Hi Guys, I have issues with my waterlogged lawn and I think this is due to the fact that my soil is over 95% clay and thus the water can not drain through the soil. My idea to sort this is the get an auger and drill into the soil then backfill with a sand and gravel mix, then add drainage pipes and then finally plough/rotavate the soil to add sand and organic matter to the soil. I have looked at hiring an auger; however most appear to be 2 man augers and this would require recruiting a helper or I have seen a one man auger which is more expensive but not that much more however it is on wheels and I am worried that it might get stuck in my waterlogged ground. I then tonight seen manual augers which are very cheap Auger Post Hole Drill 1100mm (43.5") - Toolstation I am tempted to buy something like this. This also has the advantage that it goes deeper than the petrol hire ones but will be a lot more work to do. Has anyone used a manual auger previously? Are they worth the effort? Also maybe a stupid question but what happens to the soil as I drill in? Does it just get thrown out the top of the hole? I can see that working for a shallow hole but what happens when I get down to a metre? Cheers Keith
The soil will come to the top and you will get a mole hill and you will need to shovel it away as some will fall back in when you take out the auger Yes/no, but it wouldn't be thrown fall at all, just comes to the surface then roll down the side of any soil that has been dug up, the deeper you go the bigger the mound of soil so you will have to shovel it away as you dig They can be hard machines to use and if you hit stones they will jump about abit (petrol ones)
Hi Jiffy, Thanks for the reply to the question that provides me with answers to what happens to the soil. Not that bothered about the extra soil on the surface as it will be getting dealt with by a digger after the holes are backfilled. I had heard about the idea of the auger jumping if it hits stones. I have found out that about 18" below my lawn is hardcore which the builder added to try to aid drainage. So I am thinking that with this it might be best to use a manual auger? Cheers Keith
If it was me doing this job, then I would quite simply hire a Bobcat or similar with auger attachment. Is that alternative possible where you live? They are loads of fun to use, and make it an easy one man job....
Yeah there is a few hire companies near me so need to check what is available close at hand. Have to agree the idea of manually drilling these holes on a 1/2 acre site is not appealing. :rasp:
