DIY Backyard Drainage

Identify the lowest points in your yard. Surrounding areas should slope toward the lowest-lying areas at a minimum grade of 2 percent. Mark the lowest areas on a basic diagram of your yard, and circle any trouble spots where water tends to puddle.

Look for an area in your yard with a slight depression, known as a swale. Newer homes typically have a swale in the backyard where excess water is meant to gather. Swales are located away from the home's foundation. Swales and low-lying areas are fitting locations for drains.

Use a shovel to dig a drainage trench 6 inches deep and 6 inches wide from the center of your swale and low-lying areas to the street or drainage area. If the drainage trench will release into the street, it will have to first cross the backyard and then run along both sides of the house. Create a path for the trench that is 6 feet from your house, and slope the trench approximately 1 inch for every 25 feet of pipe that you will lay.

Lay 4-inch perforated or corrugated drainage pipe in the trench. Attach prefabricated connectors to turn corners and connect the pipes.

Attach T-connectors every 10 feet along the pipe. The stem of the T-connectors should face up, and the ends will connect two longer pipes.

Set a preformed drainage grid on the opening stem of the T-connector to prevent leaves, debris and stones from clogging the inside of the pipe. Debris will naturally gather around the grid and needs to be removed regularly so it doesn't block water from the pipe.

Lay pea gravel over the pipe so it is ground level. Water will be able to travel through the gravel to the drainage pipe, and the gravel will prevent people from tripping.