Drain A Site For A New Lawn

The traditional (and easiest) method of installing drainage in a bad-draining site is to build one or more soakaways (see picture below) at the lowest part of the lawn.

A typical soakaway would be about 60cm (2 foot deep) by about 45cm (1.5 foot square). The lower part of the soakaway is 40cm (16 inch) deep and filled with large stones or hardcore. The next level up is 10cm (4 inch) deep and filled with much smaller material such as clinker or shingle. Finally, the top level is 10cm (4 inch) of topsoil.

Other methods of draining a site cover the whole of the site. However, these are much more time-consuming and rarely needed in the normal home garden.