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Design Dilemma
beable

Hardscaping conundrum

9 years ago
Part of our backyard is a filled in coulee, aka a big ditch. It's the major drainage for much of our neighborhood. It's dry most of the time, but commonly can fill with 2-3 feet of water (rarely up to 8 feet of water). The owners before us put sections of an old carpet upside down through the water's path. Why? I don't know. But he was a builder so we're thinking it solved some unknown problem.

What should we do with this area? We've thought about making a dry rock stream for when it rains. But will that end up full of mud and snakes??

More pics below. TIY!!
Featured Answer
  • 9 years ago
    This is what I did, but i have a lake to recirculate water. It's a gully washer during a big rain. Reminded me a great deal of your problem. We put rock on the sides, put a liner on the bottom and turned an eye sore into an eye popper.

    Comments (26)

    • 9 years ago
      Edit: TIA :)
    • 9 years ago

      Ask the previous owner why the carpet is there.

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    • 9 years ago

      Perhaps the carpet was used to cut down erosion or to keep weeds in check. It seems to me that there should be riprap along the sides.

    • 9 years ago

      I suggest that you work with a landscape architect to plant a rain garden. These are designed for just such a situation--to hold the soil by preventing a great wash of water and then to slowly release the water back to the water table.

    • 9 years ago
      I think a dry rock bed sounds like the best idea as far as drainage and aesthetics, using all different size rocks from gravel size to boulders, maybe get a landscape artist to give you a plan that you could do yourselves, you need the drainage, might as well be beautiful.
    • 9 years ago


      Exterior · More Info

    • 9 years ago

      I assume the carpet was put down to control erosion during times water flowing, but idk, a dry rock bed sounds perfect both for aesthetics's & practical reasons.

    • 9 years ago

      Beautiful!

    • 9 years ago
      Holy Toledo batman. Bellburgmaggie that is beautiful!

      So liner and rocks it is. We have talked to a couple landscape 'artists'. Hard to know who to trust and how to get them to call us back... but we'll get there and now that I have a picture in mind, that helps so much!
    • PRO
      9 years ago
      If you need access to the other side, consider a simple bridge also. Account for yard equipment to cross it in width, ramp to ground and strength.
    • 9 years ago
      Here it is this year (5 minutes ago) and I found a bridge on Wayfair cheap. You can put a small pond in at the bottom and recirculate the water. Only downfall is when the leaves drop. I turn the pump off let the leaves dry out of the stream and then use a leaf blower to clean it out. One caveat I learned, chiggers love this area of the yard so be sure to put on deet.
    • 9 years ago
      One last thing,, they installed my bed in January & February and since I'm in Illinois it was competitive because they wanted the work. As fall and Christmas hits, they will be more interested in doing the work. Planting is also great at that time of the year. You can work anytime the ground is not frozen.
    • 9 years ago
      They often used old carpet to line the bottom of the river bed to keep the butyl liner from getting punctured. Makes me wonder if the prior owner hadn't planned on putting a stream bed in. Also mine was a huge job because the area drops 20 feet from top to bottom and requires a large pump to circulate the water. Keep the pump receipt because mine went out in less than 6 months but the manufacturer replaced with the receipt.
    • PRO
      9 years ago

      @beable just ask to see examples of streambeds they've done in the past. There's a simple trick to making them look natural vs making them look like a highway embankment. That'll help separate the pack.

    • 9 years ago

      Speaking of "eyesores" please remove/replace the CLF - the primary item that lowers property values. If you must fence, install a true privacy fence, or even a rock wall to blend with the rock installation at the coulee.

    • 9 years ago

      bellgurg,,,what a beautiful space you have! even in the winter I bet it looks so peaceful.

    • 9 years ago

      An idea . . . contact your local Soil and Water Conservation District, Extension Service or water quality agency. They often have highly specialized staff who might be willing to give you some free advice, literature, etc. Worth a shot.

    • 9 years ago
      @decoenthisiaste. Not our fence. I can't think of any replacement to offer our neighbors that would allow the kind of water flow that this areas sees at times.
    • 9 years ago
      last modified: 9 years ago

      Although they say "good fences make good neighbors," it isn't always the case. Is there a true need to have a fence at all? It seems it is ugly when exposed and probably looks worse when covered with all the trash that comes through when it floods.

    • 9 years ago
      They have dogs
      Tons of leaves stack up against that thing. On their side at least.

      It's a very natural setting. We would definitely prefer no fence.

      If you have a suggestion of some fencing that could withstand a tsunami every 6 months and allow for leaf drainage as well, please let me know.

      Good news is, most of the time we're looking the other way...
    • 9 years ago

      @beable: what geographic area are you in, roughly? The flood photo is impressive.

    • 9 years ago
      South Louisiana. That was THE flood of 2016. But that pic was only halfway into it and more representative of the most flow we get during a normal 'really bad storm'. Water rose about 5-6 more feet that day.

      The hill in this pic is about 10-12 feet high. The water crested 6 inches from the top. It was unbelievable.
    • 9 years ago

      IMO, dogs should be penned in a smaller compound, not the entire yard. Many will disagree though. Wonder about a low stone dam with a spillway and a top you can walk on. Expensive, I guess, but it would look better.

    • 9 years ago
      I have an invisible fence for the dogs. WOW, holy Toledo, that's a branch of the mighty Mississippi flowing through your backyard. I'd get pro involved! And get the neighbors on board. That chain link fence is a disaster for water flow. If debris backs up and floods other property because of the CLF, your neighbors may have liability - depends on LA law. It would in Illinois.
    • 9 years ago

      bellburgmaggie reminds me that my friends have an invisible fence and it has worked for years with several dogs. Good idea!

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