Start Here: Every Guide We Have Written, Sorted by the Problem in Your Yard
This page is the index to everything we have published. It is written by Alex Purdy, owner-operator of Carolina Terrain LLC in Waxhaw, North Carolina, holder of NC Landscape Contractor Licence CL.1872, an NCSU Stormwater Control Measure Inspection & Maintenance Certification (#5970), and an NDS Certified Drainage Contractor credential. Everything below is about the Carolina Piedmont specifically: red clay, zones 7b to 8a, roughly 45 inches of rain a year arriving in bursts.
Two things you should know before you read anything else. First, where a source could not be confirmed, we say so rather than guessing. Second, Alex Purdy is not a Professional Engineer and not a Registered Landscape Architect; nothing here is an engineered design, and work that requires one of those licences should go to somebody who holds it.
Start with the symptom
Find the line that sounds like your yard, then jump to that section.
Water stands in the yard for more than a day after rain — see Water where you don't want it
Water against the foundation, or a damp crawlspace — see Water where you don't want it
The lawn is thin, hard, and puddles when you water it — see Clay soil, compaction, and the lawn on top of it
Plants keep dying in the same spot — see What actually grows here
Nothing will grow under the big trees — see What actually grows here
You do not know when to plant anything — see Timing: frost dates, calendars, and why the seed packet is wrong
You want to build a raised bed or a wall — see Building things: beds, walls, slopes
A slope is washing out — see Building things: beds, walls, slopes
You are about to pay somebody several thousand dollars — see Before you hire anybody
Water where you don't want it
Standing water, a soggy lawn, a wet crawlspace, water against the foundation. This is the largest group of questions we get, and most of it comes down to three things: how much water arrives, where it goes, and whether the soil underneath will take any of it.
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Clay soil, compaction, and the lawn on top of it
Piedmont red clay is not bad soil. It holds nutrients well. What it does not do is drain, and it compacts under any traffic at all. Almost every lawn complaint here traces back to one of those two facts.
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What actually grows here
Most plant lists on the internet are written for somewhere else. These are the ones we can point to a documented source for, and the ones we have watched succeed or fail in Union and Mecklenburg County clay.
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Timing: frost dates, calendars, and why the seed packet is wrong
North Carolina spans 146 days between its earliest and latest average last-spring-frost date. A single printed calendar for the whole state cannot be right for more than a sliver of it.
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Building things: beds, walls, slopes
Numbers you can check, rather than numbers somebody rounded. Every cut list and soil volume we publish is derived from the dimensions, not estimated.
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Writing it down, so next season is not a guess
The single cheapest thing a gardener can do is keep a record specific enough to act on. Most journals fail because they ask for the wrong things.
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Before you hire anybody
Including us. A homeowner who knows what to ask gets a better job from whoever they hire, and pays less for it.
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Questions we get asked most
Why does water stand in a Piedmont clay yard for days?
Because the infiltration rate of compacted red clay is far lower than the rate rain arrives. Water does not disappear into the soil; it has to be routed somewhere. Until it has somewhere to go, it sits.
Should a French drain use perforated or solid pipe?
Perforated pipe is for collecting water that is already in the ground. Solid pipe is for carrying water you have already collected. Running a downspout into perforated pipe leaks roof water back into the soil you are trying to drain — a common and self-defeating error.
What size drain pipe does a residential yard need?
Four inches handles almost every residential yard. Six inches needs a reason you can write down, not a hunch. What matters far more than diameter is continuous fall of at least one percent.
How much water actually comes off a roof?
A 2,000 square foot roof sheds roughly 1,240 gallons in a one-inch rain, and it all arrives at a handful of downspouts within the hour. That concentration, not the total, is what damages a yard.
How many bags of soil does a 4 ft x 8 ft raised bed need?
A 4 ft by 8 ft bed two 2x6 boards high holds about 0.90 cubic yards, which is roughly seventeen 1.5 cubic foot bags. Most people buy about half what they need.
When is the last spring frost in North Carolina?
It depends on the county, and the spread is 146 days between the earliest and latest average last-frost date across the state's weather stations. Use your own county's date, not a state-wide calendar.
Does North Carolina's erosion control rule apply to my yard?
The commonly repeated one-acre threshold is a state minimum, not the whole answer. Local governments may set stricter thresholds, so the acreage figure alone does not tell you whether a permit is required.
If you are in Union or Mecklenburg County
Reading is cheaper than digging, and most of what is on this page is free. If after reading you would rather have somebody look at it in person, Carolina Terrain works in Waxhaw, Weddington, Marvin, Wesley Chapel, Matthews, Indian Trail, Monroe and south Charlotte. Request a consultation or call 980-280-7638.
Last reviewed September 2026. This page is updated as new guides are published.
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