Great job but along the fence, won’t all that water building up against the fence soon rot the the fence wood and then they will need to replace the fence?
I had a client years ago, where his house sat was in a swale where all of the neighborhoods uphill from him sent all of their storm water. He had asked the city to do something about the issue because every time it rained his entire back yard became a pond and it took weeks for the pond to drain and dry out. When I designed the addition to his house, I designed a massive french drain system for him. There were (15) 6" perforated lines running across his back yard into (2) 12" lines that ran to the storm water system underground. I worked with the contractor and the city to approve the permits to tie this system directly into their drain which they were NOT happy about and fought us tooth and nail the entire time because it was a significant volume of water they had been trying to avoid adding to their system for years; they tried to claim that their back yard was officially wetlands. We did the work during the summer when 4 months out of the year it was typically bone dry and we could claim that it wasn't wetlands because there wasn't currently a pond. The entire back yard was completely transformed and my clients now enjoy many games of cornhole out there for all of their cookouts.
Wow awesome!! I’m glad to hear that.. That is similar to my parents! The block ends on a T @ the sound. Its the flood zone bc the water table. so the town rule from my understanding is you can pump your basement out but it’s supposed to be sent the to the main road where the sewers are. so 13 out of 15 people pump the water onto the tiny block flooding the whole 1/2 of the block & where it pools at my parents house & flooding the entire front of the property! I’m talking a swamp u can’t walk or use the entire huge driveway a side entrance which is the main, causing my parents to have to park on the 1.5 lane block. It’s also fills up their basement more & then WE pump every1s water 2 the main drains essentially. Also “private association” bullsuit. I’m a trim carpenter so it’s not my forte but I kno a few contractors who i could hire, they think it’s gotta get expensive. Imo the whole blocks should b piped to the main storm drain that’s @the end of every block to resolve completely (association fees etc) but I don’t even know if just this type of drain could solve it being near 2 bodies of water🤔
@@lgzz4885 if they're in an association and paying dues, DOCUMENT everything, read the association bylaws and see if there's anything in there about it, possibly hire a lawyer. It's not cheap and yes it sounds like it needs coordinating between the association, the city's storm water municipality, a lawyer, and possibly a civil engineer. I used to live in Old Saybrook, CT and I designed houses in waterfront Beach associations so I fully understand exactly the hoops they will have to jump through. It's also 1-part good old boys club, so if you figure out who the main players are in the association and the city (city engineer, city building inspector, city trustee, and waste water manager), get on their good side, but show them your problems with good diagrams. Utilize Google Earth and show then where the drains are vs the water's flow and direction. Send everything in bulk emails to ALL parties, and anyone who replies outside of the CC chain (unless it sounds like their shitting on another person or department) forward the message back to all so everyone is on the same page. I know it seems like an easy fix, and it should be, but I don't miss those days of constantly stroking people's egos to just get people to do the right thing for one person in need. Good luck, and feel free to hit me up if you have other questions, happy to help.
@@brandonn6099 it was his backyard, 30'x100', an actual rectangular "seasonal pond" that brought mosquitoes, and damaged his foundation. Yes, I'm 100% proud to have helped my client, and I would do the same for any other client in a similar situation. A naturally occurring pond is one thing that should be protected, this was a man-made nuisance, causing structural issues to his home, and a problem that didn't exist when the home was purchased but occurred due to the developments of other neighborhoods at higher elevations without proper storm water planning or management.
Agreed. Sometimes neighbors do just that and other times they don't. The problem is the other two neighbors don't care about water at the very far end of their property, whereas the customer had to deal with it across her entire property.
We had a similar situation in our yard...3 backyards all drain into ours...ours technically is graded to drain away from the house and to the side yards and to the front, but it would just settle in ours due to volume...we had to put a drain in along one side and make some of the area pavers
Neighbors might care a bit more now their yard will turn to mud. If there is a neighbor to the back right (looking from house) they might be a little peeve to have all that water in their yard. Litigation issues?
I was just thinking the same thing. In all - this is great professional work but no way I would install and not incorporate the neighbors into this. I would have forced their hand. Who technically want standing water. No one..
I am in need of a french drain and have watched almost 50 to 75 vids from APPLE DRAINS...to FRENCH DRAIN MAN now. What is missing from these vids is the end result !!! This is outstanding to see the end results and the how and why !! To actually see the neighbors lake vs the customers dry land is simply AWESOME !!!! WELL WELL WELL DONE SIR !!!
To me the best part, the absolute triumph of your work is when you go a revisit and show the final result IRL. Many videos here in TH-cam or regular TV never show the product of their work in months or years later. You do. Thank you for that.
I truly thought, "I'm not gonna watch a video like this," and ended up watching every minute. I grew up in South Florida so I know about flooded yards. Great job, man!
These are so great, the after shots with actual rain flow once it’s done takes the videos from a boring how to that others may do, to quality TH-cam content that has a satisfying conclusion
Nice and informative. I had to call “ Call before you dig” here in New England and glad I did. My house was built in 1870 and there was a dry well which was about 12’ deep right along the property line where I was going to install a French drain. The guy from the locating company found it with a sub sonar machine. The small backhoe I was goi g to rent would have fell into the hole. Gave the guy from the surveying a $20. tip for finding and telling me this.
It's refreshing to see how nice of a job you did on the cleanup. I see too many contractors that do great work on the actual task yet fail to make the place better than they found it. Bravo.
I hear that a lot Joe. It seems silly to get the hard part (the job) done well, but fail on the easy part (cleaning up). Sometimes I have to clean up the truck a lot after a job but I keep in mind that the customer's house looks good. I'm so happy I have great help that works for me.
@Joe M, it appears they literally stomped out a few ruts, raked for about 2 min, seed, straw. Not an ounce of fresh topsoil was brought in to level out all the ruts/damage. How is this a nice job..?
My upstream neighbor had something similiar put in between our houses, and it did a wonderful job keeping me from being flooded when it rained. He sold his house, and the new neighbor put a walkway and paver stones over the drains, and water would gush over the drain system and into my yard. I built a berm between our two yards, now "our problem" is "his problem". The water gushes under his house.
@@robertsaca3512It’s obvious the new neighbors didn’t want a different solution when they covered up the already in place and working one without consulting him.
I have the same problem, the neighbors say not their problem, lay of the land , well then screw you too, I'm going to bring in 40 tons of dirt and dam up my yard, you keep your water I'll keep my water, assholes. We could have worked thru this but not when it cost them money. People suck .the screwing just GOES around and around. So much for being NEIGHBORLY. .
They did not make the neighbor's property much worse than it was. If the neighbors had been wise...they would have asked the crew to fix their side at the same time. Then the issue may have been fixed all the way around. 🙂
@@gildatyler8458 most neighbours I think would have their side done at the same time or at least run it down the middle and share the cost but just because your neighbour is an idiot and doesn’t want to fix the problem doesn’t mean you can dam up your property and flood his even worse it’s byelaws look it up
Two things I was hoping you'd do, show how effective your system is after it rained and explain why you don't use filter fabric. You did both. Great! Thank you for a great video. You put an awful lot of work into this.
@@prdsilnd5541 Yes he does, just as I was hoping he would do. He also showed how effective his system was after it rained which is why I told him "You did both. Great!" Thank you for adding the time stamp. That was very thoughtful of you. By the way, when landscapers put in a double french drain on my property (for the same reason as this video), they put a 'sock' around the drain pipe as well as covering it with filter fabric. Our drains tend to stop up quickly due to a lot of sand filtering in from drain water. Unfortunately, ours was never as effective as the drain system in this video. Now I know why.
@@ron.v Oh I have a house surrounded by unfiltered rock drains installed by the prior owner. Totally useless after 20 years as 100% of the space between rocks is packed with soil from a combination of water table fluctuation, earthworms and moles. Now I just have a bunch of rocks to deal with every time I dig near the house. The drain was pointless anyway as I'm in a flat sandy river valley, the sandy soil drains as fast as anything until the water table(and local river) is so high that all drains have nowhere to go. It was their attempt to solve the issue of going cheap on the house foundation. 6" higher footings at the start would have made it a non issue(not to mention a better crawl space), instead they made it as close to grade as the inspectors would allow absolutely zero margin. (yes, I bought it anyway, but the price was right.)
The wooden fence will be rotten in just a few years. I would have my neighbor cooperate and place the French drain on the other side of the fence, and definitely use fabric to have this last more than a decade. I would also have put sod over the gravel. The rock looks terrible. Not a bad partial job but not regally well done.
I'm in the uk & a big fan of the french drain, our specifications always make us use weed suppressant membranes, the powers that be think it will stop the drains getting blocked with soil. I've yet to come across any architect that realises a good flow of water will flush away sediment. I will show them this video as a good example of how a french drain should work. Thanks for posting this video
I grew up in the trades and have been a carpenter for over 45 years. I can build a house from the ground up; masonry, plumbing, electrical, carpentry and do all of my own work on my house. My day job for 31 of those years was in a State environmental agency and I've reviewed stormwater projects, industrial, commercial, residential for a good portion of that time. There is a real storm-water problem in my State. Rain must go somewhere and if there is impervious surface, than rain will find its way, as it always does, to places where it either can percolate into the ground or run to the sea, however if it does not percolate, often it causes flooding on it's journey to the ocean. While warehouses, malls, and most importantly, roads and parking lots, contribute heavily to impervious surface totals, individual homes, especially older ones, contribute heavily to it through the roofs, driveways and roadways. Developments in my State are required to keep stormwater onsite as much as possible and may not let discharges into streams exceed a certain cfs. Impervious surfaces are a known issue with stormwater. Less known is soil compaction in which the rate of percolation is reduced, sometimes to the point of becoming in essence, impervious. This is especially true with developments where heavy machinery often is running over the soils, compacting it so badly that water is not absorbed and sheets off. Generally speaking, once built, we don't mess with developments once built and certified, but we do get calls from homeowners. Solutions to these kind of problems on an individual basis generally include the installation of drywells, pervious pavement for driveways, rain gardens, decompacting the soils, changing the soil composition to include more permeable materials, etc. with direction of drainage towards the street (which for developments that have them, would then feed into an existing stormwater basin) as a last resort. Soil analysis/composition is extremely important when developing a plan. You can't install a drywell for instance, where the soil composition is mostly clay and will not perk, where there is too much rock or bedrock is close to the surface, or where the water table is close to the surface during wet months. Water catchment (rain barrels/cisterns) are a solution but are limited. There is a way to make an above ground drywell for areas where slopes allow for them and soil conditions don't allow for below ground ones. The best way to deal with stormwater is when the home, whether part of a development or a single home site, is in the planning stage. That takes some will on the part of State and local governments to create laws and rules, as well as implement them. Unfortunately in my State in the past, people were allowed to build in areas of flood plain and swamps (no longer). There is very little you can do if a home was built in a swamp other than elevate the home and/or collect the water and, if the water reaches a certain volume, pump it if possible to a location that doesn't impact others. As I've said above, retrofitting a home to be "stormwater neutral" is more difficult, but not impossible. My house is 110 years old and in a small town. My lot is 30' x 120'. I hope to have it completely stormwater neutral by late spring or summer, but I'm dealing with very compact soils. Time to get out the shovel.
I understand the policy of Stormwater neutral planning. I'm not sure I understand the why. Why shouldn't someone be able to pass the water downhill? Are we trying to refill aquifers? or Is it purely about keeping the free riders out of the ocean.
When the neighbor's yard floods due to the dam built the new customers will likely be a lawyer. Most places in the US its illegal to dam water flow for obvious reasons. The neighbor unlikely knows the dam was built, next big rain their home floods and they go looking for why suddenly their yard has a foot of water, find the dam and sue for damages and removal of the dam. Never hire morons. It's expensive.
so why dont they communicate and work together? would not have been much more work to extend the drain to under the fence so both backyards profit. Half cost for everybody
Love the video; love your calm demeanor; this is a great teaching tool The viewer can decide what they would and wouldn't do based on their own needs. That said; As a former contractor and home owner I would have definitely put some type of landscape edging plastic, green metal, etc, just to contain that gravel and prevent it from making its way into the lawn Looks like they have kids; gonna throw rocks anyway And yep, connect the downspouts but homeowner has last word. A short call to 811 and they would identify the gas lines along with all other underground lines
I think the homeowners were going to do some hardscaping on the drain with a border this summer. And yes! the gas line was already marked when we came out. Make sure to check out Part 2 of this job in the description.
@@GCFD I laughed so hard at the end of the video when I saw the lake behind the berm you built. Reminds me of a situation my uncle had after his neighbor installed a pool. It turned my uncle’s yard into a 24/7 swamp. And the neighbor refused to do anything about it and was very uncooperative and just down right being an asshole about the situation he caused. So we put in a berm when the neighbor was on vacation. No more water on my uncle’s property lol.
I was wondering the same thing in regards to installing some form of edging. I have been planning this exact thing for a couple of years now as my neighbours property drains into mine and had flooded my house a few times. The previous owner of the neighbours property changed the direction of his downspouts from the east into a natural swale that takes the water away and changed that to drain West right into my yard. An ignorant old fool who could not be reasoned with. Bonus, after 2 years of considering this idea I now know that it is called a French drain.
Ultimately this shows how poorly the development was graded to begin with because they should have dealt with the water runoff from the beginning. Nice job with your system though.
I dug a French Drain for my daughter to resolve her drainage issues. By far one of the oldest but best methods of moving water off of property. Nothing is more detrimental to building materials than standing water. Concrete and cinder block will draw it up like a straw into the wood of your home, then the termites come to claim what the water didn't already destroy.
Yeah, the soil wouldn't compact and return to normal. What did he think happened when the house was built ? Those steps weren't off the ground either...more rot.
It’s like….. magic 👀👀👀 I can only imagine how satisfying it is to accommodate and help people with frustrating situations and come up with a solution… great job!
I am writing this comment while watching,I've never heard of a French drain so I am going to learn something new,anyway it's very interesting to a Brit here in the UK
You can almost see the eyeballs of the neighbors peeking thru the blinds...That SOB, Now all the water is in my yard! 😆I can't believe the HO didn't want to tie in those down spouts...No brainer. Looks like you guys done good. Good Job. Now take that old timer out for a brew...He earned it.
I agree with your assessment that the gutters should’ve tied into the drain while you were on site and working. Sometimes people don’t understand the benefits of doing the job right.
@@maxpower6706 what is a bubble of fall? What I’m saying is, with the high amount of water that can come from a heavy storm, only so much water can go through a certain size pipe in a given time.
Henry French, a US Farmer as well as judge, popularized the Idea... dont be so concieted. You would be considered a Frenchman or Frenchmen, in English, not a French.
Thanks for taking the time to shoot and include the full installation and examples of it actually working. So many other videos show only the installation and we never know if it worked. Nice to see! Greetings from Berlin, Germany where we have such high water tables that dealing with standing water is a constant challenge.
Firm believer in just open trench. With no fabric, no dirt/plant overlay. Nice job on the berm-neighbors won't like it, but it WILL force them to finally deal with their own mess rather than literally dumping it on their neighbor.
grandma's house had a long, sloping backyard that led to the house, so my dad and I dug a French drain. He thought about renting out a trench digger but we ended up doing it by hand, and man was that a task. Got some help from the local missionaries for a day or two, and it was extremely satisfying to see finished.
Thank you for the primer on french drains. I installed my own a decade ago, while I was flashing out and sealing the foundation. Wish I'd seen this before (I didn't know about clean-outs, and I did use filter paper over the gravel), but it still works well and I haven't had any problems especially with the amount of run-off I get from the snow melt and parking lot behind my property. I was worried I didn't put enough of a drop in it - now I see it's not supposed to be much.
Love how you install a berm and keeping the water back in the neighbours yard - Great way to go over and try and get them to use your services to install a french drain in their yard too ;)
I never knew I needed this channel and I never have needed drainage, yet. First thing I'm always gonna do is to try and blame the neighbors. Then, I'm gonna turn the flood back on them. GOTTEM.
I'm confused why people are saying the dam redirected water into the neighbors yard...the water came from the neighbors yard and they are just keeping from being directed to their yard. If anything the neighbors on both sides of this property should be at fault for not maintaining their properties and allowing their waterflow to drain into this property.
@@timr86868 he means the right hand neighbor, not the house behind the fence. Also William, If the right hand neighbor cares about the flooding they can call GCFD and get a drain themselves.
In our part of the country Northern New York we call the stone you used "crushed stone". Gravel is the term we use for smooth edged stone taken from lake shores or from prehistoric open pit operations that expose old shorelines. Great video!
Just to clear up something. Filter fabric is the large sheets of black fabric laid down flat. Pipe socks are what often go around a pipe but like he says, they get easily clogged. However, if you use socks filled with packing peanuts on the outside, it makes the surface area a bit too large to get clogged easily if you lay your gravel down correctly. The problem is often clay as it doesn't wash through easily. The point I'm making is that if you install using materials correctly you'll be fine. He kept it simple and in clay areas his method is 100% fine. It's not necessarily okay in other soil types as it allows soil to flow into the drain easily.
100%. Never put fabric directly against the pipe, it needs a channel between the outside and the inside. If you don't use fabric in clay eventually your gravel will just be solid clay right up to the pipe.
The right way to do it is with the geo fabric (filter cloth) lining the hole. Gravel and pipes go inside the lined hole. The geo cloth then gets folded over the top of the gravel to encase the whole drainage area. No issue of clogging if you ensure you have sized everything appropriately for the project. The top of the cloth can be covered with sod or with gravel to protect the fabric from the sunlight. Without the fabric, there is nothing that will prevent soil from washing in and filling all the pore space in the gravel. Doing a french drain the way this guy did will result in a clogged drain 100% of the time. The only question is how long until it does clog.
In Australia, this type of drainage is called simply an 'agricultural drain'. It is perforated pipe laid in a trench surrounded by something porous like you see here, gravel. it is very common. That yellow 'dirt' we call clay. It is essentially impervious to water, hence a good base for the drain. However, if it is too close to the soil surface, there will not be sufficient fall to drain the water away. This is a good job btw.
I expect that neighbor in the back will be getting upset about their new pond. Water used to flow under the fence on to the client's yard, but is now dammed up by her new berm.
Unfortunately you are probably correct. Maybe now the neighbor will deal with their own water instead of letting it deteriorate my customer’s property.
@@GCFD : I've always thought your work was awesome and have watched a lot of your videos. This video though has me concerned because I don't think you have the right attitude about this job. Those swales were put in there by the developer however long ago and are meant to handle the water in the entire subdivision. I can only guess about the laws and regs in your area, but here in Utah, if I built a dam like you did and especially if that water caused damage to my neighbor's house, I would end up with the bill and I would also be required to remove the dam. I'm not saying there isn't a water issue on that property. It seems the placement of that house is no problem but I'm guessing they built that deck some time later. Well, doing that is what put those stairs into that swale. At the bare minimum you could have just moved that swale further back into the yard. At the maximum you could have captured all that water and moved it to the street or at least moved it across the yard in the back. I think your attitude is helping to reinforce to people that they should fight with their neighbors instead of talking to them to work things out. This is based on at least 4 thumbs up for your comment. I would be curious to find out if your customer has ever spoken to her neighbor concerning this issue and if so what was that outcome. And I get it... With this current "cancel culture" we are living in, a lot of neighbors are jackasses and would rather flip you off to one-up-you than work stuff out. Even so, I think there are better ways to solve your customer's problem than to do what you did with that dam. I know this was long winded but I'm hoping it helps you as a contractor.
@@TrailTrackers It's not a fight, the drainage standards changed in 1990 so the fight is only in those living like it's 1989. I doubt the developer designed a river of neighboring water passing through every backyard. 'Natural drainage' usually only applies to properties 12 acres or larger where everything under that must drain every drop of water from their 'developed land' to the public stormwater system. You should also notice driving around that the most modern standard is a shared swale on the property line unless there is a fence where the water streams are separated on each side of the fence. Unless he's violated some sort of notarized-encroachment then there are no worries, the neighbors water is the neighbors water & sending it over is trespassing. If your dog can't poo in my yard then you're not sending your backyard-stormwater here either, b/c it's parasite & pathogen filled off your dollar.
@@TrailTrackers The Civil Law Rule is quite the opposite: it states that an owner is liable to another owner when they change the natural flow of water on their land and it results in harm to the second owner. That was taken from a simple search from his areas ordinances. Now that the water flow has been changed and pools on the upstream neighbors land, It could turn into some bad ju ju.
The problem comes from the developer using unfenced property lines as drainage where land-owners install fences in the swale instead of on a berm like they should have. Also the front yard is not only the place were sediment fills first but it's also where land-owners want such a flat lawn that they'll spend money on filling up-front first, horrific uninformed planning on their part. Shame on the Federal Government for not educating the people on Low-Impact-Development. Grass Swales must be remade every 5-7 years, they don't last multiple decades & never have.
Looks good except Berming off the neighbor in the back. As a civil engineer, we cannot block the neighbors drainage. Another drain across the back should have been installed or talk to the neighbor to get them to agree to put in a drain in their yard.
As a civil engineer you should also know that grass-swales need maintenance every 5-7 years so maybe that neighbor should get to work on their Right-of-Way.
I had the same thought. You have now changed the drainage pattern that will negatively affect your neighbor. Could be an issue in the future. Also, you should wrap the gravel with a geo textile to keep the surrounding dirt from migrating into the french drain over time.
So in fact that’s not always true especially with those twin-wheeled barrows because essentially you now have twice the level of surface friction. The biggest factor though is the weight of the filled barrow and the land you’re trying to cross. Basically, because you have to lift the handles to move it, it means you’re actually pushing the barrow forwards and slightly downwards whereas if you pull it you’re actually pulling slightly upwards and out of any potentially soggy ground.
Pro tip! Agreed. Position the barrow empty. Then zoom straight when full. Less effort. You can get more done over the course of the job. Not always possible but you’d be surprised how many guys wear themselves out unnecessarily sometimes. There’s only so much man each day. Use it well.
Lol. When i saw the thumbnail i thought the french drain had french lavender plants covering it. I swear im not a dumb female, i just didn't have my glasses on. Watched the video and it was beautiful. Amazing work gentlemen.
If the HOA in the housing subdivision had any balls. the neighbors would be paying for and dealing with their runoff, not the customer. Where I live the County has a strong drainwater ordinance, and the HOA in my area strictly enforces it. Frankly, the county building inspectors should not have granted an occupancy permit at the beginning, the drainage situation as it was.
You get a permit to redirect the natural flow of water? Advice to all: When you buy property... Buy on higher ground. And Never, ever be associated with an HOA.
I live on top of the 2nd tallest hill in our city. Our crawlspace floods every time it rains - moral of the story is to make sure your grade is right. That being said, I completely agree with what you said. Not sure what state this guy is in, changing the grade and/or drainage such that it no longer conforms with the original lot drainage plan is illegal (criminal offense) in many states & requires approval/permits almost everywhere that I'm aware of.
Yep, as I expected. They're in NC. In NC even when the change you make is reasonable, the homeowner can be held legally responsible for damage they cause to other properties. In short, if the neighbor takes them the homeowner to court over this then the homeowner may have to pay for stormwater mitigation on the neighbors property. Other states, like Colorado, make this an actual criminal offense where you can be put in jail. Pendergrast v. Aiken, 293 N.C. 201 (1977) < NC supreme court decision stating the above.
I've put several of these drains in different properties I've owned. Did the same and used gravel, no fabric. On my latest property I've created rain gardens where applicable, it works wonders for gutter drainage. Maybe the homeowner would feel more comfortable with that for his two downspouts. No digging around the house and little maintenance on the plants used.
You did a fantastic job. Love the shots of the French drain working. Seeing how much water piles up and the French drain doing it job is sos satisfying. I think that is a perfect width and depth for sure I didn’t realize how much water is actually stuck on the neighbors side. Well done
What a great video -- very informative and enjoyable as well. You and your crew do good work. I admired the way you were undeterred and just got to it with wheelbarrows when the cement bucket was unavailable. Thanks for posting this video.
I may have missed something with the neighbors in the back but my understanding is you have two options when dealing with neighbor's water: it can either be drained off so it doesn't create additional water problems or diverted in such a way that it solves their issue as well. The berm will definitely solve the issue for your client but does it pile up and create additional problems for the neighbor? Another neighbor? The berm may also cause issues for the trees along the back of the property by having the roots on the berm-side buried too deeply, water sitting on the inside of the dripline or dirt being mounded against aerial tissue. I'm curious to see a follow up 2-3 years from now. The comment by Mark Stevens is 100% true. Any time an issue with water is present in multiple yards a plan for all adjacent properties would be ideal and could be less expensive and beneficial for everyone in theory but neighbors that don't cooperate with one another seems to be all too common. One system could have potentially alleviated the issues between all 3 (or more) yards. Otherwise, job well done!
I was looking through the comments to see if anyone mentioned that. Another solution would be to install them 2" clear of the ground. You maintain your privacy and Fido isn't getting under AND you won't be replacing rotten pickets in a few year's time.
@@shyblism8315 This is exactly what we did. Makes it easier to weedwhack, too. Installed pavers in the ground under the fence to keep our chickens from digging under.
Overall good job, however i see a couple of issues. First (in my community) raising the grade of your property to divert water is a no no. Second stacking dirt up against the trees like that will cause problems and will kill the tree. After watching the amount of water, (if it was me as the home owner) I would of done the entire fence line including the the fence across the back and included the gutters. But thats just me
Would recommending water-happy trees be better? River birch (zones 3-9) would be one option, or Oriental arborvitae (zones 6-11). If you want to replace cedar with cedar, try White cedar (zones 4-8). Pair that with shrubs such as Blue elderberry (zones 3-10), and smaller plants such as Daylily (zones 3-11).
Nice job!! Where I live, a homeowner -- by County drainage ordinance -- is responsible for their own water...and may not allow it to drain onto another's property. The two adjacent homeowners in this subdivision would be responsible for installing french drains, dry wells, berms, and/or water gardens on their properties, not your client. Strictly enforced.
@@GCFD Thanks Gate City. Used to work with a wonderful fellow from your town, Mark Musick. Since 2012, when the ordinance was put into place, homeowners in our county are responsible for their own runoff. All proposed plans for new homes must include runoff calculations and a site plan (including drawings, etc) for how this calculated level of runoff will be handled on the homeowner's property. It is strictly enforced by the County and HOA's. (Homes built before 2012 must also adhere to the standard. So if there is a runoff issue, the homeowner must mitigate.)
You have no idea how much I appreciate this video, I have a water problem that kept me up at night. I am going to definitely try this French Drain. Thanks for sharing such a detailed video 📹
To me it looks like the French drain should have went back a little more. Just past those stones where his boot sunk into the ground. But it's better than it was, that's for sure.
It should have gone further back but the budget prevented that. Turns out that the homeowner wants more after seeing how well our system is working. We will be back out there this week for the install.
@@GCFD that's great. I tell all my customers this "no one has the time and money to do it right but EVERYONE has the time and money to do it again" lol always true, even in this case. Great job guys.
I like how you roll! Always a pleasure to watch true craftsmen at work. Pride in doing a job correctly is good to see. Analyzing the job/situation, setting the expectation for the customer then solving their issue: Win, win, win. Good on ya!
In a perfect world you would want to drop a slope or channel under the fence so that you have 6 inches of clearance to allow the water to fall into the drain before it reaches the fence. Seeing as this is a property line though there is little you can do.
Yea for sure. One neighbor just had a pond in the far corner of their yard. My customer had water running across their whole property. So who do you think was more worried about the water? Not the owner of the water...
Years ago, a town selectman allowed filling an creating 2 standing ponds in thr property behind me, as his family had a nursery business. My mother grew up on this property, it originally had a tiny stream on it. If you look at overhead pictures, you can see the small stream the neighbors still maintain, with an abrupt end. My yard is wetter than it's ever been, and mosquito haven. I actually have moss and ferns in some parts that used to have grass.
Beautiful job! I also thought I wouldn't watch this entire video, but sure did. First thought, I need a bigger yard! But seriously this should be code or something....the inconvenience, smell, fungus, bacteria, damage to desirable lawns and plants, damage to property! Now for the neighbors places!!
1. I have wanted to install this idea for a couple of years and now know what it is called 2. Great to see the drain in action. 3. Plywood runways to protect the lawn- kudos sir. I appreciated the extra effort. 4. As a plumber who has snaked his share of drains I really appreciated the installation of easily accessible clean outs. I now have 2 questions- 1. I have been considering the use of an edge on the non fence side of the drain I will be installing; is there a functional reason as to why am edge was not installed on this project or was it the preference of the homeowner? 2. Are you willing to divulge the total end cost of the project (I know materials pricing will vary significantly from area to area, I’m just looking for a ballpark figure that I can use for budgeting). Again, I really appreciated the care taken to disturb as little as possible of the existing lawn. The addition of straw over the disturbed soil is an extra step that I didn’t expect. Overall I was very impressed. Nicely done. P.s. I hope the go pro survived its fall.
Mr French was the undersecretary of Agriculture in the US in the early 1820’s. He studied the French drain as a farming solution and perfected it. It had been done previously in simple cultures but the crushed stone wasn’t cheaply available until that time.
The city I live in says I cannot install a french drain that drains to the gutter because “the street will get wet and might get slippery”, yet as the drainage is now, all the rain washes through my yard, floods across the sidewalk which leaves it wet and muddy, and then goes into the street anyway! And when it rains the street gets wet anyway! Sometimes city engineers are real idiots!
![French Drain, Yard Drain, Roof Runoff System Combined [ 3 Great Systems In 1 Trench ] 2024 Updates](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FK5ZlN0Ogow/mqdefault.jpg)
Check out part 2 of this project
th-cam.com/video/wC5c7xPal5k/w-d-xo.html
Great job but along the fence, won’t all that water building up against the fence soon rot the the fence wood and then they will need to replace the fence?
@@bakokat6982 the water building up now has a place to drain so we definitely improved the situation.
th-cam.com/video/cRNYFlsjiSM/w-d-xo.html
Seems like a pretty decent boss to work for
I’m looking at you for reference so I can beat my competition in an architectural draft competition I really like your work boss
I had a client years ago, where his house sat was in a swale where all of the neighborhoods uphill from him sent all of their storm water. He had asked the city to do something about the issue because every time it rained his entire back yard became a pond and it took weeks for the pond to drain and dry out. When I designed the addition to his house, I designed a massive french drain system for him. There were (15) 6" perforated lines running across his back yard into (2) 12" lines that ran to the storm water system underground. I worked with the contractor and the city to approve the permits to tie this system directly into their drain which they were NOT happy about and fought us tooth and nail the entire time because it was a significant volume of water they had been trying to avoid adding to their system for years; they tried to claim that their back yard was officially wetlands. We did the work during the summer when 4 months out of the year it was typically bone dry and we could claim that it wasn't wetlands because there wasn't currently a pond. The entire back yard was completely transformed and my clients now enjoy many games of cornhole out there for all of their cookouts.
Ugh centralized city services are a disaster imo. Glad people like you clean up their mess - too bad you have to deal with their shit. Cheers.
Wow awesome!! I’m glad to hear that.. That is similar to my parents! The block ends on a T @ the sound. Its the flood zone bc the water table. so the town rule from my understanding is you can pump your basement out but it’s supposed to be sent the to the main road where the sewers are. so 13 out of 15 people pump the water onto the tiny block flooding the whole 1/2 of the block & where it pools at my parents house & flooding the entire front of the property! I’m talking a swamp u can’t walk or use the entire huge driveway a side entrance which is the main, causing my parents to have to park on the 1.5 lane block. It’s also fills up their basement more & then WE pump every1s water 2 the main drains essentially. Also “private association” bullsuit. I’m a trim carpenter so it’s not my forte but I kno a few contractors who i could hire, they think it’s gotta get expensive. Imo the whole blocks should b piped to the main storm drain that’s @the end of every block to resolve completely (association fees etc) but I don’t even know if just this type of drain could solve it being near 2 bodies of water🤔
@@lgzz4885 if they're in an association and paying dues, DOCUMENT everything, read the association bylaws and see if there's anything in there about it, possibly hire a lawyer. It's not cheap and yes it sounds like it needs coordinating between the association, the city's storm water municipality, a lawyer, and possibly a civil engineer. I used to live in Old Saybrook, CT and I designed houses in waterfront Beach associations so I fully understand exactly the hoops they will have to jump through. It's also 1-part good old boys club, so if you figure out who the main players are in the association and the city (city engineer, city building inspector, city trustee, and waste water manager), get on their good side, but show them your problems with good diagrams. Utilize Google Earth and show then where the drains are vs the water's flow and direction. Send everything in bulk emails to ALL parties, and anyone who replies outside of the CC chain (unless it sounds like their shitting on another person or department) forward the message back to all so everyone is on the same page.
I know it seems like an easy fix, and it should be, but I don't miss those days of constantly stroking people's egos to just get people to do the right thing for one person in need.
Good luck, and feel free to hit me up if you have other questions, happy to help.
So you destroyed some seasonal wetlands and feel proud of yourself for it
@@brandonn6099 it was his backyard, 30'x100', an actual rectangular "seasonal pond" that brought mosquitoes, and damaged his foundation. Yes, I'm 100% proud to have helped my client, and I would do the same for any other client in a similar situation.
A naturally occurring pond is one thing that should be protected, this was a man-made nuisance, causing structural issues to his home, and a problem that didn't exist when the home was purchased but occurred due to the developments of other neighborhoods at higher elevations without proper storm water planning or management.
Actually, this is the perfect situation where neighbors should cooperate and share the costs of solving their water issues for the long term.....
Agreed. Sometimes neighbors do just that and other times they don't. The problem is the other two neighbors don't care about water at the very far end of their property, whereas the customer had to deal with it across her entire property.
We had a similar situation in our yard...3 backyards all drain into ours...ours technically is graded to drain away from the house and to the side yards and to the front, but it would just settle in ours due to volume...we had to put a drain in along one side and make some of the area pavers
@@GCFD I’ll bet they will care more now! Nice work and cool video
Neighbors might care a bit more now their yard will turn to mud. If there is a neighbor to the back right (looking from house) they might be a little peeve to have all that water in their yard. Litigation issues?
I was just thinking the same thing. In all - this is great professional work but no way I would install and not incorporate the neighbors into this. I would have forced their hand. Who technically want standing water. No one..
Love that you followed up after install to show the results! Well done!
Thank you!
He probably solved the one neighbors issue.
I am in need of a french drain and have watched almost 50 to 75 vids from APPLE DRAINS...to FRENCH DRAIN MAN now. What is missing from these vids is the end result !!!
This is outstanding to see the end results and the how and why !!
To actually see the neighbors lake vs the customers dry land is simply AWESOME !!!! WELL WELL WELL DONE SIR !!!
@@jamesthomas3749 he can get two other customers if he wanted or if they wanted help too
Public service announcement PVC sucks for yard drainage for those that don't know.
To me the best part, the absolute triumph of your work is when you go a revisit and show the final result IRL. Many videos here in TH-cam or regular TV never show the product of their work in months or years later. You do. Thank you for that.
Tune in next time for when their neighbor installs a German drain, which directs water around the French drain!
My god what an A+ comment lmao
What do you do when the French drain doesn't last as long as you expected and surrenders in a few days?
😂
@@--harry_ You count on brave American and British drains to give it back to you.
😂🤣
I truly thought, "I'm not gonna watch a video like this," and ended up watching every minute. I grew up in South Florida so I know about flooded yards. Great job, man!
100% the same! YT knows better than us what we'll like.
These are so great, the after shots with actual rain flow once it’s done takes the videos from a boring how to that others may do, to quality TH-cam content that has a satisfying conclusion
Thank you! Thanks for watching and commenting - Shawn
Nice and informative. I had to call “ Call before you dig” here in New England and glad I did. My house was built in 1870 and there was a dry well which was about 12’ deep right along the property line where I was going to install a French drain. The guy from the locating company found it with a sub sonar machine. The small backhoe I was goi g to rent would have fell into the hole. Gave the guy from the surveying a $20. tip for finding and telling me this.
It's refreshing to see how nice of a job you did on the cleanup. I see too many contractors that do great work on the actual task yet fail to make the place better than they found it. Bravo.
I hear that a lot Joe. It seems silly to get the hard part (the job) done well, but fail on the easy part (cleaning up). Sometimes I have to clean up the truck a lot after a job but I keep in mind that the customer's house looks good. I'm so happy I have great help that works for me.
@Joe M, it appears they literally stomped out a few ruts, raked for about 2 min, seed, straw. Not an ounce of fresh topsoil was brought in to level out all the ruts/damage. How is this a nice job..?
Trust in Jesus Christ--
AGREED!
My upstream neighbor had something similiar put in between our houses, and it did a wonderful job keeping me from being flooded when it rained. He sold his house, and the new neighbor put a walkway and paver stones over the drains, and water would gush over the drain system and into my yard. I built a berm between our two yards, now "our problem" is "his problem". The water gushes under his house.
SO good to hear. . . . WELL DONE! 👏
Nasty, why didn't you ask him to consider a solution instead?
@@robertsaca3512It’s obvious the new neighbors didn’t want a different solution when they covered up the already in place and working one without consulting him.
@@robertsaca3512good job assuming dipshit
@@emmettburns7586Not necessarily, they might not have been aware of its need and function.
Don't blame on malice what you can blame on incompetence.
Seeing the water fly outta the end of that pipe is sooo satisfying!
The homeowner would have to agree! 👍
The person who installed the drain is actually taking care of the neighbors issue as well.
Yep, which is sad because the neighbor refused to control their own water.
I love how this guy basically gave himself two new jobs by damming up the neighbors' yards in the process of draining this yard.
Check out part 2 in the description!
I have the same problem, the neighbors say not their problem, lay of the land , well then screw you too, I'm going to bring in 40 tons of dirt and dam up my yard, you keep your water I'll keep my water, assholes. We could have worked thru this but not when it cost them money. People suck .the screwing just GOES around and around. So much for being NEIGHBORLY.
.
@@duanepredhome6523 You damn up your property and flooding your neighbours and they can sue you.
They did not make the neighbor's property much worse than it was. If the neighbors had been wise...they would have asked the crew to fix their side at the same time. Then the issue may have been fixed all the way around. 🙂
@@gildatyler8458 most neighbours I think would have their side done at the same time or at least run it down the middle and share the cost but just because your neighbour is an idiot and doesn’t want to fix the problem doesn’t mean you can dam up your property and flood his even worse it’s byelaws look it up
Two things I was hoping you'd do, show how effective your system is after it rained and explain why you don't use filter fabric. You did both. Great! Thank you for a great video. You put an awful lot of work into this.
He explains why he doesn’t use filter fabric 24:00
@@prdsilnd5541 Yes he does, just as I was hoping he would do. He also showed how effective his system was after it rained which is why I told him "You did both. Great!" Thank you for adding the time stamp. That was very thoughtful of you.
By the way, when landscapers put in a double french drain on my property (for the same reason as this video), they put a 'sock' around the drain pipe as well as covering it with filter fabric. Our drains tend to stop up quickly due to a lot of sand filtering in from drain water. Unfortunately, ours was never as effective as the drain system in this video. Now I know why.
Cool until a future home owner doesn't like, "All that nasty gravel," pulls it all out and plants roses.
@@ron.v Oh I have a house surrounded by unfiltered rock drains installed by the prior owner. Totally useless after 20 years as 100% of the space between rocks is packed with soil from a combination of water table fluctuation, earthworms and moles. Now I just have a bunch of rocks to deal with every time I dig near the house. The drain was pointless anyway as I'm in a flat sandy river valley, the sandy soil drains as fast as anything until the water table(and local river) is so high that all drains have nowhere to go. It was their attempt to solve the issue of going cheap on the house foundation. 6" higher footings at the start would have made it a non issue(not to mention a better crawl space), instead they made it as close to grade as the inspectors would allow absolutely zero margin. (yes, I bought it anyway, but the price was right.)
The wooden fence will be rotten in just a few years. I would have my neighbor cooperate and place the French drain on the other side of the fence, and definitely use fabric to have this last more than a decade. I would also have put sod over the gravel. The rock looks terrible. Not a bad partial job but not regally well done.
I'm in the uk & a big fan of the french drain, our specifications always make us use weed suppressant membranes, the powers that be think it will stop the drains getting blocked with soil. I've yet to come across any architect that realises a good flow of water will flush away sediment. I will show them this video as a good example of how a french drain should work. Thanks for posting this video
Thank you! Check out my Ultimate FDs video to see this system working IN THE RAIN! It was flowing even harder.
What about weeds, though? Rooted ones, from below?
I grew up in the trades and have been a carpenter for over 45 years. I can build a house from the ground up; masonry, plumbing, electrical, carpentry and do all of my own work on my house. My day job for 31 of those years was in a State environmental agency and I've reviewed stormwater projects, industrial, commercial, residential for a good portion of that time. There is a real storm-water problem in my State. Rain must go somewhere and if there is impervious surface, than rain will find its way, as it always does, to places where it either can percolate into the ground or run to the sea, however if it does not percolate, often it causes flooding on it's journey to the ocean. While warehouses, malls, and most importantly, roads and parking lots, contribute heavily to impervious surface totals, individual homes, especially older ones, contribute heavily to it through the roofs, driveways and roadways. Developments in my State are required to keep stormwater onsite as much as possible and may not let discharges into streams exceed a certain cfs.
Impervious surfaces are a known issue with stormwater. Less known is soil compaction in which the rate of percolation is reduced, sometimes to the point of becoming in essence, impervious. This is especially true with developments where heavy machinery often is running over the soils, compacting it so badly that water is not absorbed and sheets off. Generally speaking, once built, we don't mess with developments once built and certified, but we do get calls from homeowners. Solutions to these kind of problems on an individual basis generally include the installation of drywells, pervious pavement for driveways, rain gardens, decompacting the soils, changing the soil composition to include more permeable materials, etc. with direction of drainage towards the street (which for developments that have them, would then feed into an existing stormwater basin) as a last resort. Soil analysis/composition is extremely important when developing a plan. You can't install a drywell for instance, where the soil composition is mostly clay and will not perk, where there is too much rock or bedrock is close to the surface, or where the water table is close to the surface during wet months. Water catchment (rain barrels/cisterns) are a solution but are limited. There is a way to make an above ground drywell for areas where slopes allow for them and soil conditions don't allow for below ground ones.
The best way to deal with stormwater is when the home, whether part of a development or a single home site, is in the planning stage. That takes some will on the part of State and local governments to create laws and rules, as well as implement them. Unfortunately in my State in the past, people were allowed to build in areas of flood plain and swamps (no longer). There is very little you can do if a home was built in a swamp other than elevate the home and/or collect the water and, if the water reaches a certain volume, pump it if possible to a location that doesn't impact others.
As I've said above, retrofitting a home to be "stormwater neutral" is more difficult, but not impossible. My house is 110 years old and in a small town. My lot is 30' x 120'. I hope to have it completely stormwater neutral by late spring or summer, but I'm dealing with very compact soils. Time to get out the shovel.
Very informative comment! thank you for sharing! - shawn
I understand the policy of Stormwater neutral planning. I'm not sure I understand the why. Why shouldn't someone be able to pass the water downhill? Are we trying to refill aquifers? or Is it purely about keeping the free riders out of the ocean.
You also created TWO more new customers! The neighbors! LOL! I'm sure they'll be calling you soon!!
Haha I have had neighbors who see the outfall flowing like mad call me and want the same for their yard.
When the neighbor's yard floods due to the dam built the new customers will likely be a lawyer. Most places in the US its illegal to dam water flow for obvious reasons. The neighbor unlikely knows the dam was built, next big rain their home floods and they go looking for why suddenly their yard has a foot of water, find the dam and sue for damages and removal of the dam. Never hire morons. It's expensive.
Yeah, that is illegal to just redirect that water into the neighbors yard.
@@dmill9182 Not really redirected. Contained seems more appropriate. Still could lead to legal issues.
so why dont they communicate and work together? would not have been much more work to extend the drain to under the fence so both backyards profit. Half cost for everybody
Love the video; love your calm demeanor; this is a great teaching tool
The viewer can decide what they would and wouldn't do based on their own needs.
That said;
As a former contractor and home owner
I would have definitely put
some type of landscape edging
plastic, green metal, etc, just to contain that gravel and prevent it from making its way into the lawn
Looks like they have kids; gonna throw rocks anyway
And yep, connect the downspouts but homeowner has last word.
A short call to 811 and they would identify the gas lines along with all other underground lines
I think the homeowners were going to do some hardscaping on the drain with a border this summer. And yes! the gas line was already marked when we came out. Make sure to check out Part 2 of this job in the description.
Trust in Jesus Christ our Merciful Lord and Savior who can wash away all burdens and restore us AMEN:)
@@GCFD I laughed so hard at the end of the video when I saw the lake behind the berm you built. Reminds me of a situation my uncle had after his neighbor installed a pool. It turned my uncle’s yard into a 24/7 swamp. And the neighbor refused to do anything about it and was very uncooperative and just down right being an asshole about the situation he caused. So we put in a berm when the neighbor was on vacation. No more water on my uncle’s property lol.
I was wondering the same thing in regards to installing some form of edging. I have been planning this exact thing for a couple of years now as my neighbours property drains into mine and had flooded my house a few times. The previous owner of the neighbours property changed the direction of his downspouts from the east into a natural swale that takes the water away and changed that to drain West right into my yard. An ignorant old fool who could not be reasoned with.
Bonus, after 2 years of considering this idea I now know that it is called a French drain.
Ultimately this shows how poorly the development was graded to begin with because they should have dealt with the water runoff from the beginning. Nice job with your system though.
Thanks for watching and commenting! - Shawn
The fence rot was my first, but the second thought was this!
We call them happy endings
This grade happens anywhere and everywhere, unless you live in Houston then your screwed
@@joevogliardo3131 this is why I always live on a slight incline or a hill.
I dug a French Drain for my daughter to resolve her drainage issues. By far one of the oldest but best methods of moving water off of property. Nothing is more detrimental to building materials than standing water. Concrete and cinder block will draw it up like a straw into the wood of your home, then the termites come to claim what the water didn't already destroy.
Nice work P. 👍
The grass seed and straw layer gets me. Such a professional thing to do. That’s how I know u spent good money.
Standard on any job.
It adds a nice finished touch to the disturbed soil.
What does the straw do? Help the grass grow under it or something like that?
@@bellofello1 Yes, the straw holds in moisture to help the grass grow and helps prevent erosion until the grass comes in.
The after care of the lawn apart from the craftsmanship showed the quality of you and your team’s work. Just great👍
Beautiful job; it’s heartwarming to see a craftsman who takes pride in his work.
Thank you! Thanks for watching and commenting! - Shawn
No pride in the job when you are not doing it properly.
@@leeo9870 seemed to be doing its job exceedingly well. Maybe one more fence segment. What's the issue?
Professional would be an understatement. You guys did hell of a job! And the clean afterwards makes everything look clean
It’s cool that everyone that works for you has a positive attitude and has fun working together 🤙🏽
I totally agree! We don't take things too seriously and enjoy the work. Great people to work with.
Gotta give Shawn his props. He always stops back to check his work!
Thank you!
The husband was worried about yall tearing up most of the yard the water already tore it up.
yeap
Hubby🙄 lazy butt.
He's going to regret not doing it when/if he sells the house.
Yeah, the soil wouldn't compact and return to normal. What did he think happened when the house was built ? Those steps weren't off the ground either...more rot.
It’s like….. magic 👀👀👀
I can only imagine how satisfying it is to accommodate and help people with frustrating situations and come up with a solution… great job!
It is pretty cool David. Solving these enormous flooding problems is cool.
I can imagine all the business he gets from all the neighbors! Super cool!
I prefer jobs where the neighbors work together but it doesn't always happen.
With all the water still going to the fence where the French drain is, that fence is going to rot fast because it’s touching the ground
That’s where the neighbor contracts them and they get payed again
@@3CrossBrand yeah
They could have lowered the ground level where the French drain was under this fence. Maybe ?
@@kevinsexton4710 yeah they should have re-regraded the area a bit and took some of it away front touching the fence
Pressure treated wood?
I have a similar “swamp” problem every time it rains. Glad I found your video. Love your work. It looks great. Thanks for sharing 🙏🏽
Thanks for watching!
I am writing this comment while watching,I've never heard of a French drain so I am going to learn something new,anyway it's very interesting to a Brit here in the UK
You can almost see the eyeballs of the neighbors peeking thru the blinds...That SOB, Now all the water is in my yard! 😆I can't believe the HO didn't want to tie in those down spouts...No brainer. Looks like you guys done good. Good Job. Now take that old timer out for a brew...He earned it.
👍 He likes bud light.
Such short sightedness from the home owner not picking up the gutters. The trencher being there alone makes it worth it
Bob.....I totally agree but she said her hubby had made up his mind. They would have even better results and we were RIGHT there!
I agree with your assessment that the gutters should’ve tied into the drain while you were on site and working. Sometimes people don’t understand the benefits of doing the job right.
🤷♂️ I just hope they don't change their mind and think we can just quickly hook them up. It's a pain to hook into an existing system.
@@GCFD exactly. Do it once, do it right.
In a heavy storm, wouldn’t the amount coming from the gutters and the drain create a backup?
@@mauricem7007 water flows downhill. why would the gutters cause a backup? He had a full bubble of fall where the gutter tied in.
@@maxpower6706 what is a bubble of fall?
What I’m saying is, with the high amount of water that can come from a heavy storm, only so much water can go through a certain size pipe in a given time.
As a french, i'm fascinated by the sheer number of "french" things that didn't come from my country.
J'allais poster la même remarque lol
Henry French, a US Farmer as well as judge, popularized the Idea... dont be so concieted.
You would be considered a Frenchman or Frenchmen, in English, not a French.
That’s because they’re solutions!!!😉
@@vi683aWho tf would call it “frenchman drain”
@@starstencahl8985 nobody because it's not a country, it's someone's last name.
Thanks for taking the time to shoot and include the full installation and examples of it actually working. So many other videos show only the installation and we never know if it worked. Nice to see! Greetings from Berlin, Germany where we have such high water tables that dealing with standing water is a constant challenge.
Thank you for watching and commenting Alexis! - Shawn
How high?
Firm believer in just open trench. With no fabric, no dirt/plant overlay. Nice job on the berm-neighbors won't like it, but it WILL force them to finally deal with their own mess rather than literally dumping it on their neighbor.
Thank you!
I would propose to them to dig a small pond with lily pads and some fish. Make a little water garden.
water will still run over evan if you do put a pond in if the water could soke away it would have done
grandma's house had a long, sloping backyard that led to the house, so my dad and I dug a French drain. He thought about renting out a trench digger but we ended up doing it by hand, and man was that a task. Got some help from the local missionaries for a day or two, and it was extremely satisfying to see finished.
That water flow onto the street was amazing! Good job. Good video
Thank you David!
That back neighbor is going to be pissed!
He should leave his card so they too can get a French drain
These French drain neighbors simply stopped the neighbor's issue from being their issue. I love it!!!!
Fuck em.
Todd Cook 😂 a
Both neighbours should have the same job done . I would have thought your customer has a case for getting his two neighbours to share the cost!
I created a pond and started gardening, making use of that beautiful water!!
👍
Thank you for the primer on french drains. I installed my own a decade ago, while I was flashing out and sealing the foundation. Wish I'd seen this before (I didn't know about clean-outs, and I did use filter paper over the gravel), but it still works well and I haven't had any problems especially with the amount of run-off I get from the snow melt and parking lot behind my property. I was worried I didn't put enough of a drop in it - now I see it's not supposed to be much.
I like how the boss is a leader instead of just a boss. Even tho he is digging he gets out to haul the dirt as well.
I think that's the role of a boss...to be a leader. As a leader I ask my guys what they need and then I find out how to provide it.
Love how you install a berm and keeping the water back in the neighbours yard - Great way to go over and try and get them to use your services to install a french drain in their yard too ;)
As soon as I heard it was an HOA, I would’ve never taken the job. Good job.
Haha, we got approval (via email) so should be good to go!
Nah! HOA means you can charge more to do the job right, where as most other places the homeowner may opt to do the cleanup.
I never knew I needed this channel and I never have needed drainage, yet. First thing I'm always gonna do is to try and blame the neighbors. Then, I'm gonna turn the flood back on them. GOTTEM.
Haha. They may be responsible for their water in your area. Here, owners are not responsible for water flowing off their property.
That is a CRAZY amount of water coming through that french drain! 😲
Yes I got footage of even more too. I can't believe it!
I'm confused why people are saying the dam redirected water into the neighbors yard...the water came from the neighbors yard and they are just keeping from being directed to their yard. If anything the neighbors on both sides of this property should be at fault for not maintaining their properties and allowing their waterflow to drain into this property.
I would agree.
Yes but now it goes to the other yard at the end of the burm. That guy no has a new or worsened issue.
@@williamandrews1683 it was always his issue, it was just in someone elses yard before..
@@timr86868 Not the guy behind the yard, if you stand in the back yard facing the house it would be to the left.
@@timr86868 he means the right hand neighbor, not the house behind the fence. Also William, If the right hand neighbor cares about the flooding they can call GCFD and get a drain themselves.
I love this project so much. I watched over and over again. Great job on this 👏
In our part of the country Northern New York we call the stone you used "crushed stone". Gravel is the term we use for smooth edged stone taken from lake shores or from prehistoric open pit operations that expose old shorelines. Great video!
Insane in the French drain,
Insane in the rain.
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Just to clear up something. Filter fabric is the large sheets of black fabric laid down flat. Pipe socks are what often go around a pipe but like he says, they get easily clogged. However, if you use socks filled with packing peanuts on the outside, it makes the surface area a bit too large to get clogged easily if you lay your gravel down correctly. The problem is often clay as it doesn't wash through easily. The point I'm making is that if you install using materials correctly you'll be fine. He kept it simple and in clay areas his method is 100% fine. It's not necessarily okay in other soil types as it allows soil to flow into the drain easily.
That explains a lot. I've never lived where there were clay soils, just sandy ones. Soil flow is always a consideration.
100%. Never put fabric directly against the pipe, it needs a channel between the outside and the inside. If you don't use fabric in clay eventually your gravel will just be solid clay right up to the pipe.
The right way to do it is with the geo fabric (filter cloth) lining the hole. Gravel and pipes go inside the lined hole. The geo cloth then gets folded over the top of the gravel to encase the whole drainage area. No issue of clogging if you ensure you have sized everything appropriately for the project. The top of the cloth can be covered with sod or with gravel to protect the fabric from the sunlight. Without the fabric, there is nothing that will prevent soil from washing in and filling all the pore space in the gravel. Doing a french drain the way this guy did will result in a clogged drain 100% of the time. The only question is how long until it does clog.
@@MrWezzell Yup. Doing it this way is just job security for this guy. He'll be back every few years to unclog it.
@@MrWezzell Over time, wouldn't the geo fabric clog as well?? Seems to me, fighting nature is a never ending battle....she always wins.
The lack of curtain drain will often lead to standing water too, nice job
Another reason to buy during the rainiest part of the year in the PNW
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Awesome video! My favourite part was the pet when you shows the water going into the street! So satisfying
thank you Scott! It works for sure.
In Australia, this type of drainage is called simply an 'agricultural drain'. It is perforated pipe laid in a trench surrounded by something porous like you see here, gravel. it is very common. That yellow 'dirt' we call clay. It is essentially impervious to water, hence a good base for the drain. However, if it is too close to the soil surface, there will not be sufficient fall to drain the water away. This is a good job btw.
Fall is a huge concern which is why we give the solid pipe a full bubble leaving the FD.
What is "fall" ?
@@timothyandrewnielsen They probably mean the slope for the pipe and water to follow to encourage the water going a certain direction.
French drains are amazing, such a simple yet effective solution. Great work!
Thank you!
Great job on the follow up was the icing on the cake for this video!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Love you for inspire me ( my son is in your America and i made my drainage , ... because of you ... )
Be blessed !
I expect that neighbor in the back will be getting upset about their new pond. Water used to flow under the fence on to the client's yard, but is now dammed up by her new berm.
Unfortunately you are probably correct. Maybe now the neighbor will deal with their own water instead of letting it deteriorate my customer’s property.
@@GCFD : I've always thought your work was awesome and have watched a lot of your videos. This video though has me concerned because I don't think you have the right attitude about this job. Those swales were put in there by the developer however long ago and are meant to handle the water in the entire subdivision. I can only guess about the laws and regs in your area, but here in Utah, if I built a dam like you did and especially if that water caused damage to my neighbor's house, I would end up with the bill and I would also be required to remove the dam.
I'm not saying there isn't a water issue on that property. It seems the placement of that house is no problem but I'm guessing they built that deck some time later. Well, doing that is what put those stairs into that swale. At the bare minimum you could have just moved that swale further back into the yard. At the maximum you could have captured all that water and moved it to the street or at least moved it across the yard in the back.
I think your attitude is helping to reinforce to people that they should fight with their neighbors instead of talking to them to work things out. This is based on at least 4 thumbs up for your comment. I would be curious to find out if your customer has ever spoken to her neighbor concerning this issue and if so what was that outcome. And I get it... With this current "cancel culture" we are living in, a lot of neighbors are jackasses and would rather flip you off to one-up-you than work stuff out. Even so, I think there are better ways to solve your customer's problem than to do what you did with that dam. I know this was long winded but I'm hoping it helps you as a contractor.
@@TrailTrackers It's not a fight, the drainage standards changed in 1990 so the fight is only in those living like it's 1989. I doubt the developer designed a river of neighboring water passing through every backyard. 'Natural drainage' usually only applies to properties 12 acres or larger where everything under that must drain every drop of water from their 'developed land' to the public stormwater system. You should also notice driving around that the most modern standard is a shared swale on the property line unless there is a fence where the water streams are separated on each side of the fence. Unless he's violated some sort of notarized-encroachment then there are no worries, the neighbors water is the neighbors water & sending it over is trespassing. If your dog can't poo in my yard then you're not sending your backyard-stormwater here either, b/c it's parasite & pathogen filled off your dollar.
@@TrailTrackers The Civil Law Rule is quite the opposite: it states that an owner is liable to another owner when they change the natural flow of water on their land and it results in harm to the second owner. That was taken from a simple search from his areas ordinances. Now that the water flow has been changed and pools on the upstream neighbors land, It could turn into some bad ju ju.
The problem comes from the developer using unfenced property lines as drainage where land-owners install fences in the swale instead of on a berm like they should have. Also the front yard is not only the place were sediment fills first but it's also where land-owners want such a flat lawn that they'll spend money on filling up-front first, horrific uninformed planning on their part. Shame on the Federal Government for not educating the people on Low-Impact-Development. Grass Swales must be remade every 5-7 years, they don't last multiple decades & never have.
Finally the adjacent neighbors can appreciate how much they were flooding their neighbors.
Good point!
...seems they would have some responsibility in this.
You guys do great work. You cleaned everything up nicely. Like it was your own home. Great video
Thank you!
i like how you guys comeback and check up on your work to see if it's working.
Looks good except Berming off the neighbor in the back. As a civil engineer, we cannot block the neighbors drainage. Another drain across the back should have been installed or talk to the neighbor to get them to agree to put in a drain in their yard.
As a civil engineer you should also know that grass-swales need maintenance every 5-7 years so maybe that neighbor should get to work on their Right-of-Way.
I had the same thought. You have now changed the drainage pattern that will negatively affect your neighbor. Could be an issue in the future. Also, you should wrap the gravel with a geo textile to keep the surrounding dirt from migrating into the french drain over time.
That dirt will rot the fense too.
Could that become a legal issue between homeowners?
@@cricketcricket9749 After the wood-treatment process change in 2004 the posts should be metal anyway.
"The owner doesn't want the yard tore up anymore.." Bring in the tracked wheelbarrow! 😂 Wicked awesome work guys!
Thank you! Make sure to check out part 2 of this job in the description. 👍
The fella must be a bit of a neat freak. As if the yard flooding wasn't messing up the yard...
And today's lesson is this: always point the wheelbarrow in the direction you want to go with it when it is full; much less effort that way.
So in fact that’s not always true especially with those twin-wheeled barrows because essentially you now have twice the level of surface friction. The biggest factor though is the weight of the filled barrow and the land you’re trying to cross. Basically, because you have to lift the handles to move it, it means you’re actually pushing the barrow forwards and slightly downwards whereas if you pull it you’re actually pulling slightly upwards and out of any potentially soggy ground.
I too , would have put the barrow where he does
@@Nick-B78 thank you nick! I couldn’t have said it better!
Pro tip! Agreed. Position the barrow empty. Then zoom straight when full. Less effort. You can get more done over the course of the job. Not always possible but you’d be surprised how many guys wear themselves out unnecessarily sometimes. There’s only so much man each day. Use it well.
Lol. When i saw the thumbnail i thought the french drain had french lavender plants covering it. I swear im not a dumb female, i just didn't have my glasses on. Watched the video and it was beautiful. Amazing work gentlemen.
thank you! Don't forget to check out Part 2 of this video in the description!
Once again, an HOA prevents progress because they’re afraid of “how it will look.” Geez I hate those things.
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I think HOAs are third, or maybe fourth, to up against the wall when the revolution comes.
If the HOA in the housing subdivision had any balls. the neighbors would be paying for and dealing with their runoff, not the customer. Where I live the County has a strong drainwater ordinance, and the HOA in my area strictly enforces it. Frankly, the county building inspectors should not have granted an occupancy permit at the beginning, the drainage situation as it was.
Here in Sweden the rule is that you "own" your water. If your water runs off your property into your neighbors, you pay to solve it.
I call them neighborhood Nazi's. And I also tell them they were the biggest losers in high school and remain so even more after school.
That is one happy worker after getting that concrete buggy.
Yes! He really likes that buggy. Labor savor and you get to ride around on it!
You get a permit to redirect the natural flow of water? Advice to all: When you buy property... Buy on higher ground. And Never, ever be associated with an HOA.
Hahaha great advice! We don't need a permit in our area.
Thank you Captain Hindsight.
I live on top of the 2nd tallest hill in our city. Our crawlspace floods every time it rains - moral of the story is to make sure your grade is right.
That being said, I completely agree with what you said. Not sure what state this guy is in, changing the grade and/or drainage such that it no longer conforms with the original lot drainage plan is illegal (criminal offense) in many states & requires approval/permits almost everywhere that I'm aware of.
Yep, as I expected. They're in NC. In NC even when the change you make is reasonable, the homeowner can be held legally responsible for damage they cause to other properties. In short, if the neighbor takes them the homeowner to court over this then the homeowner may have to pay for stormwater mitigation on the neighbors property. Other states, like Colorado, make this an actual criminal offense where you can be put in jail.
Pendergrast v. Aiken, 293 N.C. 201 (1977) < NC supreme court decision stating the above.
@@matthewevans4296 Land of the Flea , home of the slave .
I've put several of these drains in different properties I've owned. Did the same and used gravel, no fabric. On my latest property I've created rain gardens where applicable, it works wonders for gutter drainage. Maybe the homeowner would feel more comfortable with that for his two downspouts. No digging around the house and little maintenance on the plants used.
You did a fantastic job. Love the shots of the French drain working. Seeing how much water piles up and the French drain doing it job is sos satisfying. I think that is a perfect width and depth for sure I didn’t realize how much water is actually stuck on the neighbors side. Well done
What a great video -- very informative and enjoyable as well. You and your crew do good work. I admired the way you were undeterred and just got to it with wheelbarrows when the cement bucket was unavailable. Thanks for posting this video.
I love watching other people work. But I felt a little bad for the guys hauling that wet dirt in the wheelbarrows. That's heavy, hard work.
Yes it was a pain. They got hazard pay for that job.
Это прекрасная работа,)когда везёшь, ты отдыхаешь от негативных мыслей. Физический труд, это польза для организма и для нервной системы.
I may have missed something with the neighbors in the back but my understanding is you have two options when dealing with neighbor's water: it can either be drained off so it doesn't create additional water problems or diverted in such a way that it solves their issue as well. The berm will definitely solve the issue for your client but does it pile up and create additional problems for the neighbor? Another neighbor?
The berm may also cause issues for the trees along the back of the property by having the roots on the berm-side buried too deeply, water sitting on the inside of the dripline or dirt being mounded against aerial tissue. I'm curious to see a follow up 2-3 years from now.
The comment by Mark Stevens is 100% true. Any time an issue with water is present in multiple yards a plan for all adjacent properties would be ideal and could be less expensive and beneficial for everyone in theory but neighbors that don't cooperate with one another seems to be all too common. One system could have potentially alleviated the issues between all 3 (or more) yards.
Otherwise, job well done!
Thank you! I always try to work with neighbors if possible.
I’m convinced most people in the comment section do this type of work everyday just based on how much they know about everything.
Same! Haha
They need to add a mud board at the bottom of the fence, they will be rotting all those pickets the full length.
I was looking through the comments to see if anyone mentioned that. Another solution would be to install them 2" clear of the ground. You maintain your privacy and Fido isn't getting under AND you won't be replacing rotten pickets in a few year's time.
@@shyblism8315 This is exactly what we did. Makes it easier to weedwhack, too. Installed pavers in the ground under the fence to keep our chickens from digging under.
Is mud board pressure treated?
@@alexanderx3554 yes, doesn’t have to be but I always use PT.
Not sure how it works in USA but over here (UK) that fence would probably be the neighbours so they wouldn’t be able to do anything to it.
Overall good job, however i see a couple of issues. First (in my community) raising the grade of your property to divert water is a no no. Second stacking dirt up against the trees like that will cause problems and will kill the tree. After watching the amount of water, (if it was me as the home owner) I would of done the entire fence line including the the fence across the back and included the gutters. But thats just me
Check out Part 2 in the description Tony!
I just left the same comment . Those look like cedars and were already not happy . They sealed their death sentence . Poor trees .
Would recommending water-happy trees be better? River birch (zones 3-9) would be one option, or Oriental arborvitae (zones 6-11). If you want to replace cedar with cedar, try White cedar (zones 4-8).
Pair that with shrubs such as Blue elderberry (zones 3-10), and smaller plants such as Daylily (zones 3-11).
This, where I live it’s illegal to block the natural flow of water
Give your business card to the neighbor next door to hire you 😊
Good job
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Nice to see the neighbors got a new pool!
Hopefully the neighbor behind will hire you to solve their new lake problem
Check out Part 2 in the description to see what happened.
I heard they added fish and selling tickets to fishermen 😂
If I was the neighbor I’d just dig down and add rock to send my water to their drain lol
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They'd only have to dig a shovel's width and down a foot at the deepest point. Would only take 20 seconds
I would have taken the French drain to the back fence
We discussed it but ultimately the H.O.'s budget didn't allow it. We placed the drain where it would be most effective.
Yeah I was thinking that too. Budget and quality often collide.
@@GCFD Yeah, pay now, or pay later situation.
Excellent job. I know they are happy customers
Nice job!!
Where I live, a homeowner -- by County drainage ordinance -- is responsible for their own water...and may not allow it to drain onto another's property. The two adjacent homeowners in this subdivision would be responsible for installing french drains, dry wells, berms, and/or water gardens on their properties, not your client. Strictly enforced.
Wow, thanks for sharing. That's the opposite here. Homeowners are not responsible for water flowing off their property.
@@GCFD Thanks Gate City. Used to work with a wonderful fellow from your town, Mark Musick.
Since 2012, when the ordinance was put into place, homeowners in our county are responsible for their own runoff. All proposed plans for new homes must include runoff calculations and a site plan (including drawings, etc) for how this calculated level of runoff will be handled on the homeowner's property. It is strictly enforced by the County and HOA's. (Homes built before 2012 must also adhere to the standard. So if there is a runoff issue, the homeowner must mitigate.)
Its the opposite in the UK - you have to take water thats draining from adjacent land
I never realized how important my back yards drainage ditch is.. Wow
👍 you're lucky to have it!
Use a core drill to make a hole on the curb
I was thinking the same thing. Sloppy curb work.
The only thing that matters it that the job got done
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You have no idea how much I appreciate this video, I have a water problem that kept me up at night. I am going to definitely try this French Drain. Thanks for sharing such a detailed video 📹
Nice work, Shawn and crew
Love the videos
Thank you for uploading
Thanks Xavier! Thank you for watching! - Shawn
Thanks now I have an idea of what to do with my brothers backyard...
No prob! Good luck with the project! - Shawn
To me it looks like the French drain should have went back a little more. Just past those stones where his boot sunk into the ground. But it's better than it was, that's for sure.
It should have gone further back but the budget prevented that. Turns out that the homeowner wants more after seeing how well our system is working. We will be back out there this week for the install.
@@GCFD that's great. I tell all my customers this "no one has the time and money to do it right but EVERYONE has the time and money to do it again" lol always true, even in this case. Great job guys.
I like how you roll! Always a pleasure to watch true craftsmen at work. Pride in doing a job correctly is good to see. Analyzing the job/situation, setting the expectation for the customer then solving their issue: Win, win, win. Good on ya!
thank you!
I think the french drain went in the wrong yards!
In a perfect world you would want to drop a slope or channel under the fence so that you have 6 inches of clearance to allow the water to fall into the drain before it reaches the fence. Seeing as this is a property line though there is little you can do.
True. This work should of been done on the other side of the fence
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Yea for sure. One neighbor just had a pond in the far corner of their yard. My customer had water running across their whole property. So who do you think was more worried about the water? Not the owner of the water...
The neighbor clearly doesn’t give a hoot! They need Le French drainauge sestum! If I had a house I’d be doin that Shiite myself!
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Years ago, a town selectman allowed filling an creating 2 standing ponds in thr property behind me, as his family had a nursery business. My mother grew up on this property, it originally had a tiny stream on it. If you look at overhead pictures, you can see the small stream the neighbors still maintain, with an abrupt end. My yard is wetter than it's ever been, and mosquito haven. I actually have moss and ferns in some parts that used to have grass.
It sounds like the water is hanging in your yard now.
Beautiful job! I also thought I wouldn't watch this entire video, but sure did. First thought, I need a bigger yard! But seriously this should be code or something....the inconvenience, smell, fungus, bacteria, damage to desirable lawns and plants, damage to property! Now for the neighbors places!!
1. I have wanted to install this idea for a couple of years and now know what it is called
2. Great to see the drain in action.
3. Plywood runways to protect the lawn- kudos sir. I appreciated the extra effort.
4. As a plumber who has snaked his share of drains I really appreciated the installation of easily accessible clean outs.
I now have 2 questions-
1. I have been considering the use of an edge on the non fence side of the drain I will be installing; is there a functional reason as to why am edge was not installed on this project or was it the preference of the homeowner?
2. Are you willing to divulge the total end cost of the project (I know materials pricing will vary significantly from area to area, I’m just looking for a ballpark figure that I can use for budgeting).
Again, I really appreciated the care taken to disturb as little as possible of the existing lawn. The addition of straw over the disturbed soil is an extra step that I didn’t expect. Overall I was very impressed. Nicely done.
P.s. I hope the go pro survived its fall.
Informative video, didnt know that was called a french drain over in the US!
They work pretty well!
"French drain" has nothing to do with France! The original idea was thought of by a guy named Wm Flagg French.
Mr French was the undersecretary of Agriculture in the US in the early 1820’s. He studied the French drain as a farming solution and perfected it. It had been done previously in simple cultures but the crushed stone wasn’t cheaply available until that time.
The city I live in says I cannot install a french drain that drains to the gutter because “the street will get wet and might get slippery”, yet as the drainage is now, all the rain washes through my yard, floods across the sidewalk which leaves it wet and muddy, and then goes into the street anyway! And when it rains the street gets wet anyway!
Sometimes city engineers are real idiots!
Luckily here the city doesn't mind draining to the streets.