My flooded backyard brought me here.. 1st time homebuyer.. there’s sooo much to learn keep the home in good shape had no idea what a French drains were so thanks.
I’ve put in about 5000 feet of French drains. I’d recommend to not take your roof water into a perforated pipe. The reason is it can leak out of the perforation as it travels. The best way to do this is to take your roof water into a solid non-perforated pipe. And run another perforated pipe for the French drain in the same trench. Having two pipes.
Just a hint of advice, from the down spouts you want the corrugated pipe to slope away from the foundation of the house. Depending on where the house is located (wherever you have large amounts of snowfall or if located near a low lying area or potential flood plane), you want to bury the pipe below the frost line (some parts of the country it’s 36”, other parts it’s 48”+. Also before digging, call ALL utility companies, including cable and internet companies, and have them mark out where everything runs (get ready for all those little flags). They don’t charge you to come out and mark where everything is located. Now, the fun stuff. Remember when I said to run the corrugated pipe sloped away from the house? The reason for doing so, is to prevent any excess moisture from seeping into your basements. Any moisture will cause black mold to build up in the house (that’s the bad stuff) and can/will cause health problems, it can cause the foundation to crack from freezing and thawing from freezing temperatures. You’d be amazed of the hydraulic pressures when water freezes. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. That’s one repair bill you don’t ever want to get. If you’re looking at buying a house, talk to neighbors about any flooding problems. If you’re looking at building a new home, get a geographical survey done and don’t be afraid to ask questions about how deep water tables are. The reason I say this is, because in Oklahoma, the water table is only 3’ below the surface of the ground. Nobody in Oklahoma has a basement or even a storm shelter underground. I hope this helps you in any way, shape, or form. Always remember this saying from my time in the Army, there’s no such thing as a stupid question, a stupid question is a question that’s never asked. I apologize for the length of my novel.
I have a water flooding issue during the rainy season at my farmhouse in Nepal. I will try this when I go there in two months and see how it works. Great Video, thank you for sharing!
Great video, commentary, work and family!!! Love that people like you, with great will, and initiative, exist. If I were to do this particular 'project'. I think I would use solid pipe if the desire was simply to collect water from one downspout and move it 80' from a house. My understanding is that the purpose of a french drain system is to collect water from one area and move it to another (ie standing water in your yard). The fabric in a french drain trench keeps soot, dirt, mud, debris out of the perforated pipe (aka drain tile). The stone creates a void (water looks for the path of least resistance). Some say you could use just the perforated pipe wrapped in the fabric (aka: sock) but I do not believe that it would perform nearly as well as setting the pipe, at the bottom of the trench, surrounded by stone. 1.5" to 2" round rock is best, for a "french drain", as it creates the best void and won't compact (or sink/settle) into itself as angular rock will. Again, IMHO, using perforated pipe in THIS application does not make much sense as again your NOT looking to catch water in the yard (that's the purpose of a french drain) but again you're looking to collect water from ONE downspout and move it 80' away A solid pipe would be best for this application and of course the rock, perforated pipe, burrito thing is not applicable. Considering freeze/thaw is a whole other thing. Finally having that catch basin below the downspout, IMHO is not a good idea as it will often be covered in leaves and debris and most of the water from the downspout will end up around the catchbasin and penetrating the home's foundation.
Some of these comments are ridiculous and rude. For one, he said in the video he called someone to check for buried lines and the surveyor didn't detect that cable...but several comments blast the guy for it anyway. How about pay attention to what he said in the video before commenting? And why are there so many "know it all' commenters? If you have some constructive criticism, why not just give it without being so snarky? The internet really brings out the worst in some people. I think some of you might want to try and make your own video so we can learn how to "do it the right way" instead of trashing this guy since you all seem to think you know so much about the subject matter. I know nothing about French Drains, but at least this gentleman took the time to show people how he did his. Maybe it's not totally 100% correct, but it seems to work for him. My guess is many of these commenters are professional landscapers who hate it when someone shows people they really don't need to overpay them for a smallish project like this.
It's not a surveyors job to locate utility lines, it's the utility company's that provide service to the house. Unless their is a documented underground easement they won't know.
@@ksilva808 Agreed. I may be wrong, but I think he meant that he called his state's "before you dig" service that then dispatches the various utility companies out to that address to mark their own lines and so forth.
@@c.r.4575 In our area it's called "Dig Safe" and they let you know where it is safe to dig throughout your property by marking your sewer, gas lines, and electrical if there are any...
oh yeah? well what about the part where he accidentally let slip that he had a DEAD BODY inside that black tarp? did you not catch that? I'm calling the police.
I did mine over the summer. Probably spent somewhere north of $1000. Had too many roots, so needed to rent an excavator. Plus had 150 ft to run and also did some downspouts. All in all it took me the whole summer. I'd hire someone next time if I had to do it again!
If you are moving water from the gutter you would use a solid pipe and and the gravel and fabric are unnecessary. A French drain is used to move standing water from a wet area.
Great job, looking to do the same this year. Just an FYI, should always call 811. Before you dig, just for the reason you found out, ya never know what is down there. Lucky it was a cable and not a live line. Good thing you were only hand digging too!
Dear Gear: Kudos for your elucubrated list and links of "credits" in the description of your video "movie." Well done. This is beautifully organized -- an optic of pleasure.
Would it be bad to cover the entire pipe with the rock as well? I’ve seen a couple vids that have done this. I have getting standing water on the side of my house and runs underneath. Need to make one of these to take the water down to the street
Haha I got you both beat. I live in Rocklin, California. Guess why they call it Rocklin? Because the underground is full of GRANITE! I had to rent a jackhammer and battle the underground for 6 weeks to do my 1/3 acre property. My right elbow still barks at me, and one finger tip is still numb. 🤷🏻♂️
I too feel your pain...always laugh when I see a video that mentions digging and only taking one day to complete. I must admit I'm pretty envious of some people's soil. 😅
Be careful to use perforated pipe when it is necessary to drain low spot, but solid pipe for spout water because water from roof can overflow perforated pipe and leak from ground untill rain stops, which will soak foundations and cellar if you have one. This video is showing incorrect way of dealing with water.
I'm in Ohio and I'm getting ready to redo a french drain in clay that I did 15 or so years ago . It sucked the first time now I have to redo it because water doesn't want to pass through the fabric. I learned that no fabric and more gravel is the way to go.
Great job sir. I would caution people about a couple things of concern. Your choice of rock is key to good ingress of water. You should not use crushed stone in the drain, the broken pieces and chips will plug your openings in the pipe. Round rock is much preferable to crushed rock. Also, the direct entry of the downspout into the system can ,over time, fill the drain with unwanted debris reducing its effectiveness. Just my thoughts on the matter.
Great job explaining how to do it! I personally don't like to use fabric because of it clogging up over time. I use a lot of gravel and a little bit of top soil where I have to.
Watch French Drain Man. Always uses fabric. Just need the right kind. If it's just catching gutter water, it will be solid and you don't need fabric. Basically should have holes in the wet areas, solid until water exits.
Great work! how would we deal with a property which the water problem is at a lower level and any direction from there is higher in order to get the water out. i have water at the house close to the foundation, which is the lowest point of the property.
I have a slope back yard that leads to a storm drain, My back yard is 30 ft but I can only use 10 ft of it until it slopes. I want to put dirt on the slope and install French drain so it can go to the storm drain, does that sound good
Looking back I would have liked to have buried the catch basin about an inch below the surface so that any splashing water or water in the area would trickle down the rocks on the sides and into the basin. So far it's working great and the grass is already starting to grow in nicely, but something to think about for next time.
A disadvantage to connecting the downspout directly to the pipe is you'll feed your drain with sediment from the roof. I'm pretty sure you can put a filter on that catch basin to prevent that.
at any point the piping slops up it will create backflow and not completely drain at your exit point of the hose. Also if you live in winter freezing climate that slop area will freeze a full piped area and burst. Never slope up gravity won't comply.
I assume you are asking about the fabric? That fabric helps prevent dirt, grass and weeds roots from from into the drain system. The stone allows the water to flow easily through to get into the pipe
That's a good point. I'm getting ready to do another french drain that I may try that on but I try to never use fabric because it will start clogging over time. I'm getting ready to redo one that's not draining because the fabric is clogged.
Hi my home does not have drain that catches roof water and runs down the wall like your home. But I want to build a French drain to remove water from where it collects when it rains, how would I build it without a catch basin?
So this really only works if you have a slope lower than the house where the water can run off too, right? If your ground is generally flat then gravity won't be able to to do the work.
@@GearKnowHow what instrument would you use to measure the grade of the pipe so you know it's sloped properly? What would be the typical angle of the slope?
@@GearKnowHow a pop-up works with water pressure, you don't need to have a slope as long as the pop up is lower than the downspout to prevent water from backing up.
The fabric in a french drain trench keeps soot, dirt, mud, debris out of the perforated pipe (aka drain tile). The stone creates a void (water looks for the path of least resistance). Some say you could use just the perforated pipe wrapped in the fabric (aka: sock) but I do not believe that it would perform nearly as well as setting the pipe, at the bottom of the trench, surrounded by stone. 1.5" to 2" round rock is best, for a "french drain", as it creates the best void and won't compact (or sink/settle) into itself as angular rock will.
If there is literally a river of water running down in my backyard when it rains, can I dig right along that same path and install my French drain where the water runs? Does that make sense? Thank you for the video btw.
Yes that is fine just pay attention to leveling the area when putting everything back together and you might want to buy some sod unless your very careful with removing the original grass.
Hi. How has this held up? From my research, I think your downspout water will be leaking out of the pipe because perforated pipe should never be used for downspout drains. French drains should be used to capture ground water and because the elevation change is so severe near your home I don’t believe there is much ground water. I’m curious how the system actually works. I think you would be better off taking it all up and replacing the pipe with a solid PVC pipe for solid perforated pipe.
My understand, too. From watching other videos from professional installers, shouldn't have a basin at the bottom of a down spout. They use PVC piping also, not corrugated. I hope this doesn't have issues down the road.
@@toddmichon With downspouts you want to run solid piping into a D-box that’s within close proximity to the downspout in order to collect and clean out the crap that gets washed down the spout. Then continue running solid piping to daylight.
Hey great job but just wondering when I see these videos If digging so far away from the house is over kill.. looks like your house is already on a slope so wouldn’t most of the water naturally run down hill? Just my opinion, I’m still learning so maybe I’m missing something. Seems like getting the water away and clear from the foundation would simply be enough.
Interesting video, but you left me with a ton of unanswered questions. I would be curious to know first of all: has this French Drain served its purpose? I couldn't really understand the main problem you were trying to solve, was it just moving water to a safe place, or were you getting water accumulated uncontrollably? From the research I have done, it seems that you did not use enough gravel and you consciously made that decision. Seems like you relied more on the filter fabric and the actual soil than gravel. Also, instead of using a catch basin, why not just run the gutter directly into your pipe? Are you leaving it to catch water from elsewhere? Thanks and your video is full of good other information.
Agree to all hewhoecanfly. Water will splash onto that basin for sure and pile up with leaves. The skimping of gravel and using a cheap lightweight fabric will find him redoing the project.
You are supposed to put a couple of inches of gravel on the bottom of the ditch put your pipe in then cover with more gravel best to use a sock on your perforated tile to keep the small chunks of gravel from clogging up
Extreamly helpful thank you sir. My neighbor divirted a spring into my yard. Courts are closed and there are no contractors capable of doing this, so I have to do it myself and fast. My basement may have damage and the trees may come down on my house if a big storm. Luckily my property goes up to his driveway. :sigh: thnx again for this helpful video
The part I do not see in any video...Yes I take the water from point A and go to point B by digging up, now point b is in my yard, can I just leave the end of the pipe under the soil (in Florida change in elevation is very tiny) or do I make a little pool of water in my yard or.... Basically, what do we do to the end of the ditch, where the start and the end are 35 feet away with only half a foot drop in elevation...
Good job! I think downhill like you have there will work with less gravel. The other area you mentioned for your next drain will probably need three times as much.
Yeah we have a flatter portion to do and that will take a ton more gravel. Crazy how out of stock things like rocks are though so we might have to wait with everything going on.
@@GearKnowHow Yes, I've been to Home Depot for bags of Pond Rock at least 10 times for my project. And the Pond Rock has to be rinsed because it's dirty. Lots of work!
Actually in this scenario the solid pipe should have been used since water from roof will now drain into gravel and possibly from the ground up. Perforated pipe is used for draining low spots or in some cases irrigation. also sock is used to prevent debris from entering and plugging holes in perf pipe, but now rain water with dust and pieces of leaves can enter directly into pipe which will eventually plug it.
@@Pukovnik141 what is sock? I was thinking the same thing. I am currently thinking about doing this project but that drain would plug quick with the debris… was trying to think if screens or something else to do to add to the perf pipe.
If you have nowhere for the water to go you would go below 3ft (below frost level) to get the water below the frost line. If have somewhere to lead the water to you don't have to go that deep, but you still want to prevent it from freezing.
Its tough manual labor that nobody wants to do. Those that are willing to do it for strangers typically charge a lucrative price. I paid similar for a small drain, which included redoing rock around part of my house, because I wanted to know it was done right, and not run into a situation like this guy where you finish and then find several things you wish you did differently (i.e. more rock, drain lower than grade, etc).
My elder mom attempted to do a quick poor-man drainage system and had a one of these preforated pipes sitting above ground for atleast 10 years. You think I can still use it for under ground if I wanted to do a french drain or do I have to buy whole new preforated pipes
This is to drain the gutter water away from house. Just dig a 10 ft length, 1.2 ft deep and 10 in wide, place the black color pipe and cover with soil. I will collect rain water to reduce basement flooding.
You’ll have to dig a little deeper as you go away from the yard and then install a popup drain. You need a downward slope to move the water away from the home.
Why French drain a down spout? Wouldn’t it have been faster and cheaper to just connect a line and bury it or did you have standing water along the path you dug up?
Personally I wouldn't drill holes in the bottom of the plastic catch basin because it would defeat the purpose of carrying the water away, I wouldn't worry about that little bit of standing water because eventually it would evaporate before any mosquitoes can lay their eggs.
My flooded backyard brought me here.. 1st time homebuyer.. there’s sooo much to learn keep the home in good shape had no idea what a French drains were so thanks.
my life currently lol
Same. Wish I could post the pictures I just took of my flooded back porch
Same situation here!!!😒
Homeownership is not for the faint of heart! You have to become a jack of all trades! And be willing to stay on top of never ending maintenance!
I’ve put in about 5000 feet of French drains. I’d recommend to not take your roof water into a perforated pipe. The reason is it can leak out of the perforation as it travels. The best way to do this is to take your roof water into a solid non-perforated pipe. And run another perforated pipe for the French drain in the same trench. Having two pipes.
Just a hint of advice, from the down spouts you want the corrugated pipe to slope away from the foundation of the house. Depending on where the house is located (wherever you have large amounts of snowfall or if located near a low lying area or potential flood plane), you want to bury the pipe below the frost line (some parts of the country it’s 36”, other parts it’s 48”+. Also before digging, call ALL utility companies, including cable and internet companies, and have them mark out where everything runs (get ready for all those little flags). They don’t charge you to come out and mark where everything is located. Now, the fun stuff. Remember when I said to run the corrugated pipe sloped away from the house? The reason for doing so, is to prevent any excess moisture from seeping into your basements. Any moisture will cause black mold to build up in the house (that’s the bad stuff) and can/will cause health problems, it can cause the foundation to crack from freezing and thawing from freezing temperatures. You’d be amazed of the hydraulic pressures when water freezes. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. That’s one repair bill you don’t ever want to get. If you’re looking at buying a house, talk to neighbors about any flooding problems. If you’re looking at building a new home, get a geographical survey done and don’t be afraid to ask questions about how deep water tables are. The reason I say this is, because in Oklahoma, the water table is only 3’ below the surface of the ground. Nobody in Oklahoma has a basement or even a storm shelter underground. I hope this helps you in any way, shape, or form. Always remember this saying from my time in the Army, there’s no such thing as a stupid question, a stupid question is a question that’s never asked. I apologize for the length of my novel.
Great memories with your son. Cute kid and looks like he enjoys helping his dad out.
I have a water flooding issue during the rainy season at my farmhouse in Nepal. I will try this when I go there in two months and see how it works. Great Video, thank you for sharing!
Great video, commentary, work and family!!! Love that people like you, with great will, and initiative, exist.
If I were to do this particular 'project'. I think I would use solid pipe if the desire was simply to collect water from one downspout and move it 80' from a house.
My understanding is that the purpose of a french drain system is to collect water from one area and move it to another (ie standing water in your yard).
The fabric in a french drain trench keeps soot, dirt, mud, debris out of the perforated pipe (aka drain tile). The stone creates a void (water looks for the path of least resistance). Some say you could use just the perforated pipe wrapped in the fabric (aka: sock) but I do not believe that it would perform nearly as well as setting the pipe, at the bottom of the trench, surrounded by stone. 1.5" to 2" round rock is best, for a "french drain", as it creates the best void and won't compact (or sink/settle) into itself as angular rock will.
Again, IMHO, using perforated pipe in THIS application does not make much sense as again your NOT looking to catch water in the yard (that's the purpose of a french drain) but again you're looking to collect water from ONE downspout and move it 80' away A solid pipe would be best for this application and of course the rock, perforated pipe, burrito thing is not applicable. Considering freeze/thaw is a whole other thing.
Finally having that catch basin below the downspout, IMHO is not a good idea as it will often be covered in leaves and debris and most of the water from the downspout will end up around the catchbasin and penetrating the home's foundation.
How do we end the French drain as I don't have much slope. ?
Some of these comments are ridiculous and rude. For one, he said in the video he called someone to check for buried lines and the surveyor didn't detect that cable...but several comments blast the guy for it anyway. How about pay attention to what he said in the video before commenting? And why are there so many "know it all' commenters? If you have some constructive criticism, why not just give it without being so snarky? The internet really brings out the worst in some people.
I think some of you might want to try and make your own video so we can learn how to "do it the right way" instead of trashing this guy since you all seem to think you know so much about the subject matter. I know nothing about French Drains, but at least this gentleman took the time to show people how he did his. Maybe it's not totally 100% correct, but it seems to work for him. My guess is many of these commenters are professional landscapers who hate it when someone shows people they really don't need to overpay them for a smallish project like this.
It's not a surveyors job to locate utility lines, it's the utility company's that provide service to the house. Unless their is a documented underground easement they won't know.
@@ksilva808 Agreed. I may be wrong, but I think he meant that he called his state's "before you dig" service that then dispatches the various utility companies out to that address to mark their own lines and so forth.
@@c.r.4575 In our area it's called "Dig Safe" and they let you know where it is safe to dig throughout your property by marking your sewer, gas lines, and electrical if there are any...
oh yeah? well what about the part where he accidentally let slip that he had a DEAD BODY inside that black tarp? did you not catch that? I'm calling the police.
@@ccole1255 Based upon your remark, I'd say you have a real future as a standup comedian.
The most perfect dirt for shoveling I have ever seen. Try mine: full of shale!!!
“This wrapped up dead body…”
Annnnnd subscribed. We share a similar dark sense of humor.
I did mine over the summer. Probably spent somewhere north of $1000. Had too many roots, so needed to rent an excavator. Plus had 150 ft to run and also did some downspouts. All in all it took me the whole summer. I'd hire someone next time if I had to do it again!
Me too ... very labor intensive but saving 5000.. 💪🏼💪🏼
When I start my drain putting in my drain system. I may send you a few pictures and videos to show how my project goes. Great video, Thank You!!!
Great Job. Your video was by far the most entertaining and great how you included the little one.
If you are moving water from the gutter you would use a solid pipe and and the gravel and fabric are unnecessary. A French drain is used to move standing water from a wet area.
nice video! Never saw a survey that picked up a fiber optic line, you give them too much credit!
Great job dude! Well explained, thorough, step by step and good editing as well. Also not blasting music into our ears either 👍
Great job, looking to do the same this year. Just an FYI, should always call 811. Before you dig, just for the reason you found out, ya never know what is down there. Lucky it was a cable and not a live line. Good thing you were only hand digging too!
Wonderful I got a good ideal how to do my project
Dear Gear: Kudos for your elucubrated list and links of "credits" in the description of your video "movie." Well done. This is beautifully organized -- an optic of pleasure.
Would it be bad to cover the entire pipe with the rock as well? I’ve seen a couple vids that have done this. I have getting standing water on the side of my house and runs underneath. Need to make one of these to take the water down to the street
Thanks for taking the time to post this! How does it flow? It would be cool if you could add a video while it’s raining to see
Its all down hill. Should flow good.....havnt watched yet....lol
Thank you for all stages have been shown. I also like the way you traced the pipe along the fence. Hope water drains away well)
A well made easy to follow video
That digging looks so easy compared the dirt here in
Arizona.
Haha I got you both beat. I live in Rocklin, California. Guess why they call it Rocklin? Because the underground is full of GRANITE! I had to rent a jackhammer and battle the underground for 6 weeks to do my 1/3 acre property. My right elbow still barks at me, and one finger tip is still numb. 🤷🏻♂️
@@jimmartinez7738 hahaha I live on a mountain so I know the pain.
I too feel your pain...always laugh when I see a video that mentions digging and only taking one day to complete. I must admit I'm pretty envious of some people's soil. 😅
One of those small garden tillers would work pretty good to break yo the dirt. I'm going to have to do something when I build my new home.
Great video!! About to install a drain system like this underneath my deck.
Be careful to use perforated pipe when it is necessary to drain low spot, but solid pipe for spout water because water from roof can overflow perforated pipe and leak from ground untill rain stops, which will soak foundations and cellar if you have one. This video is showing incorrect way of dealing with water.
Does the water flow into the pipes from the top like is there slices in pipes
I'm in Georgia with clay. Great video but digging looked so easy for you guys I'm jealous. :)
Dealing with the same issue right now in Florida. Clay is killing me
@Graham Dougherty & @Sofa King Tyson - same here in East Texas. We call it, “Gumbo;” what about you guys?
I'm in Ohio and I'm getting ready to redo a french drain in clay that I did 15 or so years ago . It sucked the first time now I have to redo it because water doesn't want to pass through the fabric. I learned that no fabric and more gravel is the way to go.
@@Frank-mv1jg Noted Thanks
Breathaking Explanation, very helpful French Drain Update 🙏
Thank you 😊 so much and congratulations 🙏
Thanks bud! Exactly what I needed.
Great job sir. I would caution people about a couple things of concern. Your choice of rock is key to good ingress of water. You should not use crushed stone in the drain, the broken pieces and chips will plug your openings in the pipe. Round rock is much preferable to crushed rock. Also, the direct entry of the downspout into the system can ,over time, fill the drain with unwanted debris reducing its effectiveness. Just my thoughts on the matter.
Unless they are washed and screened crushed rocks. But round rocks always the best choice because they provide larger air gaps for water to flow.
@@sebastiantevel898 100% agree
Don't agree guys. More water flow also means more dirt onto your pipes with no good enough filtering that those gravels are supposed to ensure.
Great job explaining how to do it! I personally don't like to use fabric because of it clogging up over time. I use a lot of gravel and a little bit of top soil where I have to.
We just did this a couple days ago. Didn't use fabric used bigger rock 11/2 to 2 inch round rock.
Watch French Drain Man. Always uses fabric. Just need the right kind. If it's just catching gutter water, it will be solid and you don't need fabric. Basically should have holes in the wet areas, solid until water exits.
Ditto. I love the explanations.
So glad that I found this. Just got a quote for 1400!
It's a lot of work, but worth it. Yard has been draining very well.
@@GearKnowHow Do you know anyone that could do that here in Ga?
@@fayecorder7300 Negative
@@GearKnowHow thanks
Great video. How do we end the french drain, i dont have much slope at the end. ?
Needs to at least be far away from the home and not run water back to the house.
Thanks so much and we are going to try your guide to our problem.
Great work! how would we deal with a property which the water problem is at a lower level and any direction from there is higher in order to get the water out. i have water at the house close to the foundation, which is the lowest point of the property.
Cool project!! Show us a video of it working!!
I have a slope back yard that leads to a storm drain, My back yard is 30 ft but I can only use 10 ft of it until it slopes. I want to put dirt on the slope and install French drain so it can go to the storm drain, does that sound good
Won't the water splash once it hits the catch basin? Why not connect the downspout right to the pipe?
Looking back I would have liked to have buried the catch basin about an inch below the surface so that any splashing water or water in the area would trickle down the rocks on the sides and into the basin. So far it's working great and the grass is already starting to grow in nicely, but something to think about for next time.
A disadvantage to connecting the downspout directly to the pipe is you'll feed your drain with sediment from the roof. I'm pretty sure you can put a filter on that catch basin to prevent that.
@@terryrsh8927 Use a gutter helmet to stop debris from getting into the drain downspout.
How did you ensure that the pipe was sloped properly?
Dig down 1in more every 10ft
@@GearKnowHow You can measure how far down you dig that precisely?
where is it draining the water too ?
Enjoyed the video, keep up the good work!
at any point the piping slops up it will create backflow and not completely drain at your exit point of the hose. Also if you live in winter freezing climate that slop area will freeze a full piped area and burst. Never slope up gravity won't comply.
Hey thanks for the video! I’ll be putting one in next week and you helped and answered my questions in this video🤙💯
Can you install while it’s raining already? Tips?
What’s the reasoning for lining the hole?
I assume you are asking about the fabric? That fabric helps prevent dirt, grass and weeds roots from from into the drain system.
The stone allows the water to flow easily through to get into the pipe
How many bags of rocks did you end up using?
Great job, I would reverse the concrete run off just to break up the water from eroding the soil away on the other side of the fence.
That's a good point. I'm getting ready to do another french drain that I may try that on but I try to never use fabric because it will start clogging over time. I'm getting ready to redo one that's not draining because the fabric is clogged.
Well done sir. Good lessons learned.
How many bags of rock do you need for every 10'?
Curious to see what it looks like now, a year later.
Very nice work! Thanx for video
Hi my home does not have drain that catches roof water and runs down the wall like your home. But I want to build a French drain to remove water from where it collects when it rains, how would I build it without a catch basin?
Have a few professionals come out to give you an estimate..ask questions
what about if ground is frozen!??!??
Is it better to use other material so you can exclude the Rocks like PVC pipe
So this really only works if you have a slope lower than the house where the water can run off too, right? If your ground is generally flat then gravity won't be able to to do the work.
Correct, if your yard is flat then you’ll need to dig deeper on a slant to move water away and use a pop up drain at the end.
@@GearKnowHow what instrument would you use to measure the grade of the pipe so you know it's sloped properly? What would be the typical angle of the slope?
@@buckets212 Tape measure, level, and a flat board or pipe
@@GearKnowHow a pop-up works with water pressure, you don't need to have a slope as long as the pop up is lower than the downspout to prevent water from backing up.
Why are the fabric and rocks needed?
The fabric in a french drain trench keeps soot, dirt, mud, debris out of the perforated pipe (aka drain tile). The stone creates a void (water looks for the path of least resistance). Some say you could use just the perforated pipe wrapped in the fabric (aka: sock) but I do not believe that it would perform nearly as well as setting the pipe, at the bottom of the trench, surrounded by stone. 1.5" to 2" round rock is best, for a "french drain", as it creates the best void and won't compact (or sink/settle) into itself as angular rock will.
One question. If your wanting to take water out of the yard from the gutter then why use perforated piping. ?
If there is literally a river of water running down in my backyard when it rains, can I dig right along that same path and install my French drain where the water runs? Does that make sense? Thank you for the video btw.
Yes that is fine just pay attention to leveling the area when putting everything back together and you might want to buy some sod unless your very careful with removing the original grass.
If only we all had soil that easy to dig through
Oy
nice job my friend ..but what size of pipe is preferable to use 4 or 6 inches ..thanks
1-2 inch round rock we just finished doing one .
Your fig tree is awesome. I am growing 4 in my garden.
How did your feet do digging in sneakers?
Hi. How has this held up? From my research, I think your downspout water will be leaking out of the pipe because perforated pipe should never be used for downspout drains. French drains should be used to capture ground water and because the elevation change is so severe near your home I don’t believe there is much ground water. I’m curious how the system actually works. I think you would be better off taking it all up and replacing the pipe with a solid PVC pipe for solid perforated pipe.
It's held up great so far
My understand, too. From watching other videos from professional installers, shouldn't have a basin at the bottom of a down spout. They use PVC piping also, not corrugated. I hope this doesn't have issues down the road.
Big T it will, I guarantee it
@@toddmichon With downspouts you want to run solid piping into a D-box that’s within close proximity to the downspout in order to collect and clean out the crap that gets washed down the spout. Then continue running solid piping to daylight.
2:36 this wrapped up dead body LMAO😂😂
Hey great job but just wondering when I see these videos If digging so far away from the house is over kill.. looks like your house is already on a slope so wouldn’t most of the water naturally run down hill? Just my opinion, I’m still learning so maybe I’m missing something. Seems like getting the water away and clear from the foundation would simply be enough.
The problem with that is that it can carry dirt away towards his fence.
Why not use a ditch witch? Would save all that digging work
Interesting video, but you left me with a ton of unanswered questions. I would be curious to know first of all: has this French Drain served its purpose? I couldn't really understand the main problem you were trying to solve, was it just moving water to a safe place, or were you getting water accumulated uncontrollably? From the research I have done, it seems that you did not use enough gravel and you consciously made that decision. Seems like you relied more on the filter fabric and the actual soil than gravel. Also, instead of using a catch basin, why not just run the gutter directly into your pipe? Are you leaving it to catch water from elsewhere? Thanks and your video is full of good other information.
Damn, he just ignored your question…
Agree to all hewhoecanfly. Water will splash onto that basin for sure and pile up with leaves. The skimping of gravel and using a cheap lightweight fabric will find him redoing the project.
wrapped up dead body 🤣 that one gave me a good laugh
French drains are for nonpoint? water from a gutter is point water or direct water. I could be worng.
You are supposed to put a couple of inches of gravel on the bottom of the ditch put your pipe in then cover with more gravel best to use a sock on your perforated tile to keep the small chunks of gravel from clogging up
Negative. Pipe on the bottom only. With the proper textile fabric you do not need rock on the bottom.
Who’s property on the other side of the fence?
Ours
In Massachusetts they would charge about $10,000 for this
Thank you for this video
You should skim the grass so it ends up being 2” to 3” wider than the width of your trench. There should be a ledge on each side of your trench.
Extreamly helpful thank you sir. My neighbor divirted a spring into my yard. Courts are closed and there are no contractors capable of doing this, so I have to do it myself and fast. My basement may have damage and the trees may come down on my house if a big storm. Luckily my property goes up to his driveway. :sigh: thnx again for this helpful video
@T Snowy23 - hope things worked out well for you.
How did it go?
The part I do not see in any video...Yes I take the water from point A and go to point B by digging up, now point b is in my yard, can I just leave the end of the pipe under the soil (in Florida change in elevation is very tiny) or do I make a little pool of water in my yard or....
Basically, what do we do to the end of the ditch, where the start and the end are 35 feet away with only half a foot drop in elevation...
I believe this would require a sump pump to take it the rest of the way out
@@JustOneSmallExplorer How would you run electricity to the location of the sump pump?
You said that you suggest drilling holes into the bottom of the water catch basin. Can you elaborate on the reasoning for that?
You want it to drain out the water that sits at the bottom.
Good job! I think downhill like you have there will work with less gravel. The other area you mentioned for your next drain will probably need three times as much.
Yeah we have a flatter portion to do and that will take a ton more gravel. Crazy how out of stock things like rocks are though so we might have to wait with everything going on.
@@GearKnowHow Yes, I've been to Home Depot for bags of Pond Rock at least 10 times for my project. And the Pond Rock has to be rinsed because it's dirty. Lots of work!
Actually in this scenario the solid pipe should have been used since water from roof will now drain into gravel and possibly from the ground up. Perforated pipe is used for draining low spots or in some cases irrigation. also sock is used to prevent debris from entering and plugging holes in perf pipe, but now rain water with dust and pieces of leaves can enter directly into pipe which will eventually plug it.
@@Pukovnik141 what is sock? I was thinking the same thing. I am currently thinking about doing this project but that drain would plug quick with the debris… was trying to think if screens or something else to do to add to the perf pipe.
the line on pipe goes to top otherwise you're drain only works if coming from top not letting water in from bottom of
trench
I hope it works good enough for him, but I noticed the same thing
The pipe has lines all around it see 3:25. I found this really useful.
Why do they usually put in 6 foot underneath the ground?
If you have nowhere for the water to go you would go below 3ft (below frost level) to get the water below the frost line. If have somewhere to lead the water to you don't have to go that deep, but you still want to prevent it from freezing.
My mom just paid $3000.00 for a very small area to be done. It was maybe 30’-40’ of pipe and they put 2 drains and one pop-up diffuser at the ditch.
Its tough manual labor that nobody wants to do. Those that are willing to do it for strangers typically charge a lucrative price. I paid similar for a small drain, which included redoing rock around part of my house, because I wanted to know it was done right, and not run into a situation like this guy where you finish and then find several things you wish you did differently (i.e. more rock, drain lower than grade, etc).
Hi. Would it make sense and also be cheaper if you just put in two of the pipes, vs a lot of stone?
Depends on the cost of the rocks, but you do need the rocks. Ideally 1.5” round river rock.
My elder mom attempted to do a quick poor-man drainage system and had a one of these preforated pipes sitting above ground for atleast 10 years. You think I can still use it for under ground if I wanted to do a french drain or do I have to buy whole new preforated pipes
This is to drain the gutter water away from house. Just dig a 10 ft length, 1.2 ft deep and 10 in wide, place the black color pipe and cover with soil. I will collect rain water to reduce basement flooding.
actually, you should have filled the trench with gravel, and pipe on bottom .... watch French Drain Man like Nathaniel Bradley said.
Can you use gravel instead of rocks?
I wouldn't recommend it as gravel is smaller than drainage rocks so it could slowly creep into the piping.
If there is no slope in our yard...how would you go by that
You’ll have to dig a little deeper as you go away from the yard and then install a popup drain. You need a downward slope to move the water away from the home.
only used ten bags of rock for 90 feet??? i cant see how
“Wrapped up dead body” LOL!
Why French drain a down spout? Wouldn’t it have been faster and cheaper to just connect a line and bury it or did you have standing water along the path you dug up?
Nice job.
Can I ask why you wouldnt just connect corrugated pipe to downspout?
Because otherwise there wouldn't be this video, lol. This system makes no sense...
Personally I wouldn't drill holes in the bottom of the plastic catch basin because it would defeat the purpose of carrying the water away, I wouldn't worry about that little bit of standing water because eventually it would evaporate before any mosquitoes can lay their eggs.
Why use the cloth and not Vesiquean and why more rock the better? Really need to save this house.
If you’re not covering this up with soil or sod do you still need to use the fabric
I live in a subdivision without any field next to my property. Where should we have the pipe lead to? The side walk? Is that allowed?
A low spot, or a sump pump. You need to watch all of French Drain Man's videos before you consider this type of project.
Many times no you can’t run to sidewalk per code. But check with your building dept.
“This wrapped up dead body” 😂
Great info thank you 🙏🏻
How has this held up ?
Make quick work of that with a mattock axe or pickaxe.
Can't use a shovel with rocks and roots and other debris, pick goes straight through anything.