Tracked Machine & Auger

[RickH]

I have non-draining land ....
I removed 250 mmm off the top and imported topsoil, but it still don't drain.
It was a valley infilled in 50's to make a railway sidings ..... closed since 70's

I tried drainage crates and french drains, initially fine, then they fill and takes weeks of no rain for them to empty

Thoughts are drilling a series of holes, and filling them with drainage material to improve the area.
A tracked digger with a powered auger would seem ideal .... a series off 6" or 10" holes.
Tried a 2-handled (2man) auger petrol powered item, as soon as it hit a stone hole just went off course, and at one point was throwing us around, so needs the weight of a tracked mahine to hold it there.
This sort of thing . https://www.mileshire.co.uk/product/14in-35cm-auger-excavator-powered/
but not 14" diameter.

 

[blup]

Decking, you wont drain all that.

Blup

 

[Mike13]

Try using magic.defra.gov.uk and explore the geography layers, you would have to dig through the clay that was used as infill to break through to something else, if that something else is more clay you are SOL.

 

[RickH]

Decking, you wont drain all that.

Blup

I already have 45m2 of decking.

 

[RickH]

Try using magic.defra.gov.uk and explore the geography layers, you would have to dig through the clay that was used as infill to break through to something else, if that something else is more clay you are SOL.

What does SOL mean?
I have test reports of 5m deep test pits dug in several places as part of development steps.

 

[Mike13]

So Out (of) Luck.
If it is clay below as well as clay infil then the ony option is to transfer the water somewhere else, or dig a borehole quite deep.
What were the pits dug for? to find solid ground? you need to know why the pits were dug to understand what is below ground.
The fact that water stays put means you have a very big claypit for a garden currently. there has to be a bypass sideways or downwards beyond the clay for the water to disperse.

 

[RickH]

The pics were dug to confirm ground for foundations ...
There is no where for water to go, it does eventually percolate Fownhope through the skag infill.
Hence mb thoughts is I create a load of vertical drain tubes I can accelerate the percolation.
6" holes of even 8". Lined with terram tube and fill with clean stone or maybe sharp sand.

 

[blup]

You need a specialist for that level of engineering.

Blup

 

[Mike13]

Further to blup's comment, you already know that the clay takes weeks to empty after it gets too full, you somehow need a hole that goes through to a more porous layer below, that may or may not be reachable with that track mounted auger...
You really need to know the surrounding geography and what soils are found near you.
I am lucky in that respect I currently have a free draining sandy soil, last house was mixed, lots of small lenses of clay, sand, and gravel overlapping each other, so not so free draining, but better than you currently have.

When they dug the builders/building control were looking for how deep the undisturbed soil would be, they were not considering the clay as a direct problem.

 

[morqthana]

So Out (of) Luck.

I've always had the 'S' as standing for something else....