Where is this magical land where the shovel can be pressed easily into the ground and comes up with dirt? Everywhere I dig is roots and rocks till I'm down about 3 feet and then it's just rocks.
Where I live.. (in the middle of Sweden) The soil consists of three things: about 10% earth, 20% gravel and 150% rocks. You'd be happy when you get about 2 inches into the ground in one swoop.
I'm always amazed at videos of people digging. There are so many rocks in the ground here it takes me half an hour to dig a hole for a tomato plant, digging a 35 foot long trench with a shovel would be a year-long project.
Sod laid directly on gravel will impede grass growth and cause bare spots, as experienced at my place. I'd recommend at least 2-3 inches of soil on top of the burrito before placing the sod.
@@deanrobbins8102 I think the point is, less maintenance. Guy will have to dedicate a lot of time and money, to keep that 35ft long line, in his yard, from showing. The second I saw how little soil he had, I knew he was screwed. He should have dug down a few more inches. Or less stone.
It will dry up but the more dirt you put on a French drain, the slower water will flow into it. If you have clay soil don't even think about putting it back on top of the gravel.
If ya yard is sour a d wet half the year the grass is half dead any how, this saved my yard over all grass grew healthy every where as water could drain out, yes it took some time but in the end, grass will grow over it, .mine did, worth the result if you have a yard that is sour wet after rain winter time my yard would be boggy wet mess after this i had a yard again, with a full cover of health grass. Really depends how important the drainage is too someone verse the off set of a ascetics at first, how i took it on resukt briugh over all results even the grass . I live in australia queensland had a boggy yard for half the year.
I did this over twenty years ago using drainage pipe without using the material. Put down the the stones, laid the pipe covered with remaining stones. Sifted some earth and laid it on top of stones about 1 inch/25mm then laid the turf I dug up on top and gave it a good watering. Still going good. Queensland, Australia.
The geotextile is more essential in areas with high clay/silt content that is more likely to be picked up by water flow and plug up the perforated pipe.
In addition to digging the trench a bit deeper so that a couple of inches of good soil can be placed on top of the "burrito", consider laying an inexpensive, single-wire electrical cable along top of the burrito* so that the drain can be easily located in the future using a metal detector. With that curved trench, you don't want to accidentally dig up all that hard work. * Zig-zag the cable so that the entire width of the trench can be found.
@@BrettMcNary A metal detector can easily find wires at this shallow of a depth. So yes it is a metal detector. Maybe you can pull your radio receiver locator out of your rear end and attempt to locate a braincell with it.
@@cqpzg ever seen a plastic (poly) gas line with what this commenter is calling "a single wire electrical cable"? It's a locate wire that PROFESSIONAL LOCATORS (unlike you) use radio frequency to locate with. You sir, are a dim bulb.
@@TheBooban He's very close to that man hole. So hypothetically speaking...you would driil a hypothetical hole through the concrete man hole casing and pass you pvc drain pipe into aforementioned hypothetical hole.
@@TheBooban and hypothetically you would want to make everything look legit just incase someone stopped by to take peek oh and probably delete these comments hypothetically
This is why I love the internet. Before today, I had never heard of a French Drain but saw that someone made a video on it and I figured, why not? I'll find out what a French Drain is. Thank you for the interesting video. I don't know if it will ever be useful for me in particular but if it ever is, I'll remember this video.
I built ione years ago never knowing its name why i stopped and had a look, when you have a problem you think how too fix it. How i went about it, also i needed a long term answer at a cheap cost. I did all the work. Over a weekend.saveed $ labour and any small digging machine, as most guys will not want too work these days, if i had cash sure a small trench machine could had saved a good days work.
I did the same style drain the entire length of my backyard (135 feet). I went with a Bachman yellow drain tile it was a bit stronger and had more slots than the black that you but at the DIY stores. I used the geotechnical fabric. This type of drain will move a lot of water. My soil is really clay based. I topped my drain burrito with stone. Doing the job myself saved me about $5000. It took me a while but it was worth it. Nice video.
Late respond but just found your comments. So appreciative that you shared because I have been following French Drain Man and he use Bachman high octane 8-inch slot pipe in all his videos. I have about 150ft of French drain I need to do on the side of the metal building. My challenge is finding about the right size of rocks to work with Bachman pipes. We lived in rural farming area. The only closest rock company is about 15minutes, and they have pea gravel size rocks with VERY FEW 1 to 3" round rocks, mostly are some sand, very small to small pea gravel rock. So, I will be paying for very few rocks that I can use. Right now, I am trying to think what else I can use with Bachman pipes to make it work or what is my other options. If I can't think of anything, I may just try to work with whatever pipes big box stores have. Thank you.
Really nice work. If you can do mostly straight runs, consider perforated pipe (PVC pipe with holes drilled into it) instead of elephant trunk. If it ever clogs from silt or roots or even collapses, can clean out with a Roto-Rooter or similar.
My yard looks like a lake right now. With every rainfall it gets worse. This was the best video I have watched. We are definitely going to try this. Thank you for your clarity in this video. Everything is clear to understand and follow. I have subscribed to your channel. Thank you so much!
I just randomly got recommended this. I actually didn’t know what these were called. Like a year ago someone in the neighborhood put in one but it rather bizarrely goes from a next door neighbors drain spout to cutting across the house next doors entire front lawn. Seems like there are better solutions than taking a solid portion of the neighbors lawn. But I guess props to the neighbors for being friendly. It seriously diagonals across their entire lawn. Doesn’t particularly look bad but has to be a huge pain when mowing for the guy with 95% of it in his lawn.
My father did something similar to this. What he did differently to what was done here is he added the socks for the weeping title in addition to the black drainage fabric. He also connected all the downspouts of the house to the weeping title and wrapped it around the house in a horse shoe shape. In addition to that he even made a drainage inside the garage and hooked it up to it as well. It doesn't connect to the storm sewer instead during a heavy rainstorm it manages to better water the lawn by storing it under ground longer than without one. This is actually a better way of watering your lawn than by connecting the downspouts to a rain barrel and using the water stored inside it to water it.
Not just the lawn. If one had a tree that was having constant issues with not getting enough moisture to it's base, the Big O could be dug over to it. Assuming of course that was feasible.
That was really good. I've saved it for my husband to see. Years ago, before computers, I watched some guys on TV who were making a little patio with sand and bricks and plastic. I memorized it and "we" did it one afternoon. There was a puddle forming beneath the corner of a little front porch I had had built on the front of the house. The bricks did the trick. 50 years ago. We could only afford so many bricks. About 10 years later we added another section to make it a bit bigger. It's still there and it is a good spot for planters. So we ladies look at stuff too. That was brilliant the way you did that. Sweet youth, eh?
As he mentioned it’s very important to hold the drain pipe at the bottom of the hole while adding rock. The rock will lift the pipe up if you dump rock. The first time installed a culver I dumped a load of dirt over the culvert with the tractor and it pushed the culvert pipe out. Then I had to re-dig the trench. (You should only have to do this once until you learn) Great instructional video! You may have saved a lot of people a lot of time.
Artificial grass on top of the burrito that could be removed if needed...just an idea. I absolutely love this project! Need to do it on the side of the house. This is definitely the solution to a problem Ive been having for years!!! I can’t Thank you enough for sharing! 👍👍👍
I make these for a living idk where u live I’m in Portland Oregon where it rains heavy a drain this style in a place that rains as much as here only last about 10 years that being said this is the cleanest diy drain I have ever seen good job
I noticed the height of the drain is very close to the surface leaving only a thin layer of soil for the grass to grow in. Is that enough? I though the grass would need at least 2-3 inches of soil for the roots to remain healthy.
.y grass endded up growing over gravel on the side of the yard over time you would never know, i just wanted my yard not wated logged for mths in the end i had a full covereage of grass.
Ryan, glad to see how well your channel is taking off, putting your skills to good use teaching more people instead of just your students. Looking forward to where this takes you in the future.
Almost cried watching that ditch be dug. I dug 3 ditches this week and i live in newfoundland(nicknamed the rock). I swear there were more rocks than dirt. Heaviest one i pulled out was probably 60lbs.
Dude... you absolutely ROCK... I've never seen a cleaner tighter job in my life... and I'm older than dirt. In fact, I'm so old, my first pet was a dinosaur. I LOVE how you "hypothetically" infringed on city property and kind of recorded the fact that you didn't kind of sort of did what you "hypothetically" might have done :). Like the rest of the smoes in this comment section... I struggle to believe the 'sod' / grass you laid back atop your stone-cold burrito will live. I think I would have 1. moved or 2. covered in a "pretty" landscape gravel.
Thanks! You are correct the sod did not completely die but did brown during the summer. To fix this in the fall I pulled up the sod and pulled out 3" of gravel added 3" of dirt and so far it is doing well.
I'm jealous of your dirt. Recently attempted this myself only to find chunks of brick and debris under the first 4 inches of dirt. Was a nightmare to dig
I'd be curious to see how well that sod above the french drain looks after a small period of drought. I assume you have lawn sprinklers which I'm sure helps. But I'd recommend leaving a little more root mass (minimum of 4"). Overall, great job!
@@ThatTechTeacher427 It might be an idea to take new strips of grass from somewhere else in the garden and replace the strips above the drain with them (and moving the strips above the drain to the area you just removed , you'll likely need some top soil to keep it level.) This will definitely be beneficial once the lawn has settled again.
Looks effective. The only thing I would have done differently would have been to run it through that flower bed or along its edge until I had to angle to the hard drainage pipe to the hypothetical connection to the sewer. So the ground cover over most of it would have been the mulched bed. Then I wouldn't have a 1'x35' strip of sod struggling summer after summer.
I like the fact that you used a normal shovel. I use hand-tools for everything and prefer them over power tools for every application. The garden is my gym.
Unfair request; could you itemize an approximate cost of this project in description? Love the video; watched it three times now, and this is my go to for our house thank you so much!
Whoa! When you went down the trench with the camera, I had a flashback to star wars 1977 when I saw the movie in the theater. Flying through the trench to destroy the death star! Woohoo!
Just curious how well your grass grew back. It seems like maybe you didn't allow enough depth from the top of the geofabric to the sod to allow the roots to get deep.
Hypothetically, of course😉 Really informative video. I have someone providing me an estimate of $6,000 to install a french drain along my house. While it is certainly labor intensive, I'm really into "sweat equity" and it really is do-able.
Great how-to video for a DIY French drain. When the "check foundation light" SlabSure foundation monitoring system shows poor drainage is affecting the foundation, we typically recommend a solution just like this one! By measuring the foundation every hour, we can also tell if a French drain helped cure the solution with a straightforward comparison of the data before and after the French drain is installed.
I’ve seen a lot of corrugated tubing failures. If a trench has even the slightest spot where it’s flat, or not enough fall, issues will arise. Particularly standing water, clogs, which attracting roots cause roots busting through cheaply made corrugated tubes. I’ve repaired pvc where a tree root busted through it. I’m interested in seeing how efficient your burrito wrap material is long term. I used all PVC in my yard. I also had access to a heat wrap blanket which helped curving pvc for directing the flow. Anyways, I dug your dig, your sod laying skills were killa.
I’m a new homeowner and I tried to bury a corrugated pipe and it’s popped out of the ground in several locations. If I were to do it again I would follow these instructions. Thank you for posting this video.
Very nice! We did this actually at my farmhouse 3-yrs ago, same technique but used pvc drain pipes put together, not as clean as we could do it as it is an acre area. Now I’m doing this again on my other property. This time i would need help, this is a 6 acre open ranch, trenches about 400-700 feet.
You are amazing!! I have bought a home with the black corrugated tubing running from a swale at the garage around my yard in a "J" shape for 100 ft. It was not sunk deep or with rock as yours and so the tubing keeps getting exposed. I guess I will have to dig it up and sink it deeper.
I'm trying my hand at a French Drain for the first time, this will help me out immensely, although rocks are a major issue for my digging. We trenched it with a Bobcat Backhoe attachment! QUESTION: I've been told to put a few inches of stone in first to line the bottom of the burrito, then the perf pipe, then more stone, so the pipe ends up roughly in the middle of a stone "tunnel." You put the pipe on the bottom.... does it matter?
Agreed, I just finished mine. Put down washed river rock on the bottom first. If the dirt gets hard underneath, or starts breaking up, you don’t want it pushing up into the fabric/corrugated pipe.
Thanks for your very instructive video. I was told by a neighbor that what I needed was a surface drain and not a French drain. It seems to me that what you did would work instead of a surface drainage system that includes 3 cement collection boxes. I need for the line(s) to run on either side of my house from the backyard to the street under sidewalks and under a natural gas line. I'd appreciate any thoughts you might have. Oh, did I say, I really appreciate your video! Well done (from one teacher to another)!
A french drain like this mainly pulls in ground water and will do so the entire length of the trench. If you put in some verticals where water pools or collects it would do the same thing as a surface only drain. A FD would be extra money and work if you are only trying to collect water from a few specific areas
@@ThatTechTeacher427 Thanks! If I do the work myself, I could certainly do the FD as the cost isn't that prohibitive. I'm thinking a FD would be better than a surface drain in the long run.
I've done a few of these, customers are almost always "ok" with the additional fees for a corrugated pre-wrapped with polystyrene aggregate! Much easier than moving all those rocks around.
This is a great video man. I have built some smaller french drains and have found them easy and very handy. However, I am preparing to start a much larger french drain project, and this gave me some excellent pointers I did not think about prior. Thanks, and keep on keeping on! :)
Thank you so much for posting this I'm challenged with a French drain myself and you did an excellent job communicating the way I need to approach mine Thank you again.
Don't worry 100+ years from now construction workers are going to be like finally a break! We gotta contract the boss, who contacts the contractor who contacts the bidder who contacts the owner... Lets just say paradise week until it gets resolved higher up. Hopefully bureaucracy allows the poor fellas to take a break. Hypothetically speaking of course!
So..."hypothetically...this dead body over here, if it was me who did it...I probably would have used a knife like they did, but it probably just happened..." Best defense ever!
grass roots are very shallow and non particular. they will at least attempt to penetrate the cloth and will get excess moisture that is attempting to flow through. so in essence it makes the drain stronger . the grass will probably grow a small percentage slower since it has less contact with nutrients but you wont be able to tell except maybe when spring is in full effect and you take a while to mow
bobwatters if he was in the south ,you would definitely see that strip of grass struggle or even dry up in the summer . As far as the gravel goes . It’s a great permeable material that will allow the water to get to the pipe easily. Without the pipe the water would travel through the trench but not at a fast enough rate to drain properly during heavy rains . The pipe gives water what it wants , a path of least resistance .
bobwatters if he was in the south ,you would definitely see that strip of grass struggle or even dry up in the summer . As far as the gravel goes . It’s a great permeable material that will allow the water to get to the pipe easily. Without the pipe the water would travel through the trench but not at a fast enough rate to drain properly during heavy rains . The pipe gives water what it wants , a path of least resistance .
@@mrjuderaw87 Grass roots are 6-8 inches (simple google search), so YES, there is barely any soil underneath there, and no nutrients in those rocks. I expect a very hot week will dry out the grass.
I have no experience with this sort of project, so this is going to sound like a simple question. Where is the water that flows through the pipe coming from? Does the pipe have holes that allow the pooling rainwater to drain in and flow through?
The holes are on the bottom of the pipe. As rain or snow melt gets soaked into the ground there is a saturated level below that rises. This water level enters the pipes and leaves the surface dry. A lot of people think that because it rains from above, the holes must be on top, which is wrong. Surface run-off requires a different type of drain, and won't address the issue that french drains do. Think of it like a well, there's a water level underground- your pipe just intercepts it as it rises.
I had always understood that a “french drain” was just a pit dug, with a liner of sorts to allow excess rain water to drain off into the ground, ... which, technically voids this title, ... because you have connected it to an existing drain, ...
I had thought the same thing too, but just looked up the Wikipedia article, which has a much broader definition. Maybe in our areas your definition is correct.
You are soooooo lucky to have soft ground there. I had to do about the same length of trench and it took the better part of a week because it was super hard clay. Pick axe, the hee-man tooth pick and a half a bottle of extra strength Advil. Nice video work 'Luke', the force was with you.
Excellent video, Ryan, and thanks for making it. Hypothetically, if one were to extend the drain under the sidewalk (which may or may not have been done here), what might you recommend?
Looks great! When I dig a ditch like that I use a rototiller to break up the ground. It’s much easier to shovel lose dirt. We have hard clay or rocks in KY so it helps a lot.
New sub.... awesome and amazing 😍 video..... well spoken, well demonstrated. Exceptionally well planned.....I will use every bit of knowledge you shared if I hypothetically need a French Drain..... You are a good Citizen to us all. God bless you and your family Çhief
Why the need for a french drain in your front yard with a steep slope? I would think just a narrow trench with a solid pipe to the street drain. Just curious
Could you perhaps.. Hypothetically discuss how one ... might possibly maybe kinda sorta hook into the sewer main? I mean... asking for a friend. (kick ass video man.)
Haha Thanks! I hear it is really easy. I believe it is a 4" to 6" PVC Blue sewer pipe normally located like 2' deep right under the curb or edge of street. Run drain line out to Storm sewer pipe then in a 90 degree elbow down into top of pipe. It should be easy digging as they are normally back filled with sand when installed. Use a hole saw, jig saw or hack saw to cut a hole in the top of the pipe to attach yours. I have heard of people using a gutter adapter (4" round to rectangle) then cutting a rectangle hole in the top of the storm sewer pipe. This makes sure the pipe never sides into the sewer pipe because the larger 4" PVC pipe you are using will never be able to fit in the smaller rectangle hole. Then caulk or seal around it if you want. Adapter: www.lowes.com/pd/PVC-4-in-x-4-in-dia-PVC-Hub-Adapter-Fitting/50223551
Why not just dump it into the street/ curb... won't it run into the storm drain? No questionable direct connection. Or is that curb dump frowned upon in your area?
Did exactly the same thing except that I didn't include any surface entries for the water assuming that water would take the easiest path and out of the field through the drainage line - It failed as the high clay composition of the soil prevented water from sipping down and follow the drainage line - I will now open that area and introduce a couple of T's to catch the water from the surface, down to the drainage. Thanks for the video
I can imagine that it clogs up all the time and you'd be better with just gravel. I need one and it rains a LOT here (Scotland). Going to be a nightmare to dig out though because it's just rock, rock and more rock and some are just huge.
In looking at your black pipe it doesn't have holes in it to either let water in or out ... so I don't understand why you would have to use rocks. I'd love to do something like this for my gutters run them down to the sidewalk and let them drain there. My neighbors drain onto the driveway I guess that's also an option.
Noticed the same thing, if the pipe were perforated it would all make sense. I’m not seeing the point of the rocks or the geotextile in this scenario unless there’s something I’m missing.
@big wiggle Depends on the grass type, no?.?. Looks like THIS video features a "cool weather" grass--perhaps a rye. Not much "growing over" with those. Southern grasses--like Bermuda, St Augustine, or Zoysia--fill in and over stuff better with runners.
I watched some other video on how to make a French trench and they recommended not to use any fabrics as this will slow down the water flowing into the pipes. They just recommended to use gravels.
+ Really tidy piece of work . I was wondering was this drain done just to remove water from lawn or roof down pipes . I have a soggy lawn and will have to do this . I notice you do not have any side drains connecting on to the main one . This video is just a masterclass in how to do some work that is hard , but do it with perfect results . Well done .
Once we only had 10 centimeters of soil above a container the grass died in the hottest season regardless we were watering daily. now It"s nice with about 20, for years now.
![How to Build a French Drain Full Tutorial in Less than 10 Minutes [ Veteran Contractor Explains ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wPkMB7qlUSo/mqdefault.jpg)
![How to Build a French Drain Full Tutorial in Less than 10 Minutes [ Veteran Contractor Explains ]](/img/tr.png)
Where is this magical land where the shovel can be pressed easily into the ground and comes up with dirt? Everywhere I dig is roots and rocks till I'm down about 3 feet and then it's just rocks.
I was thinking the same thing 😂 that’s some Hollywood dirt there 😁
I would like to buy a plot at this magical easy to shovel place. Y’all selling?
Where I live.. (in the middle of Sweden) The soil consists of three things: about 10% earth, 20% gravel and 150% rocks. You'd be happy when you get about 2 inches into the ground in one swoop.
I buy a load of top soil and the shovel can't penetrate more than 1/2 an inch per hit. Yes it has been sitting for 3 months but still.
i know right, here in uk its just rocks and roots, digging a simple trench requires, shovel, pickaxe, root cutter and a whole lot of energy xD
I'm always amazed at videos of people digging. There are so many rocks in the ground here it takes me half an hour to dig a hole for a tomato plant, digging a 35 foot long trench with a shovel would be a year-long project.
Sod laid directly on gravel will impede grass growth and cause bare spots, as experienced at my place. I'd recommend at least 2-3 inches of soil on top of the burrito before placing the sod.
Could always spray the burrito with Profile Products' - Proganics.
I had the same thought
@@deanrobbins8102
I think the point is, less maintenance. Guy will have to dedicate a lot of time and money, to keep that 35ft long line, in his yard, from showing. The second I saw how little soil he had, I knew he was screwed. He should have dug down a few more inches. Or less stone.
It will dry up but the more dirt you put on a French drain, the slower water will flow into it. If you have clay soil don't even think about putting it back on top of the gravel.
If ya yard is sour a d wet half the year the grass is half dead any how, this saved my yard over all grass grew healthy every where as water could drain out, yes it took some time but in the end, grass will grow over it, .mine did, worth the result if you have a yard that is sour wet after rain winter time my yard would be boggy wet mess after this i had a yard again, with a full cover of health grass. Really depends how important the drainage is too someone verse the off set of a ascetics at first, how i took it on resukt briugh over all results even the grass . I live in australia queensland had a boggy yard for half the year.
I did this over twenty years ago using drainage pipe without using the material. Put down the the stones, laid the pipe covered with remaining stones. Sifted some earth and laid it on top of stones about 1 inch/25mm then laid the turf I dug up on top and gave it a good watering. Still going good. Queensland, Australia.
The geotextile is more essential in areas with high clay/silt content that is more likely to be picked up by water flow and plug up the perforated pipe.
Did you use the filter wrap?
Im in Qld too, I thought the turf on top might die no?
I really would not bother digging all of that up just to put down fabric.
@@adammadtin8451 yes of course. There was nowhere for it to root.
I love these locations with NO ROOTS. Man, what a wonderful world it would be . . . .
Or rocks. Just showed this to my wife from when we built ours. Power trencher was my friend
I live in the Ozarks 😭
@@someguyyoudontknow719 yeah I live on table ROCK lake in STONE county on top of a hill. My yard is a danm rock garden.
For real, I have so many full grown trees around my house, roots everywhere.
@@humanofearth7524
I bet you have a solid foundation. I like sound of that. Solid roof and foundation, house should last forever.
In addition to digging the trench a bit deeper so that a couple of inches of good soil can be placed on top of the "burrito", consider laying an inexpensive, single-wire electrical cable along top of the burrito* so that the drain can be easily located in the future using a metal detector. With that curved trench, you don't want to accidentally dig up all that hard work.
* Zig-zag the cable so that the entire width of the trench can be found.
That’s why they put the wire over pipes!! I always saw that and never knew what it was for. Thanks my g
Genius!
lol it's not a "metal detector". It's a radio receiver locator. You put a transmitter on the locate wire and locate it with a receiver.
@@BrettMcNary A metal detector can easily find wires at this shallow of a depth. So yes it is a metal detector. Maybe you can pull your radio receiver locator out of your rear end and attempt to locate a braincell with it.
@@cqpzg ever seen a plastic (poly) gas line with what this commenter is calling "a single wire electrical cable"? It's a locate wire that PROFESSIONAL LOCATORS (unlike you) use radio frequency to locate with. You sir, are a dim bulb.
Looks like a tidy job to me.
Was nice of the city to come out and do the section under the sidewalk under cover of darkness 😂
Professional level drain? I worked as a pipe-layer. I never saw a trench that neat. That was artistry.
Credit where credit is due. Love it
Agreed., love a yard like his., no rocks roots or turns …good class on drainage regardless !!
I've watched this 3 times now and I'm starting to think that this guy might know more about that drain near the sidewalk then he's letting on.
Nah, that's just hypothetical.
@@jamescrud i didn’t hypothetically understand how to hook into the main sewer drain
@@TheBooban He's very close to that man hole. So hypothetically speaking...you would driil a hypothetical hole through the concrete man hole casing and pass you pvc drain pipe into aforementioned hypothetical hole.
@@jamescrud ah had to hypothetically drill, i see now. Ok thanks.
@@TheBooban and hypothetically you would want to make everything look legit just incase someone stopped by to take peek oh and probably delete these comments hypothetically
I love how the "hypothetical" under sidewalk stretch of the drain just happens to match your description of how YOU would do it. :) well played!!
The neatest and cleanest hand dug trench I’ve seen. Nice work!
Thanks 👍
Great comment friend I don't nead to write one you said it
helps to have zero root systems or a rocky base!!!
Have you seen the indians?
A shovel master, I've shoveled for 35 years, consider myself a master...... he's master shoveler
This is why I love the internet. Before today, I had never heard of a French Drain but saw that someone made a video on it and I figured, why not? I'll find out what a French Drain is. Thank you for the interesting video. I don't know if it will ever be useful for me in particular but if it ever is, I'll remember this video.
If you think this “French Drain” is good, then you should look up the term “French Cleat”, ... I used it to hang my 42” tv, on the wall, ...
@@johne.osmaniii7217 Thank you sir. You have changed my life.
ruclips.net/video/WYuoiefb2uk/видео.html
I built ione years ago never knowing its name why i stopped and had a look, when you have a problem you think how too fix it. How i went about it, also i needed a long term answer at a cheap cost. I did all the work. Over a weekend.saveed $ labour and any small digging machine, as most guys will not want too work these days, if i had cash sure a small trench machine could had saved a good days work.
@@ev8870 it did mine i got a yard back from a bog in winter
I did exactly the same. It's been 20 years and still does the job.
Thanks for sharing that. I have one like this that is about 12 now with no problems. There are many people who hate the fabric.
Judging by the neat trench, absolutely no beers were harmed as a result of this project.
lol
😂
I'm French and I was a bit confused by the name so I looked online and now I understand!
Henry Flagg French made this popular.
Great idea👍
I did the same style drain the entire length of my backyard (135 feet). I went with a Bachman yellow drain tile it was a bit stronger and had more slots than the black that you but at the DIY stores. I used the geotechnical fabric. This type of drain will move a lot of water. My soil is really clay based. I topped my drain burrito with stone. Doing the job myself saved me about $5000. It took me a while but it was worth it. Nice video.
Awesome! Thanks!
Late respond but just found your comments. So appreciative that you shared because I have been following French Drain Man and he use Bachman high octane 8-inch slot pipe in all his videos. I have about 150ft of French drain I need to do on the side of the metal building. My challenge is finding about the right size of rocks to work with Bachman pipes. We lived in rural farming area. The only closest rock company is about 15minutes, and they have pea gravel size rocks with VERY FEW 1 to 3" round rocks, mostly are some sand, very small to small pea gravel rock. So, I will be paying for very few rocks that I can use. Right now, I am trying to think what else I can use with Bachman pipes to make it work or what is my other options. If I can't think of anything, I may just try to work with whatever pipes big box stores have. Thank you.
This is such a well made video. It was helpful in so many ways and nothing was said/done that didn't need to be included. Thank you!
Really nice work. If you can do mostly straight runs, consider perforated pipe (PVC pipe with holes drilled into it) instead of elephant trunk. If it ever clogs from silt or roots or even collapses, can clean out with a Roto-Rooter or similar.
My yard looks like a lake right now. With every rainfall it gets worse. This was the best video I have watched. We are definitely going to try this. Thank you for your clarity in this video. Everything is clear to understand and follow. I have subscribed to your channel. Thank you so much!
I just randomly got recommended this. I actually didn’t know what these were called. Like a year ago someone in the neighborhood put in one but it rather bizarrely goes from a next door neighbors drain spout to cutting across the house next doors entire front lawn. Seems like there are better solutions than taking a solid portion of the neighbors lawn. But I guess props to the neighbors for being friendly. It seriously diagonals across their entire lawn. Doesn’t particularly look bad but has to be a huge pain when mowing for the guy with 95% of it in his lawn.
My father did something similar to this. What he did differently to what was done here is he added the socks for the weeping title in addition to the black drainage fabric. He also connected all the downspouts of the house to the weeping title and wrapped it around the house in a horse shoe shape. In addition to that he even made a drainage inside the garage and hooked it up to it as well. It doesn't connect to the storm sewer instead during a heavy rainstorm it manages to better water the lawn by storing it under ground longer than without one. This is actually a better way of watering your lawn than by connecting the downspouts to a rain barrel and using the water stored inside it to water it.
Not just the lawn. If one had a tree that was having constant issues with not getting enough moisture to it's base, the Big O could be dug over to it. Assuming of course that was feasible.
That was really good. I've saved it for my husband to see. Years ago, before computers, I watched some guys on TV who were making a little patio with sand and bricks and plastic. I memorized it and "we" did it one afternoon. There was a puddle forming beneath the corner of a little front porch I had had built on the front of the house. The bricks did the trick. 50 years ago. We could only afford so many bricks. About 10 years later we added another section to make it a bit bigger. It's still there and it is a good spot for planters. So we ladies look at stuff too. That was brilliant the way you did that. Sweet youth, eh?
As he mentioned it’s very important to hold the drain pipe at the bottom of the hole while adding rock. The rock will lift the pipe up if you dump rock. The first time installed a culver I dumped a load of dirt over the culvert with the tractor and it pushed the culvert pipe out. Then I had to re-dig the trench. (You should only have to do this once until you learn)
Great instructional video! You may have saved a lot of people a lot of time.
Thanks!
I have had the same experience. You learn fast when you are digging trenches twice!
That Tech Teacher
Good judgement comes from experience and much of that comes from bad judgement.
I can’t believe you did all this in just 8 mins...
Artificial grass on top of the burrito that could be removed if needed...just an idea. I absolutely love this project! Need to do it on the side of the house. This is definitely the solution to a problem Ive been having for years!!! I can’t Thank you enough for sharing! 👍👍👍
Cool idea and it good to hear it can help!
You "Hypothetically" have gotten a thumbs up from this guy I know that's totally not me.
😂
Hypothetically!!!
Lmao, Hilarious!!! 👍🏾👊🏾✌🏾🇳🇬🇺🇸
I make these for a living idk where u live I’m in Portland Oregon where it rains heavy a drain this style in a place that rains as much as here only last about 10 years that being said this is the cleanest diy drain I have ever seen good job
Thanks I appreciate it. I'm in Ohio. What do you do different to make them last longer than 10 years?
I'm a General Contractor and you know most people get bad comments and I really appreciated yours your a great young man thumbs up friend
Your work here is higher quality than most professional jobs I've seen. Great lawn, too!
here is Spain that is a very common type of drain particularly in the more rural parts. They work well. You did a good job Sir :)
You are a “real man” to be able to do all of that yourself! Wow! I’m impressed!!!
Thanks lol
I noticed the height of the drain is very close to the surface leaving only a thin layer of soil for the grass to grow in. Is that enough? I though the grass would need at least 2-3 inches of soil for the roots to remain healthy.
Wondering the same thing
.y grass endded up growing over gravel on the side of the yard over time you would never know, i just wanted my yard not wated logged for mths in the end i had a full covereage of grass.
I love it, "hypothetically" someone magically put a drain in for you :)
😉
Ryan, glad to see how well your channel is taking off, putting your skills to good use teaching more people instead of just your students. Looking forward to where this takes you in the future.
Thanks me too.
Almost cried watching that ditch be dug. I dug 3 ditches this week and i live in newfoundland(nicknamed the rock). I swear there were more rocks than dirt. Heaviest one i pulled out was probably 60lbs.
Dude... you absolutely ROCK... I've never seen a cleaner tighter job in my life... and I'm older than dirt. In fact, I'm so old, my first pet was a dinosaur. I LOVE how you "hypothetically" infringed on city property and kind of recorded the fact that you didn't kind of sort of did what you "hypothetically" might have done :). Like the rest of the smoes in this comment section... I struggle to believe the 'sod' / grass you laid back atop your stone-cold burrito will live. I think I would have 1. moved or 2. covered in a "pretty" landscape gravel.
Thanks! You are correct the sod did not completely die but did brown during the summer. To fix this in the fall I pulled up the sod and pulled out 3" of gravel added 3" of dirt and so far it is doing well.
Bro! Sweetest looking trench that was dug by hand I’ve ever seen. My OCD was triggered too much. LOL great job and thanks for sharing.
Thanks!
Nice work!!
Hands down that's the most precise, neatest trench I've ever seen. 👍👍
Thanks 👍
Yeah that trench was a thing of beauty.
This is one of the best How-To videos on RUclips!
Thanks!
Wow ! Literally so easy to understand! I love this video. Copying it to the fullest . Yard is soaked . Can't wait to complete this..
Hope it works for you
@@ThatTechTeacher427 IT did.. we just finished it.. thanks
May I ask the reason for you putting in the French drain?
The finished result looks GREAT! You can barely tell you made the incision 👍👍
I'm jealous of your dirt. Recently attempted this myself only to find chunks of brick and debris under the first 4 inches of dirt. Was a nightmare to dig
I'd be curious to see how well that sod above the french drain looks after a small period of drought. I assume you have lawn sprinklers which I'm sure helps. But I'd recommend leaving a little more root mass (minimum of 4"). Overall, great job!
Great suggestion! I have found it is more stressed than the rest of the yard. I should have left more soil.
@@ThatTechTeacher427 It might be an idea to take new strips of grass from somewhere else in the garden and replace the strips above the drain with them (and moving the strips above the drain to the area you just removed , you'll likely need some top soil to keep it level.) This will definitely be beneficial once the lawn has settled again.
Looks effective. The only thing I would have done differently would have been to run it through that flower bed or along its edge until I had to angle to the hard drainage pipe to the hypothetical connection to the sewer. So the ground cover over most of it would have been the mulched bed. Then I wouldn't have a 1'x35' strip of sod struggling summer after summer.
Not a bad idea
I like the fact that you used a normal shovel. I use hand-tools for everything and prefer them over power tools for every application. The garden is my gym.
Unfair request; could you itemize an approximate cost of this project in description? Love the video; watched it three times now, and this is my go to for our house thank you so much!
Whoa! When you went down the trench with the camera, I had a flashback to star wars 1977 when I saw the movie in the theater. Flying through the trench to destroy the death star! Woohoo!
Yes! I was just thinking that and then read this! haha
Just curious how well your grass grew back. It seems like maybe you didn't allow enough depth from the top of the geofabric to the sod to allow the roots to get deep.
That's exactly what I was wondering, how the grass is doing after a year on top of the gravel. Curious minds want to know. :)
I would suggest around 4" of soil above the fabric to help retain some moisture. My grass did yellow in the summer but came back in the fall.
@@ThatTechTeacher427 noted, thanks
Hypothetically, of course😉 Really informative video. I have someone providing me an estimate of $6,000 to install a french drain along my house. While it is certainly labor intensive, I'm really into "sweat equity" and it really is do-able.
$6000! Mate, grab a shovel & start digging, it's not too hard.
I am almost 60 year old retiree, I'll try this. Thanks for the video!
Awesome I hope it goes well.
I live in an apartment why am I watching this
I appreciate it!
Bro me too but I enjoyed it
Because you could “hypothetically” do it too
One can dream!!
@@nvrguru22 Ha ha!
Wow, your workmanship is so much better than majority if landscapers I've used. No short cuts!
Great how-to video for a DIY French drain. When the "check foundation light" SlabSure foundation monitoring system shows poor drainage is affecting the foundation, we typically recommend a solution just like this one! By measuring the foundation every hour, we can also tell if a French drain helped cure the solution with a straightforward comparison of the data before and after the French drain is installed.
having accessible cleanouts also makes is easier to locate the drain via fish taping down the road. Well done.
I’ve seen a lot of corrugated tubing failures. If a trench has even the slightest spot where it’s flat, or not enough fall, issues will arise. Particularly standing water, clogs, which attracting roots cause roots busting through cheaply made corrugated tubes. I’ve repaired pvc where a tree root busted through it. I’m interested in seeing how efficient your burrito wrap material is long term. I used all PVC in my yard. I also had access to a heat wrap blanket which helped curving pvc for directing the flow. Anyways, I dug your dig, your sod laying skills were killa.
All I could think of during the trench shot was... STAY ON TARGET...
😂
💯
And use the force....
Now THIS is podracing
LET GO! ... The force is strong with this one...
I wish I would've seen this video before doing my French Drain. That burrito idea should keep out the silt.
Thats the hope 👊. I'm sure yours will be fine it is not required
Same here Brian.
I’m a new homeowner and I tried to bury a corrugated pipe and it’s popped out of the ground in several locations. If I were to do it again I would follow these instructions. Thank you for posting this video.
File this one under "stuff you can't do in San Antonio. (without a few days of jackhammering)
Unless you were my dad who whipped his 4 sons...
Watching this in the Odenwald in Germany and thinking the same thing :-)
Very nice! We did this actually at my farmhouse 3-yrs ago, same technique but used pvc drain pipes put together, not as clean as we could do it as it is an acre area. Now I’m doing this again on my other property. This time i would need help, this is a 6 acre open ranch, trenches about 400-700 feet.
Thanks! Wow thats a big project, hope you are not digging it by hand.
You are amazing!! I have bought a home with the black corrugated tubing running from a swale at the garage around my yard in a "J" shape for 100 ft. It was not sunk deep or with rock as yours and so the tubing keeps getting exposed. I guess I will have to dig it up and sink it deeper.
I'm trying my hand at a French Drain for the first time, this will help me out immensely, although rocks are a major issue for my digging. We trenched it with a Bobcat Backhoe attachment! QUESTION: I've been told to put a few inches of stone in first to line the bottom of the burrito, then the perf pipe, then more stone, so the pipe ends up roughly in the middle of a stone "tunnel." You put the pipe on the bottom.... does it matter?
Agreed, I just finished mine. Put down washed river rock on the bottom first. If the dirt gets hard underneath, or starts breaking up, you don’t want it pushing up into the fabric/corrugated pipe.
"hypothetically may have happened" - love it :)
😉
Just like lab leak. I mean hypothetical lab leak.
Your video was right on time for my upcoming DIY French drain. Great job. Keep it up 😉
Awesome! Thank you!
this kid made this look way to easy, way to easy. great job
Thanks for your very instructive video. I was told by a neighbor that what I needed was a surface drain and not a French drain. It seems to me that what you did would work instead of a surface drainage system that includes 3 cement collection boxes. I need for the line(s) to run on either side of my house from the backyard to the street under sidewalks and under a natural gas line. I'd appreciate any thoughts you might have.
Oh, did I say, I really appreciate your video! Well done (from one teacher to another)!
A french drain like this mainly pulls in ground water and will do so the entire length of the trench. If you put in some verticals where water pools or collects it would do the same thing as a surface only drain. A FD would be extra money and work if you are only trying to collect water from a few specific areas
@@ThatTechTeacher427 Thanks! If I do the work myself, I could certainly do the FD as the cost isn't that prohibitive. I'm thinking a FD would be better than a surface drain in the long run.
@@ThatTechTeacher427 Ok... thanks. I like the idea of the FD. Regardless, the water is rising!
I've done a few of these, customers are almost always "ok" with the additional fees for a corrugated pre-wrapped with polystyrene aggregate! Much easier than moving all those rocks around.
I have never used that method before but I know some people love it.
That stuff works great. It comes in 10' sections and it is a little expensive but cuts hours off labor.
Yeah but there goes more plastic in the environment (that polystyrene). We gotta stop doing that for the sake of convenience.
This is a great video man. I have built some smaller french drains and have found them easy and very handy. However, I am preparing to start a much larger french drain project, and this gave me some excellent pointers I did not think about prior. Thanks, and keep on keeping on! :)
Thought this was a French drain man video for a minute. Nice install!
Be cool to see some footage of it running when it rains
Thanks! That's coming soon!
Such a neat and tidy work well done man. Wish all workmen do a great job like you do .
Thank you so much for posting this I'm challenged with a French drain myself and you did an excellent job communicating the way I need to approach mine Thank you again.
'Your honor, I am hypothetically representing this man...'
"hypothetically"
Love it
😉
Don't worry 100+ years from now construction workers are going to be like finally a break!
We gotta contract the boss, who contacts the contractor who contacts the bidder who contacts the owner...
Lets just say paradise week until it gets resolved higher up.
Hopefully bureaucracy allows the poor fellas to take a break.
Hypothetically speaking of course!
So..."hypothetically...this dead body over here, if it was me who did it...I probably would have used a knife like they did, but it probably just happened..." Best defense ever!
very quality, clean job, clear explanation, better than professionals
Thanks!
The hypothetical is the best part … hypothetically speaking, of course 😎
Well done sir … I’d hire you!
I can’t believe the grass / sod will live with that little soil under it.
grass roots are very shallow and non particular. they will at least attempt to penetrate the cloth and will get excess moisture that is attempting to flow through. so in essence it makes the drain stronger . the grass will probably grow a small percentage slower since it has less contact with nutrients but you wont be able to tell except maybe when spring is in full effect and you take a while to mow
was thinking the same thing
bobwatters if he was in the south ,you would definitely see that strip of grass struggle or even dry up in the summer . As far as the gravel goes . It’s a great permeable material that will allow the water to get to the pipe easily. Without the pipe the water would travel through the trench but not at a fast enough rate to drain properly during heavy rains . The pipe gives water what it wants , a path of least resistance .
bobwatters if he was in the south ,you would definitely see that strip of grass struggle or even dry up in the summer . As far as the gravel goes . It’s a great permeable material that will allow the water to get to the pipe easily. Without the pipe the water would travel through the trench but not at a fast enough rate to drain properly during heavy rains . The pipe gives water what it wants , a path of least resistance .
@@mrjuderaw87 Grass roots are 6-8 inches (simple google search), so YES, there is barely any soil underneath there, and no nutrients in those rocks. I expect a very hot week will dry out the grass.
I have no experience with this sort of project, so this is going to sound like a simple question. Where is the water that flows through the pipe coming from? Does the pipe have holes that allow the pooling rainwater to drain in and flow through?
Ya sorry I should have been more clear the pipe is perforated or has slits in it to let in water. The water is absorbed from the ground.
The holes are on the bottom of the pipe. As rain or snow melt gets soaked into the ground there is a saturated level below that rises. This water level enters the pipes and leaves the surface dry. A lot of people think that because it rains from above, the holes must be on top, which is wrong. Surface run-off requires a different type of drain, and won't address the issue that french drains do. Think of it like a well, there's a water level underground- your pipe just intercepts it as it rises.
I had always understood that a “french drain” was just a pit dug, with a liner of sorts to allow excess rain water to drain off into the ground, ... which, technically voids this title, ... because you have connected it to an existing drain, ...
I had thought the same thing too, but just looked up the Wikipedia article, which has a much broader definition. Maybe in our areas your definition is correct.
You are soooooo lucky to have soft ground there. I had to do about the same length of trench and it took the better part of a week because it was super hard clay. Pick axe, the hee-man tooth pick and a half a bottle of extra strength Advil. Nice video work 'Luke', the force was with you.
Thanks! lol That sounds rough!
You made this look too easy. That is back breaking work. Great job!
Excellent video, Ryan, and thanks for making it. Hypothetically, if one were to extend the drain under the sidewalk (which may or may not have been done here), what might you recommend?
“And hypothetically….” I love it 🤣🤣🤣
Looks great! When I dig a ditch like that I use a rototiller to break up the ground. It’s much easier to shovel lose dirt. We have hard clay or rocks in KY so it helps a lot.
Here in SC, was thinking of doing the same!
Love the stone block trick for centering the pipe by yourself!
Great video. I've only watched 2 minutes so far and I already know way more than I did 2 minutes ago. Thanks.
New sub.... awesome and amazing 😍 video..... well spoken, well demonstrated.
Exceptionally well planned.....I will use every bit of knowledge you shared if I hypothetically need a French Drain.....
You are a good Citizen to us all.
God bless you and your family
Çhief
Awesome! Thank you and I really appreciate it!
Why the need for a french drain in your front yard with a steep slope? I would think just a narrow trench with a solid pipe to the street drain. Just curious
because fancy stuff
@@landsraad9745 😂
Could you perhaps.. Hypothetically discuss how one ... might possibly maybe kinda sorta hook into the sewer main? I mean... asking for a friend. (kick ass video man.)
Haha Thanks!
I hear it is really easy. I believe it is a 4" to 6" PVC Blue sewer pipe normally located like 2' deep right under the curb or edge of street. Run drain line out to Storm sewer pipe then in a 90 degree elbow down into top of pipe. It should be easy digging as they are normally back filled with sand when installed. Use a hole saw, jig saw or hack saw to cut a hole in the top of the pipe to attach yours. I have heard of people using a gutter adapter (4" round to rectangle) then cutting a rectangle hole in the top of the storm sewer pipe. This makes sure the pipe never sides into the sewer pipe because the larger 4" PVC pipe you are using will never be able to fit in the smaller rectangle hole. Then caulk or seal around it if you want.
Adapter: www.lowes.com/pd/PVC-4-in-x-4-in-dia-PVC-Hub-Adapter-Fitting/50223551
Why not just dump it into the street/ curb... won't it run into the storm drain? No questionable direct connection. Or is that curb dump frowned upon in your area?
Did exactly the same thing except that I didn't include any surface entries for the water assuming that water would take the easiest path and out of the field through the drainage line - It failed as the high clay composition of the soil prevented water from sipping down and follow the drainage line - I will now open that area and introduce a couple of T's to catch the water from the surface, down to the drainage. Thanks for the video
Great work! I did something similar on my yard, but did not use any geotextile, which reduces the useful life of the trench drain.
I can imagine that it clogs up all the time and you'd be better with just gravel. I need one and it rains a LOT here (Scotland). Going to be a nightmare to dig out though because it's just rock, rock and more rock and some are just huge.
French drain man would be proud
That's an honor!
In looking at your black pipe it doesn't have holes in it to either let water in or out ... so I don't understand why you would have to use rocks. I'd love to do something like this for my gutters run them down to the sidewalk and let them drain there. My neighbors drain onto the driveway I guess that's also an option.
Noticed the same thing, if the pipe were perforated it would all make sense. I’m not seeing the point of the rocks or the geotextile in this scenario unless there’s something I’m missing.
Exactly. And if the pipe was perforated there was no point in connecting it to the sewer...
It doesn't look like there will be enough soil for the grass roots to grow into, after you put it back.
I removed the grass with around 2" or more of dirt. I have seen grass directly cover a trench filled to top with gravel.
@@ThatTechTeacher427 Expect to water that strip more than the rest of the lawn.
@big wiggle Depends on the grass type, no?.?. Looks like THIS video features a "cool weather" grass--perhaps a rye. Not much "growing over" with those. Southern grasses--like Bermuda, St Augustine, or Zoysia--fill in and over stuff better with runners.
I watched some other video on how to make a French trench and they recommended not to use any fabrics as this will slow down the water flowing into the pipes. They just recommended to use gravels.
I have done it both ways in my yard and have had success with both. Both are flowing water really well we will see how long each lasts.
Post 10 would be so proud of your drainage system. No clogging here!
How does the sod grow over that landscape fabric???
With water. The sod will root to it
“This is Red Five. I’m going in.”
"Hypothetically" Haha!
👍
that reminded me of tj smoking 100% legal tobacco
@@sabin97 TJ the Amazing Atheist? Smoke pan everyday
Looks good! Must be nice to have such easy-to-handle subsoil - this job becomes much more laborious with clay-rich and/or rocky soil.
Thanks I am lucky in that way lol
+
Really tidy piece of work . I was wondering was this drain done just to remove water from lawn or roof down pipes . I have a soggy lawn and will have to do this . I notice you do not have any side drains connecting on to the main one . This video is just a masterclass in how to do some work that is hard , but do it with perfect results . Well done .
I'm curious how long that grass will last if there's a dry spell?
Once we only had 10 centimeters of soil above a container the grass died in the hottest season regardless we were watering daily. now It"s nice with about 20, for years now.