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Hello Steve
1. The best solution to the pooling is to lift and relay the slabs and apply the correct fall to allow the water to naturally run off onto the grass.
2. Its common practice to cut slabs in that manner but it seems very stingy to do it in this situation because the difference between the two levels is tiny
3. Any decent landscaper would have levelled the ground of but unfortunately these new builds are very much driven by price, which often results in sub standard work.
Can you contact the developer to get them to come and relay the flags and get rid of the pooling
Cheers
Steve
as Steve says above. That could be any housing development anywhere in the country. why don't they ever do something decent, properly and original?
Typical builders Im afraid.
The water seems not to be draining away into the grass but pooling next to it, this is very common on new builds as builders and their staff simply do not understand soil, or even comprehend how it works usually.
I can see two problems here;
1 - Poor soil drainage - most likely due to the topsoil and subsoil being mixed up prior to being spread back down to give a "soil layer" to put turf on.
2- Compaction - i am yet to here or see of a builder not leaving compacted soil behind, they simply level and tuft, and that means about 2 inches down the soil is so tightly compacted that nothing can drain through it.
These two issue lead to this water logging - I find this in all 7 of the gardens I maintain that have been built in the last 6 years.
I would demand the building company first come back and do the following two things, and then review the situaiton over the coming months;
1 - Subsoil the ground to aleiviate compaction
2 - Have the soil examined to ensure it is not a sub-soil top-soil mix, but is correctly profiled IE the subsoil was placed under the top soil as nature intended, to ensure proper drainage and a good growing medium.
I have attached a PDF that explains this situation much more clearly, sadly few building companies give a rats arse about this, and even if they did, the staff on site dont know!
The way I have dealt with this in 2 cases (in both the developer basically said F*** off we know best) was to aerate with solid tines to 6 inch depth then about 30-40 hand done aerations per meter with metal bar to 1-m. Sharp sand then filled into holes to drain through the hard-pan.
In 1 case the developer returned and paid somone to subsoil rip it with a digger.
Access is an issue sadly.
I would look at Page 32 for what I think has happend to you.