Well with the hints I got here, the backyard project of grading by hand and taking care of runoff is coming along quite well indeed. But as I am out there tamping soil, digging and backfilling, I am thinking of my next project(s)...
Okay, I'll admit this is pretty silly, but I have to show some ignorance here and ask anyhow.
Simple task:
Find a broken sprinkler pipe.
Devil In The Details:
The lawn is a sod lawn, and there is a really large tree on it. The root system of the tree is extensive and fine. That is to say, it is a spider web of roots down there, they are not big around, but what they do not have in girth, they make up in tortorously twisted long roots.
Now the spiderweb that is the root system is rivaled only by the spiderweb of pipes the previous owners put in for sprinkler systems. I have run into pipes in the front and back yard in places that there is really no whisper of a reason to have one.
Okay here's the problem. Last fall I noted the 'bublin crude' type of geyser coming out of the ground about 3 - 5 feet in front of the tree. Thinking I'd be a hero to wife, kids, and dog, I simply dug down and found.... nothing... instead I followed the water. It was going in and out of, around and through the root system of the tree, skimming under the sod, and then diving back into more root system.
I dug up 3-4 feet of lawn before I decided there must be a better way.
So, I know I am asking for secrets of the inner circle here, but do you guys have any little tricks or suggestions that I could use to actually find the point of origin for the water? Bonus points for cost free solutions as I have a plate full of projects that each have a couple hundred dollar pricetag on them.
Oh and I am CHEAP and MISERLY.
Thanks!
Charles
Okay, I'll admit this is pretty silly, but I have to show some ignorance here and ask anyhow.
Simple task:
Find a broken sprinkler pipe.
Devil In The Details:
The lawn is a sod lawn, and there is a really large tree on it. The root system of the tree is extensive and fine. That is to say, it is a spider web of roots down there, they are not big around, but what they do not have in girth, they make up in tortorously twisted long roots.
Now the spiderweb that is the root system is rivaled only by the spiderweb of pipes the previous owners put in for sprinkler systems. I have run into pipes in the front and back yard in places that there is really no whisper of a reason to have one.
Okay here's the problem. Last fall I noted the 'bublin crude' type of geyser coming out of the ground about 3 - 5 feet in front of the tree. Thinking I'd be a hero to wife, kids, and dog, I simply dug down and found.... nothing... instead I followed the water. It was going in and out of, around and through the root system of the tree, skimming under the sod, and then diving back into more root system.
I dug up 3-4 feet of lawn before I decided there must be a better way.
So, I know I am asking for secrets of the inner circle here, but do you guys have any little tricks or suggestions that I could use to actually find the point of origin for the water? Bonus points for cost free solutions as I have a plate full of projects that each have a couple hundred dollar pricetag on them.
Oh and I am CHEAP and MISERLY.
Thanks!
Charles