because the yard is relatively flat I am planning on removing the entire yard and installing a drainage level(gravel/corse sand and two layers of geotextile sheeting, 1 above and 1 below) across the entire yard with perforated pipes crossing throughtout(with the appropriate slopping 3" per 50'). The yard is only a 70' by 35' plot including the house making the area to be removed a 35' by 40' section and two smaller sections. The reasoning being that to cover the area with trenchs would cover almost the entire yard anyway and living in a neighborhood doesn't allow for me to just slope the yard to allow drainage. The first twist is how to get rid of the water once it is in the drainage system(allowing for the right slope I will be 1' below the road gutter). A pump and a reservoir will be used to collect and remove the water to a gutter in the street. With this is mind I came up with twist number 2. Why not store rain water for use in a sprinkler system when it doesn't rain from June through Sept? Knowing that a tank to hold that much water would be impossible I am limiting the tank size to around 200 gl. The sprinkler system will have a city water option as well. The issue with this is, were to put a 100 gl tank? Solution: under ground in a concrete watertight(hopefully not a pond;oP) pit to allow for maintenance on pump, tank and sprinkler system. Am I waaaayyyyy overshooting here? I am what you would call a "jake of all trades". I have done a lot of differnt things in my life encluding running heavy equipment so I will be using a track skidsteer to remove the soil. The thing is I am very picky when it comes to things I own. I want people to be, not trying to sound snobish, envy of what, not just of what I have, but of what I can accomplish once I put my mind towards a goal. My coleges are taking bets on how far I will go before I stop and give up which will not happen even if I have to sell my truck to pay for the project, well maybe not that far. Any suggestions? Your comments are appreciated.