Any landscapers or 'yard engineers' out there?

[makoshark]

I spent the weekend smoothing dirt and laying 2 pallets of sod. I didn't get any pictures once I was finished, but this is the aftermath of a torrential down pour we had here all this morning.

Any ideas how I can prevent this from happening again? I realize it's fresh dirt and sod, but I can't help to think this is a drainage problem.

Today marks the tenth anniversary of a freak storm we had here. We had gale force winds measured in excess of 120mph for 30 minutes. It was dubbed 'Hurricane Elvis' as I live on the outskirts of Memphis, TN, which is the home of Elvis Presley. We didn't get the bad winds this time, but we did get the rain. The streets looked like rivers as I was driving down them.

Anyway, hope someone out there has some insight on what to do about this. Thanks!


Oh, nevermind the eyesore you see in one of the pictures. That is from my lazy ass neighbor. I would love to one day just make his house disappear.

[Z06vette]

That's fair amount of slope you have there. Sod would have been my choice as well, as grass is one of the best erosion control measures. There really isnt much you could have done if it was just laid. Once the grass starts to root in, you should not see much of any wash from under it. Using sod staples will help hold them in future rains until it roots, but nothing will really stop the washout from under it until that happens. Once you re-grade the slope & set the sod back down, you could use some hay or pine straw bales where the grass meets the concrete. Run them the entire length & drive some rebar through them into the ground. This will dam the water so it doesnt rush under the new sod. Put as much of the bale on the concrete as possible & still leave enough to get the rebar through. That way it wont kill the grass. Just be sure you dont flood another area with the bale dam. In a few weeks the grass should be rooted & you can remove the bales. Sorry for the long reply. Hope this makes sense.
Scott

[takid455]

Better compaction of the soild would have been your best bet since it was just spread. Agreed the grass will help once it roots, however you may want to have some rip rap or other water slowing measure to help if this is frequent. I have had great success with North American Green's products on larger project. They will work on a small scale as well.

http://www.nagreen.com/

[makoshark]

We had about 4 or 5 inches of rain in 3 hours this morning. The soil around here is sandy, so I'm not sure if the soil were packed down would have prevented this. My main concern is if once the grass takes root, will I still have drainage problems? I'm afraid of building a dam as that would divert the water to another fill area. The guys that did the concrete work were suppose to have taken care of all this, but they disappeared once the concrete was finished. Funny how that happens. Damn people. I'm in construction too, but I never not finish my work. Thanks guys for the replies.

The amount of rain this morning is rare, so hopefully I can get this fixed and it not happen again. Looks like I'll be spreading a dump truck load of dirt with a shovel

[GregWeld]

You can fix the eyesore with a fence BTW....

[Ketzer]

That's just a case of rotten luck. A couple weeks to get rooted in and you would have been fine.

We had our place hydro-seeded a few years back and this was mid-summer, hot as hades. Took them several days to get the whole property done (about five acres) and the last thing the guy said was "you better pray for rain if you want this stuff to take off". A day later it started raining... didn't stop for three days. Buy the time it was all said and done, about 75% of it washed out the back of the property into the drainage ditch. We literally watched our money float away.


Jeff-

[makoshark]

My parents had that happened to them on a property they had years ago. Not fun watching your money being washed away.

Greg, I'm not a fan of privacy fences. I have been thinking about building a lattice wall and growing morning glory on it. That would block the eyesore and keep people from driving off the driveway.

They are calling for more storms tomorrow😁


That's just a case of rotten luck. A couple weeks to get rooted in and you would have been fine.

We had our place hydro-seeded a few years back and this was mid-summer, hot as hades. Took them several days to get the whole property done (about five acres) and the last thing the guy said was "you better pray for rain if you want this stuff to take off". A day later it started raining... didn't stop for three days. Buy the time it was all said and done, about 75% of it washed out the back of the property into the drainage ditch. We literally watched our money float away.


Jeff-

[Track Junky]

You cant just place new sod on top of dirt. There is a soil called nursery mix especially designed for new sod. Place at least a 2" layer of nursery mix over the existing soils and then replace the sod.

[makoshark]

I built my house on a three acre lot. I laid sod on over an acre of it and the sod took. We have very fertile soil around here. Spread a little triple 13 and then lay the sod.

[Track Junky]

I've never done it any other way and have never had a problem. You had a down poor, the ground is still wet, yet the edges of the sod is dead. Soil doesn't appear to be as fertile as you say. Just trying to help.

[makoshark]

The sod was just laid. It was bought Friday morning. I laid the last of it early this morning. It's not the best looking sod, but all the sod farms around are shut down from the crooks in charge.

I know your trying to help and I appreciate it. This is the way sod has always been laid around here. Other parts if the country may be different though.

[Track Junky]

No prob....I've built at least a couple of hundred homes as a superintendent and a General and have never done it any other way. The nursery mix does not come in a bag as far as I know......I only ordered multiple yards at a time and it gets delivered by dump truck and dropped where you are placing it. I would at least give it a try.........only place the nursery mix and seed it next time.....that will save you a few bucks.

[makoshark]

Thanks track. I'll look into it the next time I'm dealing with a hill