Pefect house-poor ground conditions. Advice needed.

P

post-it

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Hi all,
Any opinions or previous experience welcome on this one.
I have been house hunting for some time now and have finally found a house that ‘seems’ perfect - a detached house on its own grounds of 1.5 acres.
I have been told by someone who knows the area that the house is built on boggy ground and when it was built, they had to pile drive the foundations. Not only that, he has seen the current owner stuck in the mud on the ride on lawnmower while trying to mow the lawn after a spell of wet weather.
Is there any test that can be carried out to determine what the ground conditions are and what impact that would have on our enjoyment of the site? (I know the house is fine, it’s the gardens we’re worried about) Kids will be using grounds for football; we’d like some nice flower beds, and have play area with swings etc…
Is there anything that can be done to remediate boggy soil - I have seen a mention of French Drains a few times on AAM - what does this involve and would it have any useful impact on a site of 1.5 acres?
Any help greatly appreciated, as this would be a deciding factor in us making a move to purchase or not.
Thanks.
 
hi there,

It might be worth getting an engineer to do a perculation test on the land.

This is the test that they do when you need to go for planning for a waste treatment system.

It basically involves digging some holes and pouring a bucket of water in. The amount of time it takes for water to go (if it does indeed go) determines whether it is suitable.

It seems the sort of thing that you might need.

There's loads of info on french drains on the web but remember that the water still has to go somewhere, prefereably away from your house.

I would not listen too much to the locals, unless you know them well. They might have other intentions or not like the vendor.

Speak to an engineer specialising in waste/ground water. The local authority usually has a list of engineers who's opinion they accept for planning proposals. This would be the place to start.

Cheers
 
A French drain is where you dig a trench. place a plastic pourus pipe in it and half fill it with stones and then cover it over with soil. The end of the pipe runs into a drain or river.

I agree with Jimmy. It sounds like a bad minded neighbour.
 
Thanks for the replies.

We're going to view the house again today - and are bringing a guy with us to have a look at the grounds around the house(he's a landscape gardener) and he's going to give his opinion on it.

Fingers crossed!

Thanks.
 
Hi all - just a quick update. We viewed the house today with a landscape gardener who told us that the grounds would be completely flooded during the winter as there is no drainage! So that rules this house out and were back to the drawing board.

Unfortunately there arent many houses available in the area we are looking in so we could be wiating a while. We would consider buying a site to build on either - anyone got any suggestions on how to approach farmers / land owners to see if they would sell a site?

Thanks all.
 
post-it said:
.........a landscape gardener who told us that the grounds would be completely flooded during the winter as there is no drainage!
Click to expand...

Can you elaborate on the above.

1. No drainage to the house.
2. No drainage to the garden.
3. What are the neighbouring gardens like?
4. Is there bogland, full of rushes etc in the vicnity of the house, or what condition is the farmland adjacent or across the road from the house.
5. Any rivers or streams nearby, or at the boundaries of the site.
 
Hi Pope John II,

The house is in a dip and is a good bit below the road and the fields on all 3 sides, so any rainfall etc. essentially drains into it. The landscaper said that the gardens would be under water in really wet weather (he made a phone call to someone who confirmed they had actually seen this happen last year). The soil is quite boggy, so there is not good drainage there anyway
I didn’t see any rushes etc., but couldn’t swear there weren’t any. There are no streams in the vicinity at all.

Thanks
 
post-it said:
anyone got any suggestions on how to approach farmers / land owners to see if they would sell a site?

Thanks all.
Click to expand...

Can you do a quick tour around the area you like and approach them yourself? I remember people calling to a relation's door as they could see the house surrounded by a field and wanted to know if the person owned it and would sell a site. Or else a local estate agent with his ear to the ground could help.
 
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