1. ) yes. Anything you can do to help with drainage will help. Regrading, adding drains. 2.) Bermudagrass tends to thin out over a season if it is a shady location. In moderate shade it will emerge in late spring with the rest of the lawn but if it doesn't get sun it will thin out. After a number of seasons like this you don't have much there. There really isn't anything you can do about it. You can buy seed that is more shade tolerant but that will look wierd since it will be green year round and be more lush than the bermuda. 3.) Yes, you can use herbicide on the weeds. If broadleaf weeds, weedBgone is commonly used.

The International Residential Code (IRC) which forms the core of most statewide building codes requires grading to provide a minimum of 6" of fall within the first 10 feet of the home for drainage purposes. The National Association of Home Builders publishes Residential Construction Performance Guidelines for Professional Builders and Remodelers. Some builders use it as a quality standard. It provides the following with regard to site drainage: "To ensure proper drainage within 10 feet around the home, the contractor will establish necessary grades and swales within the property if the work is included in the contract. Standing water will not remain for extended periods within 10 feet of the home after a rain (generally no more than 24 hours), except in swales that drain other areas or in areas where sump pumps receive discharge. In these areas a longer period can be anticipated (generally no more than 48 hours). Water may stand longer during periods of heavy rains, especially when heavy rains occur on successive days. No grading determination will be made while frost or snow is on the ground or while the ground is saturated."

>Does the proposal from the plumber make sense? No, not really. See below. >Because the water from the steam oven is so hot, I assume the extension has to be copper hose. Correct? The install specs I've seen for Miele CSO ovens always state "Only genuine original Miele hoses can be used with this appliance." And "Do not shorten or cut the supplied drainage hose." This clearly means do not use your own supplied copper tubing. A few things you wrote don’t make sense, probably because not all details are listed. The main thing is how you phrased what the plumber told you. Did the plumber a.) “suggest” this high loop after looking at your setup? Or b.) did he review the installation specifications and then “suggest” this? Based on what you posted my guess is he did not look at the installation specifications. I do not see that ‘high loop’ as satisfying the installation requirements and specifications. Here’s my suggestion: Get both of these documents (from the mieleusa.com website) for your exact oven model: a.) Operating and Installation Manual, b.) Specification Sheet. These are two different documents, and depending on the model and model year may use use slight variations on the document name. The first document is about 200 +/- pages and you want the section on drainage connections. The second document will be about 20 +/- pages and it will also have a section for drainage connections. Preferably find a different plumber than the one you talked to above. Tell the new plumber you have a problem with the drain connection on a high-end plumbed in steam oven, and you want to employ him to review the specifications for the oven and tell you if the plumbing on the install is done according to the manufacturer’s specifications. Because you suspect it is not. If new plumber grumbles or resists “we don’t need to read no specifications…” find another plumber. Good plumbers who do kitchen and bath remodels are used to researching things like this and will have no problem doing so. If the install already meets the specs and you still have a problem then it’s time to contact Miele service. Last point, suggest you question who ever designed your arrangement to find out if he/she followed the manufacturer's specs (it sounds like they did not), and if not why not? Isn't that what you paid him/her for? Why all this talk of and fuss about manufacturer’s specifications? Because no matter if you are talking basic drywall, regular old concrete, hardwood flooring, roofing and rain-gutter systems ... or multi-thousand dollar hi-tech ovens, having something installed correctly -- to exacting manufacturer specs -- is the key to long life, to full warranty coverage, and to minimize failures. Short translation: If you want your oven to work correctly make sure you follow the manufacturer’s installation specs.

A french drain only works if you have somewhere to discharge to, either daylighting or pumping a basin in a warm climate. It doesn't appear you have those options. The water pooling against the house is not a good situation. Bricks/mortar absorb water, which then can move to the interior buildout, and mortar can deteriorate based on the PH of the water. Since it appears you cannot rid the water offsite, I would focus on keeping it away from the house. That means starting with grade 4" below the masonry (or top of slab if you only have brick to below grade), then sloping 5% (6inch over 10ft) down and away towards the back fence. What looks like will happen when removing the soil to accomplish that is you will have a lower detention area at the back. And although that area will still be holding water until it percolates into the soil, at least it won't be pooling against the house. You can run your gutters here too. Everything is dependent on grade elevations.