Briarlake Drainage Phase 3-New Discovery

This project became a bit more interesting with the discovery of a "cavern" underneath the porch. As seen in the top two photos, water had obviously been doing it's work in this spot-and the location corresponds well with the area of the basement where water has been entering. Fill dirt has now been added and compacted all along the foundation, including almost a 1/2 cu. yard of soil to fill in the 'cavern". Today I will be doing some minor grading and pine straw which will complete this phase of the drainage project here.

Briarlake Soil Replacement

This should be the final chapter of drainage solutions for this job. Soil Engineers came out and did some core samples and an inspection for the homeowner before I started on any work here. The homeowner presented my plan for dealing with the surface water which they approved and has been completed-and suggested this final step in addition. The soil surrounding the house outside of where the water was entering the basement is very high in organic matter content and sand. The engineers felt like this was allowing water to pool below ground and up against the foundation. The recommendation was to remove the existing soil 18" deep and 2' back from the structure, then replace that with native clay fill which will be compacted as it is added. I had planned to start this job next week but I shuffled some things around so that I could take advantage of 3 days with no rain chance. I started the excavation today and the clay fill will be delivered tomorrow.

More Drainage Work Coming Up-

February looks to be busy with more drainage/water related projects. I will be doing the final phase of the Briarlake job-soil replacement around the foundation per the recommendation of the client's engineering firm. Just down the street in the same area, I will be installing a French Drain and installing a rain barrel with some creek stone. In Dunwoody I will be installing a fairly elaborate French Drain and pathway for a new client that will involve about 200' of piping. We had some more flooding rain in the area just last night- a local independent remote weather station was reporting a rain rate of almost 6" per hour at around 4:30 yesterday..that is heavy rain. I hope it didn't cause anyone problems...I'm thankful for the work the rains have brought, but as a landscape designer/contractor I would much rather be creating things than repairing things!

Aeration of Warm Season Turf-

Bermuda, Zoysia and Centipede turf, especially turf with a lot of traffic or planted in heavy clay soil, can benefit from core aeration. The best time of year for that to occur is in February before the application of pre-emergent herbicide for weed control. I will be doing some aeration for some of my quarterly maintenance clients in February and have room to schedule a few more. If this is something you may be interested in, just give me a call or email me-

thelandscapeguy@gmail.com

Briarlake Phase 2- Completed

Warming weather really helped to speed up the completion of this project last Thursday and especially Friday. Amazing how much better things go when all the soil isn't frozen!

Briarlake-Phase 2 Update

It has been an adventure trying to get my work done on this project lately. Frozen ground, snow, ice, and well below normal temps are all contributors. You learn early in this business not to get stressed about the things you have no control over, so you just keep plugging away until it gets done. Today was the scheduled stone delivery from Atlanta Landscape Materials..#57 granite gravel for the French drains and small pea gravel that will be the patio ground cover. I also worked on measuring out drain line and getting it into the trenches, setting a 9" catch basin and running a condensation line into the drainage system. Weather is predicted to improve and I hope to finish up with everything on Friday--before the rain comes;-)

Crape Myrtle Pruning

Did some work on a large Crape Myrtle yesterday-in addition to the drainage work. Reminded me that the season for pruning these trees is upon us and time to get the word out again. I generally schedule Crape Myrtle pruning for my clients in February-and I'm very good at it-but last year a lot of folks waited till the last minute and barely beat the leafing out in spring. If you would like me to help out with yours this year, just call or email me and I'll make sure to get to them in the proper time frame. I've included before and after photos of the big tree I pruned yesterday. You don't do nearly as much to them once they reach this size. Smaller trees are pruned to encourage more and bigger blooms, large trees like this are pruned to eliminate crossing/rubbing branches and improve air circulation by thinning. I also try to balance the tree for a symmetrical shape and remove limbs that are growing into or near other plants.

Breaking the Ice-Briarlake

Spent the day today digging french drain/drain line trenches. Have to break through a 2-3" crust of frozen soil to get anything done-but making good progress. Ready for it to warm up a bit!

2nd Phase of Briarlake Drainage Project Underway

After working to eliminate water problems in the back of this house, I have started to tackle some less severe problems on the side of the house. What you see in the photos below is basically a "water trap"-the area enclose by the house and brick walls needs more positive drainage for the water to get out during heavy rains. I am installing 2 French Drains..one down the center and one against the house. There will also be a solid 4" line installed that will drain a condensation line coming out of the basement-this line will also tie into a 9" drop inlet to remove excess water quickly. The entire area will be regraded for positive drainage then a ground cover of small pea gravel will be the final step.

Happy New Year!

I'm looking forward to all the new year has to bring. I will be starting off the year with a second phase of the Briarlake drainage project beginning this week. Hopefully we will not have a repeat of either the flooding rains or a drought in 2010-a "normal" year will be just fine. I am currently lining up some work for late winter/spring and would love to get the calendar full-call me or email me if you have a project in mind!