GardenBanter.co.uk - Groove in the garden

"TedTrippin" wrote in message
...

Hi,

This isn't a post on dancing but a house I'm looking at buying! I
viewed the property but noticed a "groove" in the middle of the lawn.
It stems from the edge of the slabs along the lawn, in a straight line,
to the garage at the end. It's about 15 foot long.

Could this be a natural thing or is it likely something has been dug
up/put down?

By groove I am assuming you mean a settling or trenching of the surface
ground. How old is this place? Could be a collapsed drain field or one
poorly installed. Check to see if you can line up either end of the trench
to a building to see if it lines up with a down spout or the like. What kind
of septic system does this place have? Where are the sewer or septic tank
lines? Find out where the waste line leaves the house and see if that lines
up with this trench in anyway. A collapsing sewer line isn't fun to
reinstall. If there's a septic system it could be part of that drain field.
Not good. Where does the water service line go into the house? It's not all
that unusual for patios, sidewalks and garages to be built over sewer or
water lines, especially if the home is of any age. If there is a break in
that line you can get surface trenching from the erosion going on below.
This is all worse case scenario but the costliest if you get stuck with
repairs.

I'd make sure that you put in a subject to inspection clause specifically
about this trenching and make sure you have it inspected by a licensed,
bonded, insured inspector. Point out the trench to the inspector and if he
passes it off casually as "oh that's just yadda yadda"...fire him and get
one that will really find out what it is. If it could possibly be any kind
of waste line you either need to have somebody run a camera down the lines
or dig down in the middle of this 'groove' and find out what's under
there.....a few hundred investigating dollars now could save you many
thousands in repairs and headaches later. The trench just might be where a
fence or garden bed had been and ground has settled or is some attempt at
surface water management. If it's there to control run off I'd find out why,
where it's coming from and how much. I wouldn't take the word of the realty
agent or homeowner. Look for the worst and hope for the best.

Val