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I am in the process of regrading and repaving my back yard closest to my house. We took up the old cement and are now down to dirt. The plan is to get the slope right and then layer gravel, sand and some kind of stone (bluestone, flagstone) on top. So, no layer of cement, and no grout between the stones.

The roof run-off comes straight down the middle of the house and then across the patio section. This had destroyed the cement there before, and it is an even worse idea for a sanded stone area.

One solution is to re-rout the roof water back into the house sewer line. But I’d rather avoid this expense if necessary.

I really cannot see any spot to drop the water in the yard. We have an extension, a shed, and a landing for deck stairs that all need to be protected.

Has anyone tried a dry well? What you do is dig a hole large enough to put a perforated trash can into, fill the can with large rocks, and then run an underground line to the can. The dry well can be covered so that you never really know it’s there. The water fills the well and then seeps into the ground through the holes in the can. Of course, if the can gets filled up in a big rain the water will need somewhere else to go (you leave a gap between the pipe to the well and the roof’s downspout to allow for spillover.) I suppose it’s also possible that the ground water will fill the well on its own (we’re very near the Gowanus). So, it’s not foolproof.

However, it still sounds neat. Anyone have any thoughts? If I use a 30 gallon can for the well, is there any way that it would fill up in a heavy rain? (My roof is 35 x 20.)

Thanks.