We have lived in this house for just over a year and are new to TX. One corner of our yard, an area about 15 x 7, is in a low spot and therefore inherently always in some state of dampness. Under normal conditions, it would be damp or wet for several days after a rain, although without standing water (just squishy and kind of muddy when you walk in it). With the Texas heat, it could dry out, albeit very slowly. So if it rained again just a few days later, the spot never got a chance to fully dry (although it was actually "bone dry" with cracks in the soil maybe once or twice last summer).

To make matters worse, recently our next door neighbor completely changed his lawn from Bermuda grass to St. Augustine. He did this by laying sod right over the lawn. The result is that his lawn is about 3 inches higher than mine. Since my low spot is even lower now than it originally was, the wetness regularly extends beyond the 15 x 7 area. It now runs in a strip that covers nearly 1/5 of my backyard. To make matters worse, he has started a vigorous 24 x 7 watering schedule. Now the "damp" part of the yard is actually a swamp, with no hope of ever drying out unless he stops watering. At this point there is standing water and a "rotting" smell. What could be causing this smell?

When my kids go out to play on their playset, if they wander in the wrong direction they will be muddy. When I let my dog out, he pretty much needs a bath almost every time, since, if the neighbor's dog is also out, they "pace" with each other along the fence which is in the heart of the wet spot. He's usually covered in mud. It's so bad that our deck is now covered with muddy dog prints. Some days I just give the dog his water bowl and leave him outside because I just don't have the time to fully clean him yet again (don't worry - he has plenty of shade and shelter).

Any suggestions on coping with this situation? I was just at my father-in-law's house in Atlanta, and they had a similar spot in their yard that never dried out. An attractive solution they used was smooth rocks, about the size of golf balls, in a variety of colors. It worked great for them, and I suspect it would work great for my situation, but I fear that the temptation to chuck the rocks through a window would be too great for 3 and 5 year old kids. So the rock solution is pretty much ruled out.

Any other suggestions out there?

Also, any suggestions on how to approach the neighbor? Should I be asking him to tone down on the watering, or just wait to see if he wakes up once his water bill comes? Or should I build up my own lawn with more sod?

Thanks everyone.

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08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280

Exactly what is a French drain???

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08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280

It is a trench dug on a grade so as to allow water to run down it... in it is a pipe with holes to allow the water in... the trench is filled with gravel to allow the water to flow more easily into the pipe.

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-Marty

1986 300E 220,000 miles+ transmission impossible
(Now waiting under a bridge in order to become one)

Reading your M103 duty cycle:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/831799-post13.html
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/831807-post14.html

I once knew a fellow who had a temper and he had the same problem. The runoff from the neighbor would fill up his yard.

BS he says. He has a cement contractor come in and put a full curb between his property and the neighbor's property so that there was zero runoff. Boy was the neighbor pissed. Now, the neighbor developed the lake.

Of course, you would need to be the type that didn't mind a cement curb in your backyard.

What causes a wet spot in Dallas?

Is this an old suburb that the city later incorporated? You say it is smelly. Get a shovel and dig a hole so the water pools for a couple of days. Is it a strange color with unusual grayish blobs? If so, it could be an abandoned septic system improperly blanked-off from the city system, or do you even have community septic system? If you don't, you've discovered your tank needs pumping and you need instructions on the proper care and feeding of a septic tank. With run-off from your neighbor's yard, you could have quite a mess.

This is tempting. My neighbors just put in a sidewalk (against neighborhood covenants, of course) leading from their driveway to their basement, so they can rent their basement out (also against covenants), and in the process routed their gutters under their sidewalk and into my yard, causing soil erosion, plus just being ugly -- dinguses. I'm conflicted about whether to start raising a stink about the renters, or just let it go unless or until the renters become a problem. But that curb idea sounds fun, I could just reroute their runoff into their backyard for them.

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http://webwench.net/albums/new83-300...1700.thumb.jpg
1983 300D-T
348,000 miles

I don't think its legal for them to route their gutters to drain on your property...( but locals laws do vary, check with a lawyer)

If this is all against covenants I think its in everyones best interests this doesn't go on for long or they will argue its been taking place for years.

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Not when the curb is done properly and extends 8-10 inches below grade.

It worked perfectly.

I gots a spot like thayt from Bubba peeing all the time bax there instead of in our new fancy plumbin, guess its cuz thats where the outhouse used to be. I jes throes a bunch of dirt on it. He still pees on it, but now it twernt smellin so bad.

I was thinking of putting up some treated lumber around the edges, then filling it in with dirt to raise the grade a bit, then laying sod over that. Any thoughts?

I'll see if I can take some pics and post them this weekend.

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08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280