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Landscape Design Home Repair

DIY French Drain Questions

2 years ago

1st home purchase and noticed a major draining issue around the sides of the house. I'm extremely handy and a french drain is pretty simple, but I have a few obstacles I could use advice on.

The house was built in 07 and the walls and foundation have settled A LOT. Lots of issues around the house (tiles broken on a path, cracks in walls) have made me believe that the foundation had an issue and I'm hoping to prevent it from getting worse. The backyard has a very steep angled drop-off. Easy to send the water back there to the swamp (SC) but I either need to go under the AC concrete pad or go under the fence which wouldn't work.

That's my first question, do I just pipe under the concrete pad for the french drain?

The second picture is facing the opposite direction towards the street. My issue here is the massive electrical box that's only 5' or so from the driveway. I have water issues upfront just as much as the sides. The lawn is always sopping wet, especially on the sides of the house.

So how can I remedy the electrical box? I can call a certain company to mark for any wires, pipes, and gas lines I believe. Still something I'd rather not dig near but I see how bad the water issue is.

The other side of the house will be a piece of cake, just not big enough for machines to get in there so it'll be all shovel work... Really grateful for any and all advice, I hope this is an active forum.

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Comments (3)

mindshift
2 years ago
You should definitely call before you dig. The number is 811 in most states. As to how wet your yard is, you get at least 40 inches rain per year, and you get most of that June through September. However, you mentioned a swampy area behind your property, so you might have a naturally high water table. In addition to damp basements, high water tables can cause foundation problems.

Instead of the usual French drain design of a trench holding a perforated pipe surrounded by gravel, consider having your downspouts connect directly with solid pipe to carry that extra water away.

As to boring beneath the AC slab, you may be able to use water pressure to remove soil from beneath the slab. Once you get the bore started you should be able to insert a piece of drain pipe and run the water drill inside of it, pushing the pipe in as the water removes the soil. Yes, it's wet and messy, but great for a short bore.

You should also be able to rent a horizontal earth boring tool. This is better if your soil is rocky or filled with roots. There are a number of manufacturers and types.

For the front yard you may need to install a dry well. Again, this won't help much if you have a high water table as it will be full of water. Dry wells are usually where a French drain dumps water, but one could be set in a low spot to collect surface water.

Dry wells can be concrete or rigid heavy plastic. They can also be made from 55 gallon drums and even heavy duty garbage cans with 1/2-inch holes drilled around the sides. Less durable materials should not be walked over, much less driven over. Containers are surrounded by thick landscape fabric, then large, coarse rounded gravel to allow the maximum amount of water to disperse. I hope this helps you understand your options.
PRO
HALLETT & Co.
2 years ago
All great advice above. We had a similar drainage problem so we used a combo of the above techniques- two sides of the house have gutters that drain into solid pipe to move the water to the edge of the property or a wetland garden, the north side we put in a very deep French drain with an open gravel top with concrete pavers to catch three gutters and a walkway lower than an adjacent street. Even with the recent tropical storm everything is dry as soon as the rain stops. We were able to dig the trench prior to the HVAC being installed....
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Stitchinson, I'm sorry I was so cryptic in my reply. This forum has a reputation of being rude. Some of us, rather than answer a simple question tend to tell a homeowner what we think they need to know. Why do contractors sell a french drain where one is inappropriate? For the same reason stores sell bedding plants at the wrong time for planting: that's when people will buy them. Many homeowners equate french drains with a drainage fix. For the contractor it's an easy sale of a profitable job. Keep in mind the contractor is selling construction, not results. If you don't get the results you anticipated, it's your problem, not his. Then there is the placebo effect. Homeowners who have just spent a large sum on a french drain tend to see an improvement, real or not. Marcide raises the issue of a perched water table which occurs when a freely draining material underlies a less permeable soil. And yes it works in the ground just as it does in a pot. Water in the upper layer drains out fairly quickly, but only to a certain point, leaving a saturated zone at the bottom that doesn't drain at all. The depth of this saturated zone is a function of the particle size of the upper layer. In the case of many silt top soils this is often 4 to 5 inches. The effect can be either good or bad for plants. If the upper layer is 10 inches and the lower 5 inches is saturated, summer heat cooks roots in the top 2 inches, and you are left with an active root zone with a depth of three inches. On the other hand if the top soil is 24 inches deep then you have a root zone of 17 inches (24-5-2=17) with a water reservoir below, which can be very good for plants. The cost would be huge to dig out three feet of material to do it. It don't happen. Clay does not give up its water to a french drain. If clay is saturated it will remain unchanged by a french drain.
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Our backyard catches water from surrounding higher yards and floods after heavy rain at the rear of our yard. The previous owner had installed a catch basin in one corner in the rear of our yard (the lowest corner) which drains out via a underground pipe down and out to sewer in the street. It works great but in heavy rains, the yard still will flood with all the water coming from the yards on three sides opposite into ours via natural slope of all these yards. Eventually, the water will get to the corner drain but water has stood for a day at times sometimes 4-6 inches deep or more while it rains. I want to help move this standing water to the drain faster. To help with moving the water that seems to flood in the back along the 90 feet of fenceline more quickly to the drain in the corner, I want to add a perpendicular drain pipe along the fence in the rear of the yard which ties into that catch basin and drain at the corner of the yard which drains out to the street and sewer via 6 inch pipe. I was thinking solid 4 or 6 inch SCH40 PVC pipe ran along the 90 feet of the backyard tied into the drain at the corner with surface drains every ten feet leading down to the sloped PVC SCH40 pipe which will finally be tied into that drain at the end of the run along the back fence. My question is this, would it be wise to do a french type drain along that 90 feet span with pipe which has top and bottom holes, with gravel and wrapped to keep debris out and allowing water in? Or would this french drain type configuration be overkill or would it be wise to use a pipe with only the upper holes in the pipe allowing for addition water drainage in addition to the drains leading down to the pipe from above every 10 feet out to the catch basin drain at the end of the pipe run? Or would just using PVC SCH40 pipe with no holes but the drains from above on the surface leading down to the buried pipe leading to the corner drain be the solution. My concern with using a french drain is that I want to move the water out of the yard to the drain and don't think it would be best to just allow the water to drain down into already heavy saturated clay soil via perforated french drain pipes but I guess that is why I am asking questions here. I am filling in all low places in the yard leading to the back 90 feet of space and making sure there is plenty of slope in the existing yard for water to run from the house back towards that fence and to keep from having any standing water in the low spots of the yard. Photos of the yard water problem can be seen here. http://jackgruber.photoshelter.com/gallery/Yard-Water/G0000RZI.xWU7iNU Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help. Here is a link that might be useful: Pix of Yard Water Problem
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Let me kind of start over. The house is built in the middle of a 3 acre lot that has a small incline. The guy that looked at the drainage problem did mention that the house should have been built on a 12-15 inch pad. There is a very small slope away from the house that allows a good bit of water to flow away but during heavy rains it's not doing its job. There's probably 12-15 feet of flat area behind the house before the hill starts. So let me follow up by saying would it be just as good for me to create a trench in the flat area or should I proceed with a french drain. I know this is kind of hard to judge without seeing it and I'm willing to have the french drain installed. I'm just kind of puzzled as to why you would put it right next to the foundation. I do have a more experienced person coming out later in the week to give a second opinion. Thanks for the responses.
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Hello All I have this under irrigation, but wasn’t sure if it’s best to have it there or the basement category as it applies to both. I can delete whichever post based on everyone’s input as I’m new to this board. I recently had an addition built with a full basement. There were two areas in the corners of the addition where water was leaking in. Note that we do have a new sump in that room, but do not have the interior perimeter channel. To help solve the issue, we recently installed exterior french drains (both footing and surface) on all sides. We just had a heavy rainfall and it seemed the drain helped on one side of the addition. However, the other corner though seems to still have water leaking in. It seems to be appearing from the floor (seeping through concrete) and not the corner. Is it possible that the drains will work overtime or should I expect it them to work immediately right after they are installed? Meaning, could there be water still sitting under the foundation before the drains were installed that made it's way back in after the storm and it just takes time for that water to no longer be there? The other note is that the rest of the yard is still being graded and is currently still soil/clay. Sod is being installed as we speak, but during the storm, it was still clay. I was really hoping the exterior drains would be the final solve as we spend a decent amount to have them installed to fix the problem. Interior drains will be difficult as the room is finished. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks all!
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3onthetree
2 years ago
I would recommend that you hug the property line with your pipes to the back. You and your neighbor both have power (run from the transformer by the sidewalk in front) and I see gas for you. TIP: have your neighbor request utilities marked as well, as I have seen power run wide into the next parcel (usually as the homeowner you can only request your lot markings).

Run 2 separate pipes: a perforated pipe for the french drain, and a solid pipe above it that is taking any downspouts along that side of house. Please use PVC or poly sewer&drain pipe, not the cheap black corrugated plastic. Also use needlepunched geotextile, not cheap landscape fabric for the french drain burrito wrap.

Regrade the slopes: in front that slopes to the prop line; then a 'V' along the prop line where the house (both you and your neighbor) slopes down to it and simultaneously the 'V' slopes to the back yard.

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