Waterlogged soil

theedge · 28 Jun 2015, 11:21 am

Sorry for the nonurbex topic but i thought i ask a drainage question so it's kind of related. Our landscaper did a poor job turfing the driveway on the the kerb side and didn't bother loosening the clay soil.

So now the soil is waterlogged. What's worse is the cars parking there have been dumb enough to mount over the kerb into the new turf making the situation worse.

Any suggestions? My thoughts were to remove the turf where the water is and just mulch it with pine wood chips. Think the council won't mind. Obviously digging a new drain there isn't an option

Bravado · 28 Jun 2015, 11:34 am

Maybe the turf level needs to be higher so the water runs off. Roll the turf back and out some more topsoil in?

Legacy · 28 Jun 2015, 9:21 pm

Well your first issue is the cars.
Regardless of if you fill it with dirt, sand, or even concrete it - its going to need to be free from adventurous drivers for a while.
Gonna have to be one of the fussy prats you see here n there.... light garden stake in each corner and a visible string or tape strung between em..
FYI - police tape used for this purpose can get you in trouble..

Second issue is clay - given long enough grass will actually break up the clay, but that would need a LONG time without driver disturbance.
Other option if the clay bothers you - turn into it some sand or fine mulch (Potting mix would do) whichevers cheap for you. Clay will decompose into normal soil if things like that are added to it to break it up a little.
I would personally say - dont try fixing the clay - just leave it as is.

third issue - the level of the turf and the waterlogging - fill it.
People will say all sorts of things and have all sorts of preferences about how.
Im assuming that we are only talking an inch or two here.. more than that and you need to deal with it in other ways.

If you can lift the turf - then id suggest that you underfill it with sand or a very sandy soil. I would favour that for an underfill because it wont break down over time - so no future drop. lift turf, fill the hole with a bit more than you need for the level, water in, add more and water in as needed until level reached, relay turf. (DONT USE gravel for this. you will eventually want to mow, and gravel can eventually make it to the surface.

if the turf is already rooted in - then overfill. lay down a layer either of potting mix level mulch - up to half inch thick, or sand up which can be a little thicker.. water in. give it a week or two and repeat. Idea is that we are burying the lower part of the grass stems, and giving it time to grow out above it.
Idea overfilling is that you want something that can be watered in and will easily settle down through the grass. So nothing too chunky. Always make sure that the tips of the grass is visible a day or two after laying it down. If not then rake some off.

If this is wheel ruts - more than a few inches deep - (so picturing a 4 to 5 inch depression or more) - then you want to lift the grass if possible, drop in a layer of blue metal to fill some of the hole. thick layer of sand over the top of it. Water in well. and then potting mix on top of that, followed by the turf. Pile it a bit higher than you want it as it will sink over the coming 2 or 3 months.

Big thing is to keep in mind how much things are going to compress, and keep the cars off it.

Legacy · 28 Jun 2015, 9:26 pm

TBH, I have an uncle that was a head groundskeeper at a prominent university...
He always said "if there is enough traffic somewhere to damage the grass - then it shouldnt be grass."
I would apply that thinking where possible.... concrete it.

Dynamite · 28 Jun 2015, 9:59 pm

Legacy is bang on the money here, only thing I would suggest for maybe a little less effort is a French style soak drain. A little digging required but not too hard. Clay is a b***h and will always give runoff with any significant rain. And who are all these people driving on your grass anyway? I wouldn't entertain that for 2 minutes.

theedge · 29 Jun 2015, 9:01 pm

Thanks for the ideas. This is the drive with the problem nature strip and the kerb. So I can't concrete it as it's already wide.

One idea I had was digging out the damaged turf then put claybreaker on it once it is dry before applying mulch. But claybreaker will just soften it more. The turf hasn't rooted so should be easy to remove.

I've already had a word with next door as they park on the nature strip and parking in our street is limited but there are other unidentified cars doing uturns with our drive (drunk tradies possibly). As we live in a narrow street the cars have to mount the kerb to park if they are big.

Legacy · 30 Jun 2015, 11:15 am

Ok... I see now...
A little different to what i think we were expecting.

On a subconscious level - by having a solid new driveway on a street that has older driveways that just cover wheel ruts you have made yours more appealing as a choice for u-turns than the neighbours. Not gonna help much..

Im having trouble judging levels and slopes, but i would probably say that in that state you need to cut out the turf in those corners by the driveway, add sand and put in some new turf. id say pack it high. With the turf make a downwards slope to your driveway.

I suspect that your waterlogging is to the greater part water that has run down your driveway. Because the turf is lower than the drive - then the water runs off the side. If you make the turf higher then the water will run off the end of the drive. Depending on the amount of water it could indicate that you havent enough drainage up higher.

Other ways of dealing with this - and to each their own.. along the sides of the driveway you could place a border of sorts. Up-ended bricks, theres the option of a thick metal sheet planted alongside to create a lip, a wooden border, etc. Putting some of those options in will fix your water and fix the greater part of people driving on the lawn, but then the day someone runs over the edging and ruins it it will frustrate you significantly. Some choices will take a lot more driveovers than others and are much easier repaired - setting some up-ended bricks they can always be pulled out, packed with sand and replaced individually for example.

As for the driveway itself - cant change the way the concrete slopes after the fact unfortunately. People take varied opinions, but i prefer the edges of a driveway to be the higher points, creating a channel for runoff.

It seems you have a preferred grass in the neighbourhood. Some grass will be more accepting of this beating than others - buffalo is hardier than what you have. But introducing something like that - there is the potential that it will overrun your place like a weed.

I wouldnt worry about the clay at all. From the look of the pic the issue is management of the runoff water. It looks like the grass as a whole is going to need some building up over time to fill holes and raise levels. Without drainage at its edges it needs to build up so water runs off into gutters or onto driveway.

With turf - for so long as you can still see the joins in between the rolls you need to prevent driving on it, and potentially even try to keep walkers off it.

theedge · 06 Dec 2015, 7:01 pm

After more than 3 months of putting obstructions surrounding the driveway the grass has taken off and has stopped getting muddy. Council did not complain

Looks like the garden soil / sand + clay breaker mixed in with the clay trick (followed by replacing with turf from our yard) worked for now. I tried not to dig too far down in case I hit something critical.

Obviously if it fails again, I'll just replace the dead zone with something like pavers. Don't think council really cares as long as the area isn't going to cause a trip hazard as it seems there are a few people that have done the same.

Thanks Legacy. I owe you one

Legacy · 09 Dec 2015, 3:55 pm

Glad that something has done the trick!

If you are in the mood for digging - ive a heap of retaining walls to rearrange if i get the chance this summer....
Ive enough clay to remove that i could fill a coal truck... lol..

Currently debating the fitness benefits of hand digging it against the time saved by getting a bobcat.. bobcat is somewhat in the lead..