If you buy a wet piece of land, then you will likely need to hire a land drainage contractor to make some changes before you can build on that land. Land needs to be both dry and stable before it can support a foundation — and a good foundation is key to a solid, stable home. But how will a land drainage contractor drain and dry the land? Here are some of the key tactics they may use.
Ditch and Pond Digging
In some really wet, swampy areas, the best way to dry the land out can be to dig a pond as well as some ditches to encourage the water to drain into that pond. A land drainage contractor can plan and do this for you. They will likely give you several options as to where the pond will be located. You'll want to take your building plans into account when making this decision. For example, if you plan on placing your home to the left side of the property, you may want to have the pond put all the way to the left of the property.
Drainage Tile
In cases where the land is wet and draining poorly, but not exactly swampy, the land drainage contractor may simply want to install some drainage tile. Drain tiles are drains with open spaces beneath them, which are installed beneath the surface of the soil. If you tell your drainage contractor where you plan on building, they will often focus on installing drainage tiles in those areas. It may not be necessary for areas where you're not directly building.
Soil Stabilization
On a lot of wet properties, the soil simply does not drain well. It has the wrong qualities or properties to hold water properly. It may, for example, be clay soil or have a high proportion of clay. Your drainage contractor may remove some of this poor soil and replace it with soil that can hold water better. Often, this is soil with a higher percentage of sand and aggregate. The contractors may even create various layers of different soils that work together to allow for better drainage.
If you just bought a plot of land that seems too wet to build on, don't be too worried. Land drainage contractors can do a lot to improve land like this. In most situations, they rely on one or more of the measures above.
For additional information, contact a land drainage contractor such as H & I Excavating.