From a cursory look at your pictures, it appears that there isn't a sufficient drainage pathway to carry water from the back of the house around to lower level at the front of the house. You would need someone who knows grading well to come to the property and explain what should be done. It looks like a drainage path would travel from the back yard through where the arbor sits and continue along the side of the house toward the front. It looks you need to be handling water all the way from your back-lot-line-neighbor's property, as his yard seems higher. A scheme might include some fill in low lying areas within the tree area. Be careful to consider the workings of the back neighbors' drainage. You wouldn't want to entrap water on his property by raising grade in your yard. Things should be coordinated between all those affected.

Adding a few more thoughts .... In solving this you would NOT want to bring grade any higher toward the house. You would mainly be "scraping" out to lower the elevation along a drainage path. (At least in the areas I'm seeing.) Think of the "path" as fairly wide (as wide as possible) and well blended into the surrounding grade ... not a trench-like affair.

Regardless of whether basement or crawl space, you would not want water in it.

From what I can see, I can't see that you would need to add any retaining wall.

While a patio would work, It doesn't seem that it would be potentially near as useful as a deck. However, the present deck seems to be designed with drama in mind, not practicality. It takes up a lot of useful space in order to surround itself on all sides with steps. If it were more conventional, there could be lots of room for furniture, grill, etc. Not saying you shouldn't have wide steps ... but they don't need to be everywhere. If you were to opt for a patio instead, it would tend to push the space farther from the house as you still need a landing/steps near the door.

It's not going to be trees that give you privacy, but probably some tall shrubs. They're going to need to tolerate low light conditions because of the existing trees. You might look around your area and see what kinds of tall shrubs grow there and prosper in that environment.

When it comes to solving grading and drainage issues it can be a bit tough to do via remote. Primarily, we're relying on photographic information and it can be very misleading, depending on what's shown and how the camera was held. In spite of that it is possible to make some headway with good, complete pictures. In this case, most of the pictures are separate shots from various angles, making it very difficult for the viewer who has never been to the site, to understand how everything fits together. In order to capture a large area with the camera, it is best if the photographer stands in a central area relative to the view, and takes ALL pictures from that exact position. One begins at the left side of the view taking slightly overlapping pictures and pans the camera right-ward until the entire view has been captured. This way we can see the complete scene. Many times it only takes 3 or 4 pictures to cover a large portion of yard. One would relocate the camera to another location in order to add another scene.

Not least, it is far better to upload the pictures directly to this site than it is to place them on another site. Those of us who give advice often and repeatedly refer to the pictures when writing a reply.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I wanted to include angles that showed the house and water issues near the crawlspace as well as the "rock retaining wall". i've walked through the wooded area and there is actually no standing water at all in this area. basically any water issues are in the yard itself. i get standing water at the base of the rock wall and standing water in the yard itself. what type of professional should i be looking for... landscape construction, design?

the yard has basically been carved out from much higher land. the only area from what i can tell that has been graded at a proper pitch is around the deck. there is a slight pitch away from the pavers surrounding the deck. it is almost at the end of this pitch where i have this standing water issue as it is almost like a valley in the backyard. i was wondering if i should have a slight grade that reaches the level of the woods. this is what the neighbor to my left has done in their yard and they don't have any standing water issues (green house on the side with arched trellis).

i'll get some better pictures on the site itself shortly. i wanted to make sure i captured all the standing water while it was there. the water stays for a day or 2 and then those areas stay very damp for days sometimes never really drying up. as of right now... the ground is basically mud in these areas, but not sure how visible that is.

CHANGING VANTAGE POINT:

(The new pictures do a great job of helping to understand your yard!)

I hope this helps. Keep in mind that I'm trying to give you GENERAL information, not trying to show you specifically where things would or should go. I'm just trying to show the general concept of how you might drain a yard which has a higher elevation toward the back. The dark blue line represents the centerline of a swale (drain path.) In case you can't see it, each terminating end of the line is an arrowhead pointing in the direction of the street, illustrating the direction of water flow. At somewhere near a central point of the total line length is a yellow spot marked "H.P." It's not the high point of the yard, but the high point of the drainage swale, where water must decide if it wants to go left or right. The centerline of the drainage swale continuously descends as the distance from the H.P. increases.

The light blue lines indicate the direction that water would flow in order to get to the drainage swale. All round the house, water is running directly away from the house and patio, following the light blue lines, toward the swale center (dark blue) line. As it approaches the swale, the grade is warped such that the transition is not sudden or obvious, but blends from one area to the next, gradually "turning" the water toward the main path of flow.

While the swale is deepening along its path, it is also widening, increasing its water-carrying capacity. While water is running from the back yard neighbor directly toward your house, water is also running directly away from your house. It is where the inevitable crash of these two flows meet that becomes the logical place for installing a swale that will carry both flows around and beyond the sides of the house and toward a lower elevation, where the water can leave your property without causing any harm. Because the swale is not a natural occurrence that already exists, it must be created taking into account all the logistics of existing conditions. This will influence exactly where the H.P. is best located and the actual width and depth of the swale. It must be massaged into place accounting for the structures (house and boulder wall) and elements (trees and lawn) that exist. For sure, it does not need to end up looking like a gully. It should be smooth and as shallow as possible in order to blend inconspicuously into the yard. (A plate might hold as much as a cup, because its walls are broad instead of steep. It would be easier to blend a plate into the lawn than a cup.)

I can't see it, but it looks like there is a substantial drainage path already in existence between your yard and the neighbor at the right (while standing on deck facing back yard.) You would most likely tie into that path.

Thanks again. I think there is a poor man's swale that is directing water toward the right side of my house (tree side not trellis side where the driveway is). The problem is that i think do to erosion over the years that it just does a poor job of draining all the surface water. I definitely believe this to be a surface water issue and not a high water table. Would I run a french drain beneath this swale? I do believe that the catch basins and drains further back from the standing water areas are tied to a french drain that goes to the right side of my house between mine and neighbors yard.

My next question would be in regards to the "rock wall". There is probably about a 6 foot wide "hump" that has been mulched and filled with decorate shrubs. Honestly... I'm not a fan of this style and I don't have much use for the shrubs as they don't really provide any privacy and it prohibits the size of my backyard. I do however like the tall oaks and maples I have.

I believe i get significant runoff from this mulched area as it seeps right through the rock wall and to the base. This hump also drops off much more slightly to the wooded area behind. What suggestions would you have for the rock wall? I believe you said before you didn't think a retaining wall was necessary... but how would I grade the yard to go to this area?

Thanks again for all the insight.

I can't see why you would need or want french drains instead of fixing the surface grade. It looks to me like the swale is extremely shallow (almost non-existent) at places in the yard. It needs to be made continuous. I'm basing this on what the photos appear to show.

Don't know where this 6' hump of shrubs and mulch is so can't comment specifically. However, you can reconfigure the boulders to any arrangement you like, and just grade each side of it to blend with the rest of the grade on each side, respectively. If you need more info., point out where the area is with a clear photo.

I would just get rid of the Rhododendron and the 2 young evergreen trees (and whatever else you have) at the edge of the stone "curb". They look like obstacles to the view of your yard beyond. It would be better to have such obstacles at the back of the bed, near the property line, where they could screen neighboring properties some, if you are going to have them at all. Reconfigure the stones how you want them, as I mentioned before, and fix the grade afterward. It would look much better with a LOW groundcover on the upper side of this "curb."

yardvaark, what kind of professional should i be calling in for this? excavator? landscape construction?

for the planning, a landscape architect of drainage engineer. For the work a grading contractor. You may find a grading contractor who is very savvy and can do the planning and the grading, but it will be hard for you to know if you are on the same page until you see the finished product. Talk to these people and start getting a feel for who knows what.

heavy rain today melting snow to give you an idea with what i'm dealing with... the pond near my house makes me very nervous

HEAVY RAIN

The video confirms to me that I was mislead by your earlier pictures as to the general lay of the land. Previously, I thought that where I marked the HIGH SPOT was roughly where the drainage would divide ... half going to the left and half going to the right. Now I see it is all going to the right, meaning that the high spot might be somewhere near the arbor, and that all the water we see in the video is travelling off to the right. [That said, it will be someone on site who determines where this spot ACTUALLY is.] Nevertheless, the concept of the general fix is the same ... a swale some distance away from the house that carries water downstream. But at least you have space to make the fix, and most importantly, a downhill area ready to receive water.

In this sketch, the yellow line represents a reasonable path for the swale centerline. You might even push the left end of the line farther away from the house than I'm showing, but it would depend on cost, as the farther away it is, more digging -- with trees and rocks -- is necessary. Where the blue line converges with the yellow line, the grade should be about 6" lower elevation than it is at the corner of the house, to insure that there is positive drainage away from the house. Then, following the swale path, one keeps digging/scraping away earth such that the path for water is unobstructed. At some point the natural grade will be sufficient and it's no longer necessary to continue digging the swale. Of course, in the end all the digging is blended smoothly with the remaining grade so as to look nice and be maintainable.

Once you create a proper drainage path, you need to fix the tail piece on the downspout. All you will really need then is a standard elbow on the downspout and a splash block, both directed straight away from back of house (in line with blue line.) The splash block will only project about 1.5' from the house and the new grade itself will carry water to the swale without puddling.

If I recall, your property extends some distance into the woods. Personally, I don't care for the idea of having a physical boundary (from boulders, shrubs and grade change) created close to the house when the actual property boundary is some distance away. Some of these things are costly to change but when you're doing a grading project like this, it's the time to consider if you want to change any of these obstructions that might not work into your long term plan. I would look at it as a design opportunity.

Yes I very much see this as an opportunity (one that is likely much more expensive than I anticipated when buying the home!)

One of the issues is that the boulders on the left toward the arbor are actually quite high. Probably 3-4ft high and the grade of the base of the trees is also that high. i'm not sure i'll be able to eliminate having a retaining wall of some sort in that area. Although theoretically I could probably eliminate the trees in that area. I guess my decision will also have to include what is better... perimeter trees or usable yard.

Another thing I noticed last night was that beneath my low deck there was about 2-3 inches of standing water from this melt-off and heavy rain that went right up against the foundation and bulkhead. Nothing seeped into my basement, but I see that as a huge issue. It has since perc'd into the ground, but that is definitely a worry. One I'm not sure is best answered by a deck or patio.

Eric, I don't think you need to go terribly far into hill at the left end of the yellow line. Everything in landscaping -- especially grading -- is a balancing act. I wouldn't see losing a few trees on the shoulder of that slope as much of a negative consequence. It might be a combination of cut and retaining wall ... looking for the sweet spot of satisfactory function, best economy and reasonable appearance.

Standing water below deck up against foundation shows how little the builder paid attention to grading. It's often the case.

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i'll take better photos once this project is complete, but wanted to update on the major work we've had done so far for any of those who followed this last year. decided to go with the patio for a variety of reasons. removed about 12-14 trees, excavated a ton of material, pushed back the boulder wall about 20 feet, added 16 thuja green giants, and added a french drain toward the wall. just the drain and regrading has already started drying out my very wet land.

topsoil and hydroseed coming soon.

Thanks for taking the time to do a followup.

We need to address drainage on our sloped lot. How did you find your contractor? I'm not sure what profession/trade to start getting bids from. We have even considered crawl space/ basement companies. TIA.

i spoke with an excavation company and like 5 different landscape contractors. all of them claimed expertise in drainage, but after initial interviews it was clear some specialized in regular maintenance and not the construction part. i took a bit of a leap of faith going with gut based on what was discussed and so far so good. it may have been worth my while to get a civil engineer to map the lot or maybe to go even further with checking on the water table etc. i'm waiting for loam and hydroseed still, so ultimately that will tell the tale especially with the unbelievably wet spring we have had in new england.

but to answer your question i went with a landscape construction company that does a lot with hardscaping and drainage.

It looks like the work being done is well conceived and going in the right direction. I like the simplicity and boldness of what's there so far.

That looks a helluva lot better than before. Hope it has eradicated your earlier drainage concerns.