What are field tiles?
Field tiles are mechanical structures designed to help soil areas that are chronically too wet to drain. Their use may or may not qualify as a “do-it-yourself” project. The top layer of the wet soil area is removed to a depth of at least four feet (125 cm). The area is then raked smooth and covered with a foot (30 cm) layer of gravel, rubble, or rock. The field tile is then laid on top of this layer of gravel, rubble, or rock and aimed to direct the flow to some remote low spot. The field tile is then buried under an additional foot (30 cm) layer of gravel, rubble, or rock. The entire field drain system is then buried with soil back up to grade. Wrapping the field drain with a single layer of landscape fabric or drain filter cloth helps to keep materials from sifting into the drains interior to prevent clogging. A single layer of landscape fabric added to the top of the gravel layer just below the soil can also prevent soil from sifting through and clogging the system although it does
