Let me start by saying I am a HUGE fan of Gardenweb and have visited this site for years for tips and suggestions. I finally taking the plunge and posting, as I am unsure on what to do and looking for affirmation.

We have a home on a 50w X 175d lot in Central NJ. We have lived here happily for 5 years with limited issues. The only repetitive issue that has caused concern, is lawn drainage in our backyard after a heavy storm. In two major incidents, once recently, we have gotten 7-9 inches of rain in a day, which has caused a pooling in a particular portion of our yard. If it gets really bad, the water pool spreads to our rear patio, which (oh you will love this part) is against and pitched TOWARD the house! The people that did this thought a little 3 inch drain in the patio there would deal with the problem. WRONG! Not to mention there is a door off that patio with a 2.5 inch high threshold, and it leads to a stairway in our basement. During the last storm the water got so bad it raised over the threshold of the door and into the finished basement. Having been through this before I got out there quickly with a tarp and sandbags to cover up the bottom of the door, and got the pump out there by the drain to help with the excess water. At it's worst, the water was 2-3 inches high on the bottom of the patio which is right against the house (where they put this 3 inch circular drain).

After the heavy rains we had this March, we decided we have to do something. 4 years ago I noticed the low point in the yard and had someone put in a small box drain tied into some pvc that runs under our rear lawn to the other side of our home, that pitches out clear to the street. Three downspouts from the house are ties into this drain as well. However, the box drain failed this March as it could not handle the amount of water we were dealing with. I had to go out there during the storm in 3 or so inches of cold water and try to clear the top of the drain to try and help it out. Once the rain slowed down a bit it seemed to eventually catch up, but at that point it had still made it to the patio.

I realize it is tough to visually explain this without pictures, but I cannot figure out how to post pictures on this site.

Ideally we would rip up the patio, pitch it correctly, and fix the drainage issue. However, things are tight as my business is not great, and we simply do not have the cash to remove and replace the patio. I am looking at options that would not cost as much and that perhaps I can tackle myself.

My thought is to raise the door on the patio (which we would have to do anyway if we regraded) giving me more of a cushion in case we have heavy rains like that again. I have 6 inches to work with there which in this case could make a big difference. I just have to find a carpenter to help me with that. I would also like to take out the box drain at the low point in the yard, and put in a french drain with gravel all the way to the top, as a potential more effective way to collect the water that pools in that area. The box drain we put in I believe has a 3 inch PVC feeding it across the yard and ties into the 4 inch pvc (by one of the downspouts) and it runs down the other side of the house to the curb.

I know I have the height from the backyard to the curb, and have more than enough pitch to work with, as the 4 inch pvc flows well. However, I am debating whether or not it pays to run a totally separate line for this alongside the existing line, or it would be fine to simply "tie in" to the existing line.

Please hit me with any suggestions, and let me know if you need pics from my last heavy rain. Perhaps someone can show me how to post them??