Innovative Drainage Solutions

With so much misinformation and misconception spread across the web as to what a French drain is, it can be hard deciding what drainage solution is best for your situation.

A French drain is a sloped trench with a perforated pipe inside it, which carries water away. As water levels rise, gravity forces water through the perforated pipe.

Now let’s talk about what problems a French drain can solve. French drains are best at taking care of subsurface water issues, such as a squishy or muddy yard, slow draining, and overly saturated soil.

When building a French drain, the end goal is to create the easiest path for subsurface water/groundwater to travel away as quickly as possible by the force of gravity through the sloped trench. Meanwhile, we also want to create a circulating air void that speeds up the evaporation of moisture in the soil.

There are ways to build French drains that accomplish these goals ‒ and then there are ways to build them that work much slower or even fail completely within short order. We will talk about the most common mistakes in French drain construction next.

1. Using a Single Pipe and Small or Dirty Drainage Stone

One of the main goals in creating a French drain system is creating as much void as possible to promote air circulation. Using only a single perforated pipe in the trench, as well as using a small drainage stone with dirt or fines, greatly reduces the amount of air void in a French drain system. We opt for at least two perforated pipes per trench and use 1-inch clean stone.

2. Not Placing the Perforated Pipe at the Bottom of the Trench

One of the main goals in creating a French drain system is creating as much void as possible to promote air circulation. Using only a single perforated pipe in the trench, as well as using a small drainage stone or stone dirt or fines, greatly reduces the amount of air void in a French drain system. We opt for at least two perforated pipes per trench and use 2-inch clean stone.

3. Not Wrapping System in Non-Woven Geotextile Filter Fabric

Many companies place drainage stone below the perforated pipe because gravel is easy to work with and helps to establish a slope. This is a mistake. Water will sit stagnant below the pipe. This attracts tree roots looking for water. Once tree roots find their way to the water, sitting right below the perforated pipe, they will find their way into the pipe causing clogging and even collapsing or breaking of the French drainpipe.

4. Not Wrapping System in Non-Woven Geotextile Filter Fabric

Probably the most common and detrimental mistake made in the French drain world is not wrapping the entire system, stone, pipe, and all in a needle punched, non-woven geotextile filter fabric. If a French drain system is not wrapped in proper filter fabric, the surrounding soil will begin to migrate into the drainage stone, taking away the French drain’s precious air voids. Eventually, the soil will reach the perforated pipe, clogging its perforations and even filling the entire pipe with sediments, causing premature failure.

If not managed properly, downspout water will cause expensive damages to a structure’s foundation. Did you know that just one downspout draining a 1,000 square foot roof area in a 1 inch rainfall event discharges approximately 625 gallons of water? That is a lot of water that shouldn’t fall next to your home! Avoid the unnecessary saturation of the soil around your foundation and get downspout water away with our underground downspout drains.

When building yard drains, we opt for the durable and well-designed PolyLok 12 and 20-inch round catch basins. If necessary, we may supplement your yard drainage system with a French drain system for longer-lasting and effective results.