Share
With all the bucket loads of rain we have had in the past few years and knowing that we will be back in drought again I really wanted to make as much use of any rain that falls as much as possible.
This is a small section of the landscaping that trys to reuse the water and alows it to soak into the yard.
I wanted a front path down towards the footpath and had a few choices, The path could dip to allow water to flow when we had a downpour, a bridge or a culvert. I chose a culvert in the end as I wanted dry feet in rainy weather, had an excess of clay I needed to use and had concrete blocks spare.
Materials
- Hebel concrete lightweight blocks (Bunnings had them on special for $2ea)
- Bessablock capstones (reused)
- Clay
- Garden edging
- Wriggly pavers (reused)
- Gravel 8mm (Leftovers)
- Concret slab (reused)
Tools
- Tamp Bar
- Little cart that could (Gorilla Cart)
- Square mouthed shovel
- Level
- Mallet
- Cold Chisel
Steps
Step 1
I drew up plans and wanted a holding pond deal with an overflow. This would go under the pathway. I didnt want to use drainpipes/courrogated pipes as I wanted a large pipe that would not slow drainage. I made sure that the bottom plates were level with the existing ground and then built up the surround area with compacted clay.
In the center of the picture you can see where I have dug down into a rectangular patch. These are for the cap stones to be placed into for the culvert.
There use to be an old pathway here before I had stormwater issues.
The base blocks, I dont care if water seaps away as its meant mainly for stormwater instances.
Made sure the base was level, the blocks were placed on soild clay that I shaved with the blade of the shovel to make level.
The Hebel blocks? I cant find them in Bunnings atm but these were being sold for $2 on special 
So I used them for garden edging, path edging and anything really.
I had an old concrete paver (large) that I used as a cap for the cilvert with a couple of capping stones either end to extend the width.
Step 2
I placed the capstones over the top plus a couple inside. The ones inside are to stop the Hebel blcks slowly coming together with lateral forces. Also to slow water in downpours.
I started backfilling with clay in the direction of the path. This was a double use as for the path base and also to funnel water where I wanted it to go.
I placed a couple of capstones in, they arnt locked in place and can be removed for cleaning if needed.
Better view of the top.
Now it was time to backfill and slowly fill over the top with clay. I had mountains of stockpiled clay from drainage works and also the gabion wall build next to the garage.
Slowly disappearing. Was a little worrying as I was concerned the soil would run into the trench as it dried. It never happened.
The base of the pathway (I will post another couple of projects to show this pathway.
To the right of the path is a holding pond type deal, this is between some Crepe myrtles and a bottlebrush tree.
Long view back up the hill. The clay has held up nicely in the rains and the path drys super fast.
Step 3
The yard slopes a reasonable amount. The first pic is to show how steep it is. The lamp post is actually vertical. The pile of stones is for another gabion wall yet to built.
Foreground are Crepe Myrtle prunings to be dried for tomato stakes.
After some decent rain. The clay really held up. I had been compacting it regulary with each load of clay.
I layed a 20-30mm level of gravel down under the pavers as I had ordered far to much when estimating the drainage.
I put in edging to keep it tidy, also some steel edging across the top of the culvert. It is still standing nicely after a year.
The pavers after a year. This section is level with the lawn so I can trundle the mower easily. The pavers stacked are for the section to be extended down the slope.
Hi @Dave-1
Thanks for sharing that landscaping project with the culvert structure included. That is an excellent method of diverting the water so that it is shared along with the rest of your garden. That clay soil should hold it steady for a long while. Those pavers look fantastic, can't wait to see it fully assembled.
Looking forward to your next update.
Eric
