Drainage for brick raised bed

aoborwick

aoborwick says:

Hi,

I got a builder in to lay our patio and put in a raised flowerbed. The flowerbed sits in the corner of the patio adjacent to a wooden fence and the house. I'm concerned about drainage (there isn't any - he claimed this wasn't included within the quote). All he has done is put in a 90 degree wall. That means there would be no barrier between the soil and the fence/house wall so obviously going to cause damp issues etc. I realise this isn't the best location for a flowerbed but can anybody suggest how I could ensure the bed drains properly and that there is no water/damp seeping into the fence/house?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Alex

Last edited: 09 July 2016 10:05:11

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BobTheGardener

I think we'll need to see a photo Alex.

Fairygirl

Think Bob's right Alex - a pic would help!

Not sure if I've completely misunderstood, but, when you say there's no drainage, do you mean the bed's sitting on the patio and has no weep holes? Or do you mean the only drainage is right next to the wall/fence?

As long as the soil's below the damp course, there shouldn't be a real problem there, it's a bigger issue if the bed can't drain out onto the patio anywhere. You can always put a physical barrier between the bed and the house wall/fence. You may need to rethink the whole thing if the retaining wall on the bed is high though. 

aoborwick

Thanks all. Here's a photo. I guess there are two issues. The first is that there is currently no means of it draining out. But as pointed out that shouldn't be too difficult to resolve with weep holes. Only thing is that the base of the flower bed is below the patio level so will need to raise it. Also, do I need to do anything to stop soil running out through the holes and creating a mess on the patio? Second issue is that there is no barrier between the bed and the fence, and the bed and the house. I'm guessing that in the case of the fence that might not be great from a structural perspective and in both cases it is not great to be in contact with wet soil. 

Fairygirl

I forgot to mention making the holes      but the one reservation I have with that DHR, is that you get a lot of mess on the patio. I'd go for holes in the paving underneath the bed instead 

Fairygirl

I think we still need to see the location of the bed in relation to the wall/fence. I'm sure Alex will clarify that  

I must have misunderstood your comment then DHR. When you said 'holes through the mortar in the bottom course of the bricks' that sounds to me like it would be draining onto the patio. 

The builder should really have taken it into consideration anyway. It's a poor excuse to say it wasn't included in the quote