Comments

First refusal — 11 Comments

  1. So I am stuck with my muddy isolation. As a temporary measure I’m thinking of raising the level of the entrance using gravel. I don’t know how long that would last.

    Quite a while I imagine, if you used edging stones across the drive. About a 1 inch step should encourage the flood to run straight past and the car would have no problem with it. You can then finish off the drive however you like – gravel, block paving, slabs etc. This is how I solved much the same problem, though I just got a lake rather than mud, but I have no gates or fence, the whole of the front of the house is open, with space for 2 cars side by side. My only problem now is leaves in autumn – if there's any wind it tends to blow them off 2 trees further down the street and into my drive. We were knee deep last year and when I cleared them up I filled 2 wheelie bins and a couple of black bags.

    • A step of somesort would appear to be the answer.  The trick is fiding something porous that wil take the weight of a car.  One way or another, it can wait until it's a bit warmer out.

  2. Years back I had a similar issue of standing water in 2 areas where guttering caused the problem. I was much younger and dug the trench, about 1.5 mtrs  deep, 2 long and 1 wide. Filled it with stones and gravel with a tight mesh net about 6 inches from the top, then topsoil in the one in the garden and just gravel in the other.

    They're still working after more than 20 years.

    I wouldn't fuss with a container structure, just rely on the fact the water has a vastly increased area to soak into.

    Now I'd hire a small back hoe (and operator) to dig the trench and your local builder supply outfit for the gravel. They'll supply the correct quantity – rough cheap gravel – based on cubic area.

    One's located under a driveway and my buggy serves to keep it nice and compressed. The other 's in a corner of my garden and I grow vegetables just fine.

    https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/soakaway-water-drainage-system.htm

  3. How about a raised wooden walkway like they have in parts of venice and wandering around the volcanic mudpools and geysers in New Zealand.

  4. What about a speed bump across the end of the driveway to divert the water past it or away to one side?

    • I was about to reply that that was part of the plan, but I just had another idea – cut a drainage channel above the gate so it just flows into the hedge?!

    • Stepping stones sounds good.  I might put something down as a temporary measure until everything dries up a bit.

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