Skip to main content
Stesso

Install a French Drain System (Optional)

1:50
11:03
7.5K views

At 1:50 in

Waterproofing contractors HATE when you know THIS

Watch on YouTube

What happens here

For properties with persistent water issues or very steep slopes, installing a French drain can significantly improve drainage. This involves digging a trench at least 12 inches deep along the problematic side of the foundation. Lay a perforated drain tile (pipe) at the bottom of the trench, surrounded by gravel, and cover it with landscape fabric to prevent clogging. The drain tile should have a slight slope towards a suitable discharge point, such as a storm drain or a lower part of the property away from the house. This is a supplementary measure to grading.

Goal: Provide an underground system to collect and divert subsurface water.

Tools and materials

  • Gravel — surrounding the drain tile for filtration and support, Landscape Fabric Unknown

What they say

Hide

the first thing I would say is grading is the least intrusive. Secondary is French drains or surface drain tile. That would be a drain tile buried about 12 in below grade. And a French drain is usually pocketed into a slot surrounded with a drain tile surrounded by rock and a swale. And then of course the most evasive is what I call full-fledged foundation waterproofing. And that's where we go

Auto-generated from the video audio.