Re-Do the Backyard: Part 3

I seem to enjoy yard work in extreme weather. First, I hauled out all of the concrete chunks in pouring rain. Yesterday, in 90 degree weather, I decided to fill in our dry well/french drain and haul more rocks!

With our new patio we are putting in, I needed to redirect the drain pipe coming off the back roof. We have always had a problem with water collecting in this area. It is also right where our hose is and I am constantly having to use it to clean out concrete and thin-set buckets, which doesn't help the situation. We have a sub-pump under the house, but I wanted to do something more.

So we had our contractor, Courtney, dig a trench and pit to redirect the gutter water into a pit filled with rocks.

Next, I had to buy drain pipe and an elbow for the redirection of the drain.


Then I had to line the pit with landscape fabric. If I just dumped rocks in there without the fabric, over time it would fill with dirt and sink and become useless.


Then I had to fill the pit with rocks. Luckily, we had a ton of these rocks from my friend Vicki that was changing the landscaping of her yard a couple years ago. Being garden and yard pack rats, we jumped at the chance to take a yard of rocks, having no idea what we would do with them. We have used a modest amount in the landscaping in the front yard, but now they have found their true purpose for existing. Note my nice new orange wheelbarrow.


Finally, I covered the end of the pipe with landscape fabric before filling in the rest of the rocks and covered them up in a landscape fabric package and then filled in the dirt.


I still need a little more dirt, but by this time (even with a 20 minute break for every 20 minutes I worked) I was pretty sweaty and exhausted and pleased with my work; so I called it good. A large part of this spot is going to be covered with a planting bed to visually block the ugly oil tank and recycling bins.