Installing drainage

Table of Contents

• 
  What is garden drainage?
• 
  What are the costs of installing drainage?

It may sound familiar to you: it has rained again and your beautiful plant garden is under water. It could be that you are looking at large puddles of water here and there on your lawn or that your entire front or back garden has been transformed into a gigantic swimming pool. Here in the Netherlands, this problem occurs regularly because our territory belongs to the "low countries". In such cases, installing drainage is the solution. No idea how to start installing drainage in your garden? Zoofy professionals are ready to help you.

What is garden drainage?

The name says it all. "Drainage simply means draining away excess water to keep the groundwater level in the garden under control. This prevents the soil from becoming too wet. Drainage in the garden is applied by means of drainage tubes. These pipes are made of plastic and are equipped with a kind of fabric sheathing that is wrapped around the pipes. These sheaths ensure that the dirt from the ground remains separated from the groundwater and that the tubes cannot become clogged in this way.

Why is it necessary to install drainage?

Drainage is laid specifically for the garden to prevent the following inconveniences:

Installing drainage prevents puddles of water in the garden: If you have one or more puddles of water in your flower garden, it is a real chore to get them out. Do you have drainage in your garden? Then you can avoid this problem!
Drainage in the garden protects your garden furniture: Garden furniture and fences are usually made of wood and wood can be seriously damaged by water infestation. Damaged wood not only looks uneven but also means that in the long run you will have to replace your garden furniture. Installing drainage keeps your wooden garden structures from getting soaking wet and makes them last much longer.
Drainage maintains your garden: Lots of water in your garden will cause your paths to sag. Other elements in your garden, such as patios and paths, can also easily subside if you have problems with flooding.

Installing drainage, do it yourself or do it out to a professional gardener?
Installing drainage is not particularly complicated, but it is a very intensive job which is far from easy if you are not used to doing heavy physical work. Our gardeners are well versed in this kind of heavy work and they also have all the necessary tools. That is why it is advisable to leave this work to an experienced professional.

What are the costs of installing drainage?

The question that undoubtedly occupies your mind is: how much does it cost to install drainage? Drainage prices are very diverse and are strongly influenced by the following factors:

Type of drainage in your garden

The soil of your garden can be drained in various ways, depending on the reason for installing drainage.

Surface drainage: Do you have a very wet lawn that always has puddles of water on it? Are plants no longer growing in your garden because the soil is always soaking wet? Then you need to install surface drainage. In this case, our gardener will insert a new drainage tube every 5 metres.
Ring drainage: Drainage prices are higher in the case of ring drainage. This type of drainage is more expensive than surface drainage because it is a very time-consuming job that requires an eye for detail from the professional. Circular drainage is installed with a view to removing water from basements and/or crawlspaces. Therefore, in such cases, the tubes are always installed next to the house at around 50 to 60 centimetres below ground level.
The sheathing of the drainage tubes
Another element that comes into play in the topic of "installing drainage and the costs" that must be taken into account is the type of casing of the tubes. This is not something that you can choose for yourself because it depends on the type of soil in your garden. The drainage tube casing has a dual function: to guide groundwater easily through the tube and at the same time to keep out unnecessary dirt from the soil.

Coconut envelope: A tube with a coconut envelope is installed when the soil consists of sand or peat and can last up to 55 years. The price for such an average sized tube (5 centimetres wide and 50 metres long) is around €90.
Polypropylene casing: Does your garden consist of clay soil? Then our professional will install drainage tubes that are fitted with a polypropylene casing. This plastic ensures that the tube will last for decades and also protects the soil of your plant garden from acidification. The cost of such a tube is around € 65 for the standard size (5 centimetres wide and 50 metres long).