Proper Drain Tile Installation

Mark out a path for the drain tiles with wooden garden stakes. Insert the stakes in the problem areas for where standing water remains for more than an hour after a rainfall. Wrap a piece of string around the top of each stake to outline the course for the tiles. Adjust the placement of the stakes as necessary to make the course as straight and direct as possible from the furthest stake to the outlet.

Unearth soil along the plotted course. Dig a 12-inch wide by 24-inch deep canal with a shovel. Curve the walls of the canal to make a broad U shape. The beginning end will be the highest point in the canal. Dig down 1 inch deeper every 8 feet to slope the bottom so water will run down toward the outlet.

Fill the bottom 6 inches of the canal with 3/4-inch gravel. Use a line level to check that the surface continues to slope down.

Lay 4-inch drain tiles along the center of the canal. Connect lengths of tile with T connectors, pointing the long open stem upward. Place a drainage grid over the beginning of the tubing and the opening of the connectors.

Pour an additional 12 inches of gravel over the tubing. Lay a strip of geotextile fabric over the gravel to prevent debris from running down into the tiles.

Mix soil with equal parts sand and fill in the remaining hole. Seed the exposed surface with ryegrass, Bermuda grass or another type of water-tolerant grass to help slow the flow of water so it can drain.