Backyard

We are planning to renovate our backyard – remove the grass and put old brick in its place with about 2 feet of space on the sides for planting. Our contractor has advised against putting a drain in the middle of the yard and just slope the yard towards the sides so the water can drain there. Any thoughts? (We already have one drain close to the building but none in the middle of the yard).
Thank you in advance for your comments.

brooklyn72

in General Discussion 6 years and 10 months ago

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adam_dahill | 6 years and 10 months ago

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or do both ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

dorkofwindsor | 6 years and 10 months ago

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I really like not having a slope in the middle – its a trip hazard for the young and old. My drain is on the side and i love it – i have a nice near perfect flat area to enjoy with the slightest pitch that is undetectable but drains efficiently. And one drain was all we needed in the yard – even in the super heavy rain. Our contractor recommended two (one of which was in the middle), and i called him off. glad i did!

namahs | 6 years and 10 months ago

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Personally I would recommend to connect the middle drain to your house drain. Reason for that is depending on how much rain falls.. it can cause water to puddle in your backyard. Also depending on how your concrete is pitched for sloping..that can move over time and cause it to level out. We had termite issues with all the water going into drain that goes directly into the ground but that drain was 5 ft away from our house.

There can be an issue with all the water going into your house drain but I think that can be prevented with backflow preventer? I’m no expert though.

daveinbedstuy | 6 years and 10 months ago

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I’d agree. Sloping it towards a naturally draining area of dirt, gravel or mulch is better than directing even more through your house drain. Besides, most of it will drain through the cracks between the bricks anyway. I doubt you even need to slope it.