Cutting a Drainage Channel

[TheFew]

Hi all,

I have recently moved into a new house and I am looking for some advice on improving the drainage in the yard.

The house is a cottage from 1850 which has had some extensions in the 1980s. The property has been used as a B&B in the past and has some damp issues due to 1) some roof leaks and 2) condensation issues. Both of which I am now on top of via repairs. My next concern is the yard.

As you may be able to see from the below pictures the yard is paved and does have drains in a number of places. However the paving goes right up to the walls of the house and some of the slabs or now slightly non-level leading to some water pool against the bottom course of bricks. This coupled with the splashing from rain hitting the paving is leading to the bricks being a bit damp.

My proposed solution is to cut a 6 inch wide by 6 inch deep channel around the house and fill it with gravel to prevent the rain splashing up the walls and to allow the water that does pool against the wall to drain down into the ground. I was going to edge the channel to try to tempt the pooling water not to fall into the channel, by to run back towards the proper drain.

Does this seem like a good idea to the wisdom of this forum or will I cause myself bigger and worse issue by cutting this channel?

Thanks in advance

P

 

[noseall]

It may work to a degree and it may clog up and eventually fill with weeds after a good summer.

All depends whether you want a short or long term solution. Having water drain close to the house is never a good idea long term.

 

[TheFew]

I am planning on living here so a good long term solution is my preference, but this needs to be tempered by the budget. One of my other priorities is changing a number of old knackered windows and window frames as well as some old timber doors.

What would be a better solution to this problem? As mentioned the patio does have proper drain points in a number of places and the water only pools in a few places where the slabs lean the wrong way. But I want to remove this pooling and also the splashing effect when the rain is heavy - hence I thought a channel would be a simple solution.