French Drain

• 1). Dig a trench in the low elevation area. Grounds Maintenance Magazine recommends a trench 5 or 6 inches wide and 8 to 12 inches deep. Dig the trench so it leads in an acceptable direction for water to flow, such as toward a gutter, toward an unused portion of the yard or toward an area with better soil drainage. The trench should slope downward in the direction that the water will flow.
  
  
• 2). Line the bottom of the trench with a filter fabric that allows water to flow through it without letting large amounts of dirt or gravel flow across it.
  
  
• 3). Fill the trench in with gravel or rocks that are pea-size or larger. Fill it up all the way if the appearance of gravel is not too big of an aesthetic disturbance in the yard. Otherwise, fill it up to a height of 3 inches below the surface of the soil.
  
  
• 4). Cover the gravel with 3 inches of sand and a layer of turf to disguise the gravel, if desired.
  
  

Compaction Fix

• 1). Till the surface of the soil in the yard if it is compacted. Construction in the yard leads to compaction from heavy equipment on the soil.
  
  
• 2). Drill holes in a compacted surface soil layer with a soil drill. Space the holes about 6 feet apart from each other and create holes that are 4 to 6 inches wide. Drill as deep as necessary to penetrate the compacted soil layer, often around 2 feet deep.
  
  
• 3). Fill the drainage holes with fine gravel or coarse sand. The holes help lead water into deeper soil with better drainage.