i have 20 acres of rashes ground on a gentle slope down towards a main open ditch running through ground, it currently has some open ditches as drainage . The field next to this is also 20 acres that my father had drained back in the seventies with plastic and pea gravel round pipes, although can still be a heavy going field is a very useful field. I would love to get this other bit drained but I’m s bit worried about even asking for a price. I have an open rock quarry on our land but not sure if any of stone in there could be used as drainage stone so if the rock was of any use that would be a huge saving would just need dug and screened. Plastic piping will be another huge cost. Anybody an idea what this would cost ?
Cost of draining land
- Thread starter valtraman
- Start date
- Location
- Welshpool Powys
Depends on metres to be done
You could use your own stone but if it’s full of big lumps it will crush the pipes.
Poorer quality shale will also break down in time and seal up.
You could use your own stone but if it’s full of big lumps it will crush the pipes.
Poorer quality shale will also break down in time and seal up.
I think our type of stone is very shale type , great stuff for crushing into roads so I think it would seal up . What’s the idea dig the drain put pipe in then cover with stone then soil on top?how deep would u lay a plastic drain also what size ? 60 or 100mm
- Location
- Welshpool Powys
Go for 100mm pipe or larger
Minimum depth of 1M deep to provide plenty of cover over the pipe.
Stone up to near surface and put topsoil back on top carry clay subsoil away if possible.
You can put each drain to empty in existing ditch individually for future jetting or do a herringbone system with the wings feeding a 6inch main drain to ditch.
Minimum depth of 1M deep to provide plenty of cover over the pipe.
Stone up to near surface and put topsoil back on top carry clay subsoil away if possible.
You can put each drain to empty in existing ditch individually for future jetting or do a herringbone system with the wings feeding a 6inch main drain to ditch.
JMTHORNLEY
Member
- Location
- Glossop
Kev knows his stuff. If he were closer to me I’d have him come do a fair amount of my ground
We have opted for subsoiling every year and keeping ditches clear as possible as we are in the same boat as you. So far I have sat in the pouring rain for 16 hours walking and riding round on the quad over three winters checkin where water comes from and where it goes and making convinient ditches to suit my situation. I have put passing places in and unblocked some of the old suff drains that have been in since the war (bloody hard going disheartening job that) and made sure to keep on top of them. So far it has made a huge difference to my ground and I can get onto most places in winter if I absolutely have to. This summer has done just what I wanted and cracked everything wide open and against popular opinion I will still be subsoiling as the shatter potential deep down on out clay ground is not to be shunned!
We have opted for subsoiling every year and keeping ditches clear as possible as we are in the same boat as you. So far I have sat in the pouring rain for 16 hours walking and riding round on the quad over three winters checkin where water comes from and where it goes and making convinient ditches to suit my situation. I have put passing places in and unblocked some of the old suff drains that have been in since the war (bloody hard going disheartening job that) and made sure to keep on top of them. So far it has made a huge difference to my ground and I can get onto most places in winter if I absolutely have to. This summer has done just what I wanted and cracked everything wide open and against popular opinion I will still be subsoiling as the shatter potential deep down on out clay ground is not to be shunned!
- Location
- Welshpool Powys
I have a tent @JMTHORNLEY [emoji106]
JMTHORNLEY
Member
- Location
- Glossop
If your willing to come up here Kev you’ll not need a tent. I’ll have the pull out and some beers ready mate
Basically a 20 acre field
That's not far off what I got estimated for a 25 acre field with pea gravel backfill to within 6" of the surface
pine_guy
Member
- Location
- North Cumbria
sounds better value for money than the £2K I just paid out to fence half a four acre field
wasted years
Member
- Location
- Cumbrian born and bread
The cost of pipe is bugger all and nowt, do it yourself , cover pipes with sods not gravel unless you are on clay.
It will be clay so definitely need gravel , the bit that was done years ago has pea gravel in top but not much , possibly should be more but likely that was all that was budgeted then . Had a quick look at field today on way past and it does have a decent fall toward the ditch. Do we think I could just run straight drains from top down to ditch or does it need a more complicated system ? How close should drains be?
wasted years
Member
- Location
- Cumbrian born and bread
Straight will work but herringbone much better, we put drains in at 10 paces but there might be some local practices that work.
If you have plenty of fall and not many hills and hollows all you need is a well dug trench, ie no ups and downs.
willie waver
Member
- Location
- walking in the ayr
my drainage guy always says its best to run the drains at an angle across a slope to get the best drainage, then the drains are all fed into a lateral along the ditch side, so there is only one drain pipe flowing into the ditch to keep clear
They will thank you if you do the job right, curse you if you take shortcuts i.e. 60mm pipe. Been there done that, cheaper to do a proper job from the start.
wasted years
Member
- Location
- Cumbrian born and bread
What trouble did 60mm cause?
Back in the early 80s we drained a lot of land under the old fhds scheme. Then Adas recommended 60mm laterals into 80mm main put in with a blade. The problems have been two fold in that the blade machine chopped the old systems into short lengths that bubbled up and have taken years to tie back in. Also the small diameter pipe just fills with the red ochre we get around here and needs constant jetting to keep clear. A larger diameter pipe would take longer until it needs jetting.
