Project book · a weekend

Build a dry creek bed

A rock channel that carries storm water away from where it pools. Dry most days, working when it pours.

How long is the channel?

feet

This one needs a trailer

About 1359 lb of materials. That is more than one pickup load — your shopper will need a trailer, and may make 2 trips. The rental is $35.00, it goes to them in full, and we take nothing from it. Only shoppers who can tow will see the run. ⚠️ 1 item on the list has no weight on file, so the real load is a little heavier than this.

Before you start

Call 811 before digging — a long trench is the most likely way to find a buried line. It is free and takes a couple of days. Do not send water toward a neighbor or a street drain without checking your city rules.

What to buy — untick anything you have

Stone

Hardware

Tools — already ticked off, since most people have them

Tools

It lands in the shopping form, where you can edit anything and say what you think each thing costs. Nothing is ordered until you send it.

How it goes · about a weekend · some experience

  1. Watch where the water goes in a hard rain and mark a winding line from the wet spot to somewhere it can drain, never onto a neighbor.
  2. Dig a shallow dish about 2 ft wide and 6 in deep, keeping a steady fall toward the outlet.
  3. Line it with fabric, overlapping the seams downhill like shingles, and pin it down.
  4. Set the boulders along the edges first, dug in a little so they look like they belong there.
  5. Fill the channel with the river rock, heaping it slightly toward the edges and thinner in the middle.

Something else

Build a raised garden bedMulch a flower bedPaint a roomPut up garage shelvingFix a patchy lawnBuild a fire pitMount a TV on the wallCookout for a crowd

Feeding people instead? The recipe book works the same way — pick a meal, say how many, every ingredient lands on the list.

Build a dry creek bed — everything for it, in one tap · DriverRuns