Digging A Small Drainage Ditch

[Decij]

There is a small low spot by a window to my basement, and I think a small ditch
witha drain pipe will prevent water going into the basement through my window.
The pipe doesn't need to be more than 3 or 4 feet long. Should I put gravel
underneath the pipe? Is there anything else I should do that is not intuitive.
(I have never dug a ditch before). I should add that because of the
configuration of the landscaping around my house, there is no practical way to
get rid of the low spot by using fill.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

JD

[Rico dJour]

>From: de...@aol.com (Decij)

There are two ways to approach it. One is to dig a shallow depression, called
a swale, that leads the surface water away from an area. The other way, like
you mention, is to dig a trench and lay some perforated pipe. The pipd should
be surrounded by gravel or sand, and the pipe preferably will have a filter
sock over it (you can duplicate this with some filter fabric from a landscape
supply or Home Depot). If you have very poor drainage and clay soil, the swale
is the way to go. Otherwise the buried pipe is less obtrusive.

R

R