Hi there

I have some minor drainage issues in my backyard. There is a small slope towards the house, and water collects about 2-3' away from the foundation. On top of that problem, the grading around the back of the house is poor and water does not flow away from the house but rather sits. This leaves me with a very soggy area from the foundation to about 6' away.

Whatever I plan to do, I will certainly be regrading around the foundation, but I would also like to address the collection of water a few feet away. I considered a french drain or swale, but this is also an area of the backyard where I would like to put some kind of patio. I would appreciate some opinions on whether the following is a viable option ---

I'd like to keep the patio inexpensive & able to drain - so I was thinking of edging in a large area and compacting some decorative pebble or decomposed granite. The rock would drain the water down to the underlying soil. To deal with the draining water, I was thinking of sloping the soil in the entire patio area to a central point (much like a basement slopes towards the drain) and installing a drain grate with drainage pipe that would take the water to a lower part of the house (on the side). I could then fill the area with stone in a way that would make it level at the surface. I would also think I would need to put either landscape fabric or plastic between the soil and the rock to keep them separate.

Anyone think this is a viable option? Any other suggestions are more than welcome as well -- I'm not married to it.

Thanks in advance!

Is your front yard lower than this soggy area?

Yes

I have drained soggy areas by trenching around the house to the front. Bury cloth covered perforated plastic drain pipe in the trench out to the front and then a pop up drain cover. The soggy area was trenched down 2' with a 4" gravel bed then pipe 4" more gravel and covered with garden fabric. I rented a Ditch Witch to cut the trench