Home Improvement Ideas Patio Design Ideas and Makeovers Patio Installation How to Install Drainage Around a Patio to Avoid Standing Water Prevent water build-up in your yard by building an underground drain. We'll walk you through the simple 4-step process. By Caitlin Sole Caitlin Sole Caitlin Sole is the senior home editor at BHG. She is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of interior design expertise. She has vast experience with digital media, including SEO, photo shoot production, video production, eCommerce content, print collaboration, and custom sales content. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on June 9, 2023 Fact checked by Marcus Reeves Fact checked by Marcus Reeves Marcus Reeves is an experienced writer, publisher, and fact-checker. He began his writing career reporting for The Source magazine. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Playboy, The Washington Post, and Rolling Stone, among other publications. His book Somebody Scream: Rap Music's Rise to Prominence in the Aftershock of Black Power was nominated for a Zora Neale Hurston Award. He is an adjunct instructor at New York University, where he teaches writing and communications. Marcus received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Learn about BHG's Fact Checking Process Trending Videos Close this video player Project Overview Total Time: 3 hours Skill Level: Beginner Many yards naturally have areas that collect water; a problem creating a new patio or path can worsen. Water can't soak through the hard surfaces of a patio or path, so it runs into the yard. This runoff can cause problems you should correct before you start construction. Fortunately, there are easy-to-install solutions for a drain in concrete patio borders or other areas to carry the water away. You can install a swale or French drain, which channels the water away from the site to an area where it won't cause problems. You can divert water to another spot on your property but not to the neighbor's yard, so if you can't shift the water to a good location, you'll have to run a French drain to a dry well. A dry well collects water and allows it to seep slowly into the surrounding soil. Look to your local codes for the required dry-well size for your area. The size can be subject to your property's conditions or the neighborhood's. Even if your yard has no runoff problems, you can avoid creating them by installing a gravel-lined trench around the patio. Check for the underground utility lines' location before installing any drainage system. What You'll Need Equipment / Tools Round-nose shovel Slope gauge Spade Scissors Materials Gravel 4-inch perforated drainpipe Couplings Landscape fabric Concrete patio block Instructions Dig and Line the Trench Using a spade, slice the sod along the line's path, about two feet wide. Remove the sod, roll it up, and save it. Dig out the trench about 6 inches deep along the line, using a slope gauge to slope it 1/4 inch per foot. Dig a dry well about two to four feet wide and three feet deep at the low end of the trench. Line the trench with landscape fabric and gravel. Then lay in 4-inch perforated drainpipe with the holes facing down. Continue running pipe a few inches into the dry well. Connect the pipe sections with fittings, not with glue. Fill with Gravel To keep the gravel from settling into the soil, line the well with landscape fabric, leaving about two feet of surplus fabric on each side. Cut a hole for the drainpipe, then fill the trench and the well with gravel, leaving enough clearance over the well for a 2- to 3-inch-thick patio block cover. Cover the Well Fold the well's surplus landscape fabric over the gravel and cover it with a patio block. Backfill the trench and the well, tamping the soil lightly. Replace the Sod Cover the patio block with at least three inches of soil, tamping it lightly with a garden rake, then roll the sod back over it.