Hi there,
Can anyone help me with a question on French drains?
I have a very soggy back garden (mainly turfed on top of clay) and am looking for a solution to ensure my lawn is useable this summer and that I can plant nice things in my borders and give them half a chance of not drowning!
I have had 3 contractors in to give me quotes (as well as the French drain I am getting my existing borders dug out, sleepers put in to raise the soil level and filled with top soil - hopefully this will make a difference) and replaced with top soil. Anyway, the question is:
One of the contractors has quoted for laying a layer of stone/gravel across the whole area including between the trenches before laying the turf so that there is effectively a soak away between the turf and the existing clay. This sounds sensible to me, but I mentioned it to another of the contractors whose opinion was that it was not necessary, pointless and perhaps just a way of increasing his fees. However, the first contractor's price is not significantly higher...so who should I listen to?
The other thing is that the second guy didn't seem interested in quoting for the sleepers and borders at this time as he said we need to get the drainage sorted out and working effectively then think about other stuff...whereas the first guy is quite happy to do it all in one job...
I just want the job doing right and if that means paying a bit more to the person who will do the best job then fine, but not having any knowledge of French drains and such work, I don't know who that is...can anyone help? Given they are saying different things, from the info above, who sounds most experienced?
