Floodmasterflex
LawnSite Member
- Location
- Sayville, NY
Sorry for the lengthy post, but I figured I would need to provide some background to better explain my situation.
Back in September of 2019 I had an in-ground pool installed. Since my house backs up to wetlands, my pool needed to sit a bit higher (because of water table) and a retaining wall was built around the pool and backfilled with dirt (fill). In March of 2020, the pavers were installed and then the yard was regraded. A month later plants were installed and then topsoil was brought in and grass seed was laid down.
The grass looked like it was going to come in nice but then I noticed that after running the sprinklers the yard would basically look flooded. I adjusted watering times but even the slightest bit of watering would still create puddling, and any rainfall would create a huge mess. Needless to say, the grass never really filled in and ended up looking sparse and unhealthy.
Fast forward to now, here is what I have learned about my yard:
1- I have major compaction in the areas where all the heavy machinery drove for the pool and landscaping. I can barely get a shovel 1" into the ground. It's hard as a rock. Once I get through about 4-6 inches of hardpan the soil gets a little easier to dig in.
2- I think the pool company (and landscaper) brought in shitty dirt to fill in around the retaining wall and rest of yard. It's heavy clay with lots of small rocks in it. Basically impenetrable stuff and retains way too much water.
3- I feel like the landscaper didn't do the greatest job sloping my yard either. There is kind of a "gully" in the middle where the water really pools up.
Anyway, the picture I posted shows what my yard looks like after some rain..it's like a swamp. It takes days for it to dry out. Mind you, I never had this issue prior to getting the pool. I had a nice yard with lush grass.
My plan was to wait until the spring and then do the following:
1- break up hardpan with rented rototiller. (Worried about sprinkler lines though)
2 - Incorporate some compost to help break up clay and then bring in a bunch of topsoil and till that in as well.
3- Regrade and then seed
Any thoughts?
Back in September of 2019 I had an in-ground pool installed. Since my house backs up to wetlands, my pool needed to sit a bit higher (because of water table) and a retaining wall was built around the pool and backfilled with dirt (fill). In March of 2020, the pavers were installed and then the yard was regraded. A month later plants were installed and then topsoil was brought in and grass seed was laid down.
The grass looked like it was going to come in nice but then I noticed that after running the sprinklers the yard would basically look flooded. I adjusted watering times but even the slightest bit of watering would still create puddling, and any rainfall would create a huge mess. Needless to say, the grass never really filled in and ended up looking sparse and unhealthy.
Fast forward to now, here is what I have learned about my yard:
1- I have major compaction in the areas where all the heavy machinery drove for the pool and landscaping. I can barely get a shovel 1" into the ground. It's hard as a rock. Once I get through about 4-6 inches of hardpan the soil gets a little easier to dig in.
2- I think the pool company (and landscaper) brought in shitty dirt to fill in around the retaining wall and rest of yard. It's heavy clay with lots of small rocks in it. Basically impenetrable stuff and retains way too much water.
3- I feel like the landscaper didn't do the greatest job sloping my yard either. There is kind of a "gully" in the middle where the water really pools up.
Anyway, the picture I posted shows what my yard looks like after some rain..it's like a swamp. It takes days for it to dry out. Mind you, I never had this issue prior to getting the pool. I had a nice yard with lush grass.
My plan was to wait until the spring and then do the following:
1- break up hardpan with rented rototiller. (Worried about sprinkler lines though)
2 - Incorporate some compost to help break up clay and then bring in a bunch of topsoil and till that in as well.
3- Regrade and then seed
Any thoughts?
