As an Electrician, I have been involved with many trenching operations, not just limited to Electrical. One of the funnier things I heard was that, here in King County WA, we were required, for a while, to fill any sewer trenches with River Rock. As a result, the sewer lines going to the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) were acting as French Drains, channelling groundwater from the surrounding countryside directly to the Plant. So, we switched over to filling the trenches with crushed rock, and compacted it, because these trenches needed to be stable, generally following roads (down the middle!), and/or crossing underneath them. This acted like a dam and prevented the natural flow of water through the soil, resulting in a soupy swamp arising uphill from the trench. The solution, as I understood it, was to have River Rock for 20', and then a 3' band of compacted crushed rock, with mandatory compacted crushed rock for road crossings. This allowed for the natural flow of groundwater around the sewer line, while preventing the funnelling of it to the STP.
King County is hilly and the folks there never understood ground drainage. They will put basements on hillsides and not understand why they flood. It's because the rain flows on the surface and just under it but above the hardpan soil which is only a couple feet below grade and nearly entirely impervious. A basement creates a bathtub even at a high elevation. There's a similar problem with these trenches they struggle with. The linear depression in the hardpan forms an underground stream. They should either try to restore the imperviousness to the previous level or just give the stream an outlet to a body of water. Sounds like instead, they are mixed up and switching back and forth.
@@zane43 And let's mention all the houses in flood plains that have basements, like, say, the entire Kent Valley, and the flatlands of Puyallup as just a couple examples. My Landlord is a Licensed Contractor, and made himself a new road on his farm. He basically cut a ditch 3' deep to make this "Driveway." Now he's driving across wet clay and complaining about the mess. And he's too cheap to buy any crushed rock to put on it. Our Glacial Till is a trip.
The entire Puget Sound Basin is a mess when it comes to ground water control - and so are the codes that stipulate how to deal with it. The counties here will issue a building permit on virtually any slope, just to increase the property taxes.
i can't explain how much you inspire me to install a drain. i'm nervous as heck that i will get it wrong but with your videos i feel i'm prepared to try. THANK You
A lot of people don’t like the fabric because it can easily get clogged up after a few years of grass/roots growing into the fabric. When it does this (which it will with the type of grass we have here) the water won’t drain down through the sod. With that said, you clarify that the drain is mostly intended to drain the water that is in the ground, not the water on top. For this I think it’s more important to keep the pipe free of dirt and roots and the fabric should help with that.
Thanks for the video. It's about 18 years too late, lol I remember arguing with someone having me install pipe for them they wanted holes up to catch the water and carry it away. I had to start packing up to leave. I said I would absolutely not install it wrong. That was a crummy morning. This video is proof to show people who don't understand ground water is what makes surface water. Thx
that's TRUE! i did see one video put up by AppleGate that had a certain type of soil (clay maybe) that did not allow water to sink beyond 3 inches below the surface. as they dug it up, it was dry soil below 3 inches which makes the case for a catch basin in addition to french drain.
Hard pipe wrapped with gravel that is wrapped with fabric. The hard smooth perforated pipe can clear itself out with a good flow, corrugated does not do as well. The amount of dirt filled corrugated I have seen, and replaced, has convinced me I will never willingly install corrugated in a drain.
Its all relevant to the environment and the job its required to do. Regardless it will have a lifespan. The only ones I have had to fix were caused by owners and landscapers damaging them. The only silt filled ones I found were from improper slope. I told those customers you can jet it out every three or four years or we get a bid going to dig it out and replace.
For draining surface water from my orchards, I have found it beneficial to lay weed fabric down, then cover with gravel. Within a couple of years, the grasses grow over the whole thing, and it turns muddy spots into dry land, via the drainage the gravel provides. The grass cover then allows easy orchard floor work.
This is merely my opinion, and it won't matter to you now, but maybe someone else reads this: I don't use socks around the pipes because I would rather have dirt migrate into the pipe where water will carry it away or you can snake it. Even though the gravel is "washed," there is still plenty of sediment on it. I do think filter fabric lining the trench is mandatory for longevity. And ALWAYS install a clean out at the top!
@@SeanBaker God bless, man. Hope you get many years use out of yours. I think much depends on the nature of the soil. My new place has great, sandy soil, but there is no elevation to make a drain work. Unless of course I want to deal with an outdoor sump pump. There is no risk of the house flooding, and the flooding disappears in less than 24 hours, so I think this time around I'm just going to let nature do it's thing. The first couple torrential downpours, where I could have paddled a canoe around the yard, were a bit stressful, but I've been assured by all my neighbors that even the worst hurricane in the neighborhood (Sally) didn't flood the houses here out. Anyways....cheers, and have a great weekend.
By using a sock on just the pipe that is the smallest surface area compared to placing the fabric between the drain rock and the clay. A smaller surface area would clog up faster with any silt materials from the clay. So in theory the gravel should remain functional longer with the filter fabric on the outside of the gravel. The sock only protects the drain pipe and not the gravel. Once the gravel clogs the drain pipe is pretty useless. I’m planning on placing the appropriate clay soil geotextile fabric between the gravel and soil to protect the gravel/drain rock from clogging up. I’m thinking of using the 1-1/2” rounded rock (with minimum fines) because that has bigger spaces between the rocks for better drainage. Bigger spaces will drain faster and it rains 75”/year here in Crescent City, CA so the water volume is huge in a 4” rainstorm. Locals have described 7” of rain in a single storm! I’ll run the gravel to the surface to also catch ground run-off and place catch basins every 30’ or so to enhance surface water collection but to importantly double as clean outs to deal with clogs. I read that 1 catch basin is equivalent to 40’ of French drain. I worry about corrugated pipe getting torn up with a big snake’s cutter head; ie catching on the ridges and the corrugated pipes are all relatively thin. So I plan to invest in the thick walled and smooth schedule 40 PVC. I looked at the high octane corrugated pipe but the shipping to the west coast was 3x the cost of the pipe! $500 to ship a 100’ coil is outrageous!
Thanks for advice I will use this for my drain, have a field at the back of us about 2mtrs above our ground and when it rains with the slope water had been collecting behind causing waterlogged ground , I’ll need approx 50 ‘ to go full length and down side to bottom of drive which slopes away . Thanks for your time and sharing .
About 13 years ago I installed around my house 1 inch perforated PVC pipe, only in gravel, no fabric. Keep working flawless till now,. The flow is as good as in first day, the water gets drained very fast after a strong rain.
I dont doubt what you say is true but eventually the surrounding soil will percolate into the spaces between the gravel and clog the drain. Geotextile keeps most of that soil out so the drain will last much longer; thats why its done.
@@supernom The surface area of the textile is much greater than the surface area of the pipe, so it can keep working even if partially clogged. Civil Engineers use Geotex all the time, and for good reason.
Fabric enclosing the pipe at the bottom of the fabric with 14'' or so inches of 1.5'' clean cobble, all wrapped in the fabric, - then the silt, clay, and other small grain soil goes/flows through the fabric with rainfall events and flows through the french drain, and on the outside of the fabric there will be larger grit soil particles, which are beneficial to the drain system@@supernom
I wrongly never put fabric around the 1 1/2” stone I used in my drain system. After a couple years I had places where dirt fines filled the side and top layer of stone and it prevents the water from getting into the French drain especially in winter when those places freeze. I brought my stone to the surface because if I put the sod back on it would prevent the surface water from going in when it freezes. Wish I knew to use the fabric when I did the work. Never thought enough soil and fines would work their way in between that 1 1/2” stone to a point it’s blocking water flow. Stone is so big I can’t shovel and clean it out. Backhoe would probably destroy the pipe if I used that. Lesson learned I guess.
My father put a french drain in the unfinished basement. He did not use fabric (id don't know if they wrapped it the 70's. Anyway it worked well for 30 years. Water started to perk up in the center of the basement and I ran a snake into it. It was clogged with mud.
Based on personal experience after going thru three hurricanes and water runoff from three neighboring properties. I would say ‘hell yes’ the French drains with that peanut and fabric cover is worth its weight in gold. It’s works very very well. I would say I would put gravel over the top of the pipe. It’s allows better water follow thru and run off and drainage.
I did something similar last year behind a good sized retaining wall. The ground leading up to it has a little ground running down to the wall so it catches a lot of water from the yard and even overflow from the street sometimes. I was worried about the wall's stability over time with too much water piled up behind it so I put a bunch of stone at the base, the perf pipe, more stone and then covered it with fabric before back filling. The wall is filled with stone also so I figure any water that makes to the wall will drain down to the pipe and eventually out from the behind the wall. All I can say so far is the wall hasn't moved and I am not a civil engineer.
I'm a 70 yr old woman and I can't tell which way is correct. I've watched many of both these and the French Drain Man's and they are both so different. I wonder if it has to do with climate.
I put perf PVC hole side up where pipe is next to house, then hole side down where I want the water to percolate into the soil. The whole point is to move the water away from the house, and since my gutters drain into the system, I don't need to percolate right next to my basement. I actually have a catchment basin at the end to keep my koi pond full. Obviously the stone and fabric will allow water to carry around for any blockages. No floods in my basement since I installed.
Now you tell us!!! You preached corrugated drain pipe before now you change it up after I installed 300ft of it. 2 years ago. No worries it still works.
Awesome to see in action! You can have the concept in your head, but when you see it it "clicks" a little better. You also want some slope on the tubing, right?
Fantastic video! Wow! The PVC moved that water so much more rapidly! Proof PVC is better in most circumstances, easier to clean and will last longer. Very important to have the gravel and fabric too as proven. 👍
Depends on the application…. I have PVC carry water (from downspouts) about 6-8’ from house to corrugated, perforated drainage pipe buried in planting beds and then to street/storm drain.
PVC pipe will be better in transporting water the corrugated pipe. But does that matter? If it is not over capacity and it is just a question how how long it takes to transport away the water, does it matter if the water after a rain is drained in 1 versus 2 hours? Solip PVC pipe transports water faster because it has smooth internals. The drawback is that you can bend PVC pipe, that's what corrugated pipe is designed for. Both exist in perforated and no perforated variants. So better is a question of what you prioritized and the intended paths of the pipe. If it is in a straight line versus if there is lots of bend will change what is better or at least simplest and cheapest to install.
during storm, our backyard is flooding and looking for a solution. I watched many channels about French drain and like it, also curious how does it work? Your video answered that. Thank you
Personally I find using any geotex fabric a waste of money . In time it forms a barrier to water ingress ,if for example you have clay or heavy soil ,,the same goes for corrugated pipe ,the ribs collect debris which builds up in time causing blockages . Smooth bore pipe eliminates all of that accelerating the water flow the longer the stretch ,Its the sizeof stone that is the factor .
Another important standard is to NOT use perforated pipe once you are out of the area needing drainage. I have seen multiple times where they used perforated pipe the whole way and all it did was transfer groundwater to another location underground and causing slips.
If you put stone under the French Drain pipe water will accumulate in the stone and will not run off in the pipe. I think the pipe should lay on the fabric at the bottom of the trench. This was all the water enters the pipe and drains away.
You are watching too many false videos! We wrote the book on Rainwater Drainage! Over 60 million views and helping so many people every day! Don’t be fooled by some random guy that does 8 jobs a year and puts down everyone that installs drains!! Thanks for your comment
@@appledrains With all due respect, you didn't answer the question. Can you lay the pipe on the fabric? If the answer is no, then please state why not. I'd like to know because this is a project I will be doing in the very near future and I want to make sure I do it right the first time. Thanks.
Not sure the video answers this specifically. If you put the drain on top of fabric the water at the base can only go through the very small areas of fabric next to the pipe holes at the pipe base and tiny soil particles will quickly block these fabric areas , so then only the holes higher up the pipe circumference can take water that has gone through the much larger areas of fabric and through the large volume of stone. Putting stone under the pipe will hold some water there but it does not matter as beneath the pipe will be full of water if it is soil, sand or anything else.
@@ColinCarFanYou're absolutely right their video does not touch on why the gravel below the pipe is important. I'll tell you why as the guy from Apple drains, here, is too proud to admit that they don't in the video. Basically, the stone gravel isn't permeable and this allows the water to rise up relatively free of soil particles thus aiding the movement and flow of water into and along the drainpipes interior channel.
Thx, Australia we call them subsoil drains… black slotted pipe is known as ag pipe / agricultural pipe, socked or unsocked. Plus the good old rubble drain .
I live just outside Toronto, Ontario and they sell corrugated slotted tile with what I call a “sock” but it’s a filter wrapped on it already. It must be a U.S. thing where you have to wrap it with fabric yourself. All the videos I’ve seen that to wrap with fabric.
A French drain does not have pipe in it, they are made entirely out of rock or stone. A drain uses solid pipe and a weeper uses pipe with holes or slit, a weeper can also be wrapped in a “sock” or not. Schools out!
My downspout drain from the back of the house goes to the street in buried 4-inch corrugated pipe, under my side yard. But two of the downspouts of a neighbor also hook into this main line out to the street. A common thing in this development, they tell me. So the pipe can't hold all 3 feeds, and rainwater floods my yard through the pipe junctions. I thought I might French drain it, but the "soil" is all black clay and won't perk at all. Should I run a gravel trench the whole way, or what? Have repaired these pipes in several places, and thanks for showing me how. You're right, Lowe's has more than Home Depot in this department.
Did it handle the water at one time? Maybe the pipe needs to be cleaned out? If it never worked well due to volume then I'd just disconnect from your common line and run a line just for your house. Add a yard drain if you need it.
Ah.. From someone who does real testing in commercial systems, I'd suggest doing more stress testing with video, like adding leaves, small pebbles and mud with grass in the pipes. The manufacture claim that's the advantage of corrigated over straight pipe.. You showed how both work in perfect world..we need to see debris in it and worst case so we know when each case benefits..
The real testing is letting these systems go for a year and then looking at their output quantity as well as quality of water coming out. The type of gravel you use could also greatly affect the effectiveness of these systems.
@@BobDevV yea, I'm in exactly the same boat... I did it as per spec but after years feel straight is better..they claim the ridges create turbulence that creates a self cleaning effect but I agree that if it does, it is outweighed by sediment accumulation trashing up the line.. And to your very point water stayn in those spaces is bad all the way around.. I think its just cheaper and they tryn to justify it with excuses..
Great... for a season or two but if you want it to last make sure to cover the landscape fabric with at least a couple of inches of straw. Straw transmits moisture without carrying silt which will eventually fill up both situations offered here. Start with a bed of straw, lay fabric on top, then 3/4 washed crushed stone then lay your pipe, more stone, wrap with fabric and cover with straw. You're welcome.
@@anthonyelledge7475 Left on the surface yes but can last decades when deprived of oxidation and even when decomposed creates a path for water transmission.
@@anthonyelledge7475 Trust me. It works. They use straw to transmit water in highway construction. It was used on the TransCanada highway going through the swampland in Burnaby BC. It leaves behind a permanent pathway.
Great idea and I absolutely believe it will too. I think I'm going to try it with my French drain too that I'm planning to install very soon. Thanks for the suggestion. 👍
Wow that PVC flows really nice! I never liked the perforated pipe myself.. Interested in the grass, are you missing a layer of top soil? Cause that grass won’t grow. Thinking on my French drain to just have 57 stone and then river rock on top, no soil or grass to containment the system.
I don't like corrugated piping because it holds water in the small ridges which can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes. I prefer smooth, perforated piping for that reason in my area.
Probably whatever allows you to maintain a minimum 1% slope (required for wster to drain) all the way to the outlet. If you're asking about how much material should be between the surface of the ground and the top of the pipe I'm not sure
We dig according to the frost line,or if installed at footer.we go just below the depth of the footer,so the water flows at a lower level Than the top of footer,Works good for us,we use lots of gravel,im talking several tons around a 2200 square foot home,
I have watched a few videos on french drains and this is definitely the best! My only concern is laying sod directly back onto pipe with out any base soil for sod?
put drain rock over the pipe, enclosed with fabric, so that none of the soil flows into the system. I'd use a layer of sand over the fabric then another layer of fabric before adding soil, as a buffer for the roots.
I just hired a company to do a FD and he put the drain in and then put in the gravel. I fired him knowing the gravel had to go first, after watching this video. Unfortunately the pipe was too difficult to remove so I lifted the pipe as high as I could and shoved as much gravel underneath as I could. Hope it works. Lots of videos show workers placing the pipe over dirt - no gravel and no fabric - good luck with that. It would be nice if more contractors watch this video.
I have a friend who is an engineer and his sites they never put gravel down first. Why would you? It just holds the water below and stops it from getting in the pipe
@@AlexSilis IDK because when I did my first drain I lined the drain with fabric then a layer of gravel, then the pipe, more gravel and burritoed the drain and it works fine. If any dirt gets into the drain and dirt will the dirt is going to smash between the pipe and fabric and clog. The pipe is less likely to clog with dirt when the pipe sits on the gravel.
@@AlexSilis IDK because when I did my first drain I lined the drain with fabric then a layer of gravel, then the pipe, more gravel and burritoed the drain and it works fine. If any dirt gets into the drain and dirt will the dirt is going to smash between the pipe and fabric and clog. The pipe is less likely to clog with dirt when the pipe sits on the gravel.
Great vids but there's one thing that I don't understand... I can see how these systems work when newly installed, but why doesn't the mesh on any drain tube get blocked with sand, clay/soil etc or the slots/holes get blocked up (without mesh) until it doesn't flow (just like a vacuum cleaner bag or filter getting blocked up)?
That's what the fabric is for. To filter that out so it doesn't get into the perforations. Of course. What prevents the fabric from clogging up is the next question 😉
@@DannyBowen25 Not the next question. It was the analogy used in my 1st question - copy/paste "(just like a vacuum cleaner bag or filter getting blocked up)"
Thanks for the demonstration. I'm wondering if anyone ever used groundwater or surface collected water to move away to a different point in the garden and use for irrigation in a dripping system? I need to install a french pipe in my garden but I won't be able to direct the pipes into an IBC tank due to difficult terrain and placement of the tanks themselves. So I'm thinking I'll try and accumulate the rainwater in solid pipes close to my raised beds where I'm able to open a tap and water them when needed. My only concern with this solution is low water pressure and simply using gravity, but for a dripping system this might be more than enough. Has anyone got a similar solution? Thanks!
A sock over the pipe will eventually clog up and significantly reduce the amount of water that seeps into the pipe through the slits/holes, which reduces the effectiveness of the system. That's why he is not recommending using a sock, but rather lining the trench with a geo-textile fabric.
According to this video, the perforated PVC pipe moves water faster. The holes are only at the bottom of the pipe because as the water fills in the trench under the pipe, the water level in the trench rises. Once the water level hits the holes on the bottom of the pipe, the water will enter the pipe and the pipe will carry the water away (via the central bottom section of the pipe, between the two holes). Water rises from the bottom of the trench - hence why the holes are at the bottom of the pipe.
I want to install a footer tile in my crawl space. The ground is clay, to wrap the pipe or not wrap the pipe? I've also seen conflicting videos on just setting pipe directly in the trench vs. setting a base of gravel then the pipe?
I've used the black weed fabric to wrap the "burrito". It degrades in a few years. Does the green fabric last longer? Is there something really heavy duty so I don't have to redo the system?
@@greadore I suggest you Stop watching the Moron in Michigan. He has no idea what he talking about.. but fabric is not needed unless your in a sandy soil. I would use StaGreen. Available at Lowe’s
The fabric works to prevent soil migration into the stone and eventually into and out the drain. Why are you installing in thin strips though? Should be laid lengthwise and envelope the stone. You can get rolls up to 6m wide and if you do need to oveap you want 1m full lap. And you're going to want more topsoil cover over the stone, if you can't achieve more cover due to grade limitations then just run the stone to grade. There's other good ways to cheaply promote infiltration into the subsoil and/or storage capacity within the French drain system.
Hey my wife and I just recently bought property and had a trailer put on it but our yard is flooding something awful I really don’t know how to fix the situation if anyone has any insight I will gladly hear it
Put a catch basin in the middle of where the flood is, have solid pipe running from it to a discharge area with a pop up emitter. Make sure your slope is down hill, because water runs down hill, if you don’t have the slope to do so you will need to use a sump pump.
Scrape away topsoil where water is building up and set aside for gardening. Dig a pond, and mound that dirt up as a hill twice the area of your trailer. Park the trailer on your new hill. Grade the property to drain away from your home. Dig a drain system around your home and feed it to drain into the pond. Dig a pit at the lowest edge of your property and fill with gravel. You can set a simple solar pump in the gravel pit to top off your pond daily.
so i would like to know how this works in the winter when that bank has 2 ft of snow on it and freezes over, as well as the ground around the perforated tile
SCHEDULE 40 not the pipe to use in RAINWATER DRAINAGE SYSTEMS. This pipe is used in Sewer pipes. Regular #3000 PVC or corrugated pipe are both great material and will easily last many years before the pipe needs cleaned. Thanks for your comment
If I wanted to collect runoff water from the road and use a swale to collect it, but some sort of french drain under the swale to pump the silt-filtered water out to a holding tank, can you please point me in the right direction? This is for rainwater harvesting, to use water many times on the property rather than just let it sink into the abyss or run off.
IBC totes are the key to rainwater harvesting. They are cheap and easy to use. Bit of an eyesore, but they can be buried if you aren't afraid to dig really big holes. Tie them together with PVC.
There is no requirement to install a pipe.... properly sized clear stone, wrapped in a proper layer of geofabric placed to the base prior to rock and wrapped over is sufficient. Yeah I am a geotech and installed lots of "french drains". Thicker cloth will not noticeably slow down the ingress of water since water will always take the path of least resistance. This is nothing more than a sales pitch. No mention of geomorphology for the installation. I am not saying that pipe is a bad idea, its fine, just not an absolute requirement for a cheaper fully functioning french drain installation.
The pipe is there to allow faster flows as the rock base acts to resist the flow. Yes, you don't have to install the pipe but if the flooding is such that it would flood the gravel as well then the pipe becomes essential to help move the water away. In my area we have very sandy soils and pretty flat land. We invert the usage to make drain fields.
@@ianbelletti6241 cleaned using rods. I'm agreeing with you. A trench just full of gravel over time if it gets clogged with silt is useless but a hollow pipe can be cleaned out meaning its useful for longer. Much greater volume for water than the small gaps between gravel aswell
I still don't understand how a pipe with holes down will physically be able to carry anything away. But that could just be me. I would think the lowest point in the trench should be the inside of your conduit. If the water table rises it can enter the pipe from above and actually follow your pipe to daylight. If it can't get above your pipe level then who cares? If water to the top of your pipe is too high, then just dig a deeper trench. But again, could just be me.
How deep are you making these. My project is in Indiana (18’ frost line) and specifically for sump pump from basement out to yard that floods and we put a drain to the creek but the people who did it did it wrong and it’s as if there is no pipe at all. The total distance is 800 feet from sump to creek. There is a “natural” drain here from back yard to back yard and the guy next to me made a cement foundation for a shed right on the natural drain and now it backs up to my yard. I’ve spent too much already. I’m willing to make a pond where the natural drain goes in my yard (250 feet from sump pump) and then make a stream to the back to the creek. It can stop at point 150 feet from creek to facilitate a watering hole for my livestock. It’s an intolerable mess for sure. How deep do I need to buy these pipes ? AND what can I use to make the desired watering holes/ponds? Pond plastic/Edpm ? And where do I place the pipes in regards to the ponds….I’d think if the pipes were too low, they could back up(?)
If I just get a lot of water off my roof (no gutters) that forms surface water next to my house what would be the best drain for me to try and install?
Hi .. I think you should install gutters and downspouts with drain from downspout out to street or storm.. but if you cannot do that, this system would work to help collect the water on the yard
Regarding that wrapping fabric.... What is it needed for? Can you do the job without it? Is it a waterproof fabric or it has holes I assume for drainage ? I am not Sure what is it's purpose so please confirm. Thank you for a great video.
The fabric allows water to enter but prevents and/or limits soil and fines from entering into the stone and pipe which would quickly plug up the drain.
As an Electrician, I have been involved with many trenching operations, not just limited to Electrical.
One of the funnier things I heard was that, here in King County WA, we were required, for a while, to fill any sewer trenches with River Rock. As a result, the sewer lines going to the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) were acting as French Drains, channelling groundwater from the surrounding countryside directly to the Plant.
So, we switched over to filling the trenches with crushed rock, and compacted it, because these trenches needed to be stable, generally following roads (down the middle!), and/or crossing underneath them.
This acted like a dam and prevented the natural flow of water through the soil, resulting in a soupy swamp arising uphill from the trench.
The solution, as I understood it, was to have River Rock for 20', and then a 3' band of compacted crushed rock, with mandatory compacted crushed rock for road crossings. This allowed for the natural flow of groundwater around the sewer line, while preventing the funnelling of it to the STP.
King County is hilly and the folks there never understood ground drainage. They will put basements on hillsides and not understand why they flood. It's because the rain flows on the surface and just under it but above the hardpan soil which is only a couple feet below grade and nearly entirely impervious. A basement creates a bathtub even at a high elevation. There's a similar problem with these trenches they struggle with. The linear depression in the hardpan forms an underground stream. They should either try to restore the imperviousness to the previous level or just give the stream an outlet to a body of water. Sounds like instead, they are mixed up and switching back and forth.
@@zane43 And let's mention all the houses in flood plains that have basements, like, say, the entire Kent Valley, and the flatlands of Puyallup as just a couple examples.
My Landlord is a Licensed Contractor, and made himself a new road on his farm.
He basically cut a ditch 3' deep to make this "Driveway." Now he's driving across wet clay and complaining about the mess.
And he's too cheap to buy any crushed rock to put on it. Our Glacial Till is a trip.
The entire Puget Sound Basin is a mess when it comes to ground water control - and so are the codes that stipulate how to deal with it. The counties here will issue a building permit on virtually any slope, just to increase the property taxes.
i can't explain how much you inspire me to install a drain. i'm nervous as heck that i will get it wrong but with your videos i feel i'm prepared to try. THANK You
french works for a few years. Then it's full of grass roots and blocked. Changing my to PVC with all precautions.
If u believe u can do it u probably can.... or a similar qoute.. weather u believe u can do it or believe u cant your right
What an excellent video. I can tell that a lot of effort went into making and editing it. Thank you so much!
A lot of people don’t like the fabric because it can easily get clogged up after a few years of grass/roots growing into the fabric. When it does this (which it will with the type of grass we have here) the water won’t drain down through the sod. With that said, you clarify that the drain is mostly intended to drain the water that is in the ground, not the water on top. For this I think it’s more important to keep the pipe free of dirt and roots and the fabric should help with that.
Thanks for the video. It's about 18 years too late, lol I remember arguing with someone having me install pipe for them they wanted holes up to catch the water and carry it away. I had to start packing up to leave. I said I would absolutely not install it wrong. That was a crummy morning. This video is proof to show people who don't understand ground water is what makes surface water. Thx
that's TRUE! i did see one video put up by AppleGate that had a certain type of soil (clay maybe) that did not allow water to sink beyond 3 inches below the surface. as they dug it up, it was dry soil below 3 inches which makes the case for a catch basin in addition to french drain.
Hard pipe wrapped with gravel that is wrapped with fabric. The hard smooth perforated pipe can clear itself out with a good flow, corrugated does not do as well. The amount of dirt filled corrugated I have seen, and replaced, has convinced me I will never willingly install corrugated in a drain.
Yeah, this was not super obvious in the demo. Thx!
Its all relevant to the environment and the job its required to do. Regardless it will have a lifespan. The only ones I have had to fix were caused by owners and landscapers damaging them. The only silt filled ones I found were from improper slope. I told those customers you can jet it out every three or four years or we get a bid going to dig it out and replace.
Best in the business. Been watching you for years and installed my crawlspace “footer tile” based off of your videos 👍
For draining surface water from my orchards, I have found it beneficial to lay weed fabric down, then cover with gravel.
Within a couple of years, the grasses grow over the whole thing, and it turns muddy spots into dry land, via the drainage
the gravel provides. The grass cover then allows easy orchard floor work.
My PVC French drain has a thin sock around the pipe and the size gravel you mentioned. It's worked well since it got installed about a year ago.
This is merely my opinion, and it won't matter to you now, but maybe someone else reads this: I don't use socks around the pipes because I would rather have dirt migrate into the pipe where water will carry it away or you can snake it. Even though the gravel is "washed," there is still plenty of sediment on it. I do think filter fabric lining the trench is mandatory for longevity. And ALWAYS install a clean out at the top!
@@Keifsanderson Good reply. My French drain has three catch basins, also.
@@SeanBaker God bless, man. Hope you get many years use out of yours. I think much depends on the nature of the soil. My new place has great, sandy soil, but there is no elevation to make a drain work. Unless of course I want to deal with an outdoor sump pump. There is no risk of the house flooding, and the flooding disappears in less than 24 hours, so I think this time around I'm just going to let nature do it's thing. The first couple torrential downpours, where I could have paddled a canoe around the yard, were a bit stressful, but I've been assured by all my neighbors that even the worst hurricane in the neighborhood (Sally) didn't flood the houses here out.
Anyways....cheers, and have a great weekend.
By using a sock on just the pipe that is the smallest surface area compared to placing the fabric between the drain rock and the clay. A smaller surface area would clog up faster with any silt materials from the clay. So in theory the gravel should remain functional longer with the filter fabric on the outside of the gravel.
The sock only protects the drain pipe and not the gravel. Once the gravel clogs the drain pipe is pretty useless.
I’m planning on placing the appropriate clay soil geotextile fabric between the gravel and soil to protect the gravel/drain rock from clogging up.
I’m thinking of using the 1-1/2” rounded rock (with minimum fines) because that has bigger spaces between the rocks for better drainage. Bigger spaces will drain faster and it rains 75”/year here in Crescent City, CA so the water volume is huge in a 4” rainstorm. Locals have described 7” of rain in a single storm!
I’ll run the gravel to the surface to also catch ground run-off and place catch basins every 30’ or so to enhance surface water collection but to importantly double as clean outs to deal with clogs. I read that 1 catch basin is equivalent to 40’ of French drain.
I worry about corrugated pipe getting torn up with a big snake’s cutter head; ie catching on the ridges and the corrugated pipes are all relatively thin. So I plan to invest in the thick walled and smooth schedule 40 PVC.
I looked at the high octane corrugated pipe but the shipping to the west coast was 3x the cost of the pipe! $500 to ship a 100’ coil is outrageous!
I just did one with a barito wrap and fabric.
I read that French drains get more weeks of vacation per year. I’m so jealous.
Thanks for advice I will use this for my drain, have a field at the back of us about 2mtrs above our ground and when it rains with the slope water had been collecting behind causing waterlogged ground , I’ll need approx 50 ‘ to go full length and down side to bottom of drive which slopes away . Thanks for your time and sharing .
About 13 years ago I installed around my house 1 inch perforated PVC pipe, only in gravel, no fabric. Keep working flawless till now,. The flow is as good as in first day, the water gets drained very fast after a strong rain.
I dont doubt what you say is true but eventually the surrounding soil will percolate into the spaces between the gravel and clog the drain. Geotextile keeps most of that soil out so the drain will last much longer; thats why its done.
@@hazmat5749 the soil just clogs the fabric instead
@@supernom The surface area of the textile is much greater than the surface area of the pipe, so it can keep working even if partially clogged. Civil Engineers use Geotex all the time, and for good reason.
Fabric enclosing the pipe at the bottom of the fabric with 14'' or so inches of 1.5'' clean cobble, all wrapped in the fabric, - then the silt, clay, and other small grain soil goes/flows through the fabric with rainfall events and flows through the french drain, and on the outside of the fabric there will be larger grit soil particles, which are beneficial to the drain system@@supernom
Maybe I missed something. Was one of the approaches better?
Is it just me…. What happened? 😅
I feel like we went to commercials or something wth
smooth pipe flowed much smoother
I wrongly never put fabric around the 1 1/2” stone I used in my drain system. After a couple years I had places where dirt fines filled the side and top layer of stone and it prevents the water from getting into the French drain especially in winter when those places freeze. I brought my stone to the surface because if I put the sod back on it would prevent the surface water from going in when it freezes. Wish I knew to use the fabric when I did the work. Never thought enough soil and fines would work their way in between that 1 1/2” stone to a point it’s blocking water flow. Stone is so big I can’t shovel and clean it out. Backhoe would probably destroy the pipe if I used that. Lesson learned I guess.
$140.00 for 250' of 4" dig it up and fix it.
What an awesome demonstration of how it works! Thanks for your effort!
My father put a french drain in the unfinished basement. He did not use fabric (id don't know if they wrapped it the 70's. Anyway it worked well for 30 years. Water started to perk up in the center of the basement and I ran a snake into it. It was clogged with mud.
How’s you clean the mud out?
Based on personal experience after going thru three hurricanes and water runoff from three neighboring properties. I would say ‘hell yes’ the French drains with that peanut and fabric cover is worth its weight in gold. It’s works very very well. I would say I would put gravel over the top of the pipe. It’s allows better water follow thru and run off and drainage.
I did something similar last year behind a good sized retaining wall. The ground leading up to it has a little ground running down to the wall so it catches a lot of water from the yard and even overflow from the street sometimes. I was worried about the wall's stability over time with too much water piled up behind it so I put a bunch of stone at the base, the perf pipe, more stone and then covered it with fabric before back filling. The wall is filled with stone also so I figure any water that makes to the wall will drain down to the pipe and eventually out from the behind the wall. All I can say so far is the wall hasn't moved and I am not a civil engineer.
Thanks Chuck from a 60 year-old woman, your explanations were good, your visual were great!
I'm a 70 yr old woman and I can't tell which way is correct. I've watched many of both these and the French Drain Man's and they are both so different. I wonder if it has to do with climate.
@@fewferfev Or sponsors.
Got it , a French Burrito Drain. Lol. Thanks for the vid. We use this method in SoCal.
I put perf PVC hole side up where pipe is next to house, then hole side down where I want the water to percolate into the soil. The whole point is to move the water away from the house, and since my gutters drain into the system, I don't need to percolate right next to my basement. I actually have a catchment basin at the end to keep my koi pond full. Obviously the stone and fabric will allow water to carry around for any blockages. No floods in my basement since I installed.
All good- thanks for your input
Now you tell us!!! You preached corrugated drain pipe before now you change it up after I installed 300ft of it. 2 years ago. No worries it still works.
Awesome to see in action! You can have the concept in your head, but when you see it it "clicks" a little better. You also want some slope on the tubing, right?
Fantastic video! Wow! The PVC moved that water so much more rapidly! Proof PVC is better in most circumstances, easier to clean and will last longer.
Very important to have the gravel and fabric too as proven. 👍
HDPE or double wall corrugated hdpe would be even better.
Depends on the application…. I have PVC carry water (from downspouts) about 6-8’ from house to corrugated, perforated drainage pipe buried in planting beds and then to street/storm drain.
PVC pipe will be better in transporting water the corrugated pipe. But does that matter? If it is not over capacity and it is just a question how how long it takes to transport away the water, does it matter if the water after a rain is drained in 1 versus 2 hours?
Solip PVC pipe transports water faster because it has smooth internals. The drawback is that you can bend PVC pipe, that's what corrugated pipe is designed for. Both exist in perforated and no perforated variants. So better is a question of what you prioritized and the intended paths of the pipe. If it is in a straight line versus if there is lots of bend will change what is better or at least simplest and cheapest to install.
Chuck you're the best! Great info - thorough and educated. I believe I can do this!
during storm, our backyard is flooding and looking for a solution.
I watched many channels about French drain and like it, also curious how does it work?
Your video answered that. Thank you
WOW, what a difference between the corrugated pipe and the PVC pipe! There's no comparison. The PVC is the clear winner.
Great Illustration!
The water running out of the pvc pipe at the end seems really muddy considering that the fabric should have kept dirt from entering the pipe. Why?
Personally I find using any geotex fabric a waste of money . In time it forms a barrier to water ingress ,if for example you have clay or heavy soil ,,the same goes for corrugated pipe ,the ribs collect debris which builds up in time causing blockages . Smooth bore pipe eliminates all of that accelerating the water flow the longer the stretch ,Its the sizeof stone that is the factor .
Another important standard is to NOT use perforated pipe once you are out of the area needing drainage. I have seen multiple times where they used perforated pipe the whole way and all it did was transfer groundwater to another location underground and causing slips.
thank you very much for your brief explanation
🔥🔥🔥 THANKS FOR SHARING CHUCK!!!
Why put gravel *underneath* the pipe? Why not just lay the pipe on top of the geotextile to catch every inch of water at the bottom of the trench?
I think there are holes on the underside of the PVC. I would guess if it sat flush with the ground the ground / fabric, it would block it.
Gravel helps to transmit water better, and during installation it is better to overdig, then fill in with gravel to set the right slope.
In time roots, dirt, bugs will block the holes.
Thank you very much for sharing. Your video inspires me to look into this option for my irrigation system at home.
I used broken bricks instead of stone wrapped in fabric. Works great.
Did you use any wrapping material?
@@fewferfev Yes wrapped in fabric for drains. Had plenty and nowhere to use else.
If you put stone under the French Drain pipe water will accumulate in the stone and will not run off in the pipe. I think the pipe should lay on the fabric at the bottom of the trench. This was all the water enters the pipe and drains away.
You are watching too many false videos!
We wrote the book on Rainwater Drainage! Over 60 million views and helping so many people every day! Don’t be fooled by some random guy that does 8 jobs a year and puts down everyone that installs drains!!
Thanks for your comment
@@appledrains With all due respect, you didn't answer the question. Can you lay the pipe on the fabric? If the answer is no, then please state why not. I'd like to know because this is a project I will be doing in the very near future and I want to make sure I do it right the first time. Thanks.
I’m pretty sure if you watch my videos you will get your answer!
Thanks
Not sure the video answers this specifically. If you put the drain on top of fabric the water at the base can only go through the very small areas of fabric next to the pipe holes at the pipe base and tiny soil particles will quickly block these fabric areas , so then only the holes higher up the pipe circumference can take water that has gone through the much larger areas of fabric and through the large volume of stone. Putting stone under the pipe will hold some water there but it does not matter as beneath the pipe will be full of water if it is soil, sand or anything else.
@@ColinCarFanYou're absolutely right their video does not touch on why the gravel below the pipe is important. I'll tell you why as the guy from Apple drains, here, is too proud to admit that they don't in the video. Basically, the stone gravel isn't permeable and this allows the water to rise up relatively free of soil particles thus aiding the movement and flow of water into and along the drainpipes interior channel.
Thx, Australia we call them subsoil drains… black slotted pipe is known as ag pipe / agricultural pipe, socked or unsocked. Plus the good old rubble drain .
I live just outside Toronto, Ontario and they sell corrugated slotted tile with what I call a “sock” but it’s a filter wrapped on it already. It must be a U.S. thing where you have to wrap it with fabric yourself. All the videos I’ve seen that to wrap with fabric.
@@seen48 great!
Are you peeing at 3:45? hahaha Very informative and well thought-out video.
A French drain does not have pipe in it, they are made entirely out of rock or stone. A drain uses solid pipe and a weeper uses pipe with holes or slit, a weeper can also be wrapped in a “sock” or not.
Schools out!
I think you will find, that Henry French, who was the one who came up with the idea, actually describes using a 'tile pipe' in the drain...
home deppo is clutch for all things drainage
Thanks for this experiment chuck - always great content from you - keep em coming :)
My downspout drain from the back of the house goes to the street in buried 4-inch corrugated pipe, under my side yard. But two of the downspouts of a neighbor also hook into this main line out to the street. A common thing in this development, they tell me. So the pipe can't hold all 3 feeds, and rainwater floods my yard through the pipe junctions. I thought I might French drain it, but the "soil" is all black clay and won't perk at all. Should I run a gravel trench the whole way, or what?
Have repaired these pipes in several places, and thanks for showing me how. You're right, Lowe's has more than Home Depot in this department.
Did it handle the water at one time? Maybe the pipe needs to be cleaned out? If it never worked well due to volume then I'd just disconnect from your common line and run a line just for your house. Add a yard drain if you need it.
Downspout drains COMMONLY clog where downspout meets corrugated pipe. The grit from the shingles piles up there in no time. Corrugated is crap
What's better? How deep do we make it? 8 to 12 in??
Ah.. From someone who does real testing in commercial systems, I'd suggest doing more stress testing with video, like adding leaves, small pebbles and mud with grass in the pipes. The manufacture claim that's the advantage of corrigated over straight pipe.. You showed how both work in perfect world..we need to see debris in it and worst case so we know when each case benefits..
The real testing is letting these systems go for a year and then looking at their output quantity as well as quality of water coming out. The type of gravel you use could also greatly affect the effectiveness of these systems.
@@daveharness70 yea, that would is a must as well..or at least throughout the four seasons... Yea totally agree
@@BobDevV yea, I'm in exactly the same boat... I did it as per spec but after years feel straight is better..they claim the ridges create turbulence that creates a self cleaning effect but I agree that if it does, it is outweighed by sediment accumulation trashing up the line.. And to your very point water stayn in those spaces is bad all the way around.. I think its just cheaper and they tryn to justify it with excuses..
Great... for a season or two but if you want it to last make sure to cover the landscape fabric with at least a couple of inches of straw. Straw transmits moisture without carrying silt which will eventually fill up both situations offered here. Start with a bed of straw, lay fabric on top, then 3/4 washed crushed stone then lay your pipe, more stone, wrap with fabric and cover with straw. You're welcome.
Straw decomposes really fast though, right?
@@anthonyelledge7475 Left on the surface yes but can last decades when deprived of oxidation and even when decomposed creates a path for water transmission.
@@Thephilipcartmelexperience If you put straw around a drain and in a ditch with water, it wont decompose?
@@anthonyelledge7475 Trust me. It works. They use straw to transmit water in highway construction. It was used on the TransCanada highway going through the swampland in Burnaby BC. It leaves behind a permanent pathway.
Great idea and I absolutely believe it will too. I think I'm going to try it with my French drain too that I'm planning to install very soon. Thanks for the suggestion. 👍
Ok, so what’s the best route to go between the two pipes?
Multipe versions of Sta-Green fabric available. Can you provide a link to what you used in this video? Thanks!
U mentioned “pinning” the fabric. What do u use to pin?
The pins are sold in bags in the same spot that you buy the pipe.
Wow that PVC flows really nice! I never liked the perforated pipe myself..
Interested in the grass, are you missing a layer of top soil? Cause that grass won’t grow.
Thinking on my French drain to just have 57 stone and then river rock on top, no soil or grass to containment the system.
I don't like corrugated piping because it holds water in the small ridges which can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes. I prefer smooth, perforated piping for that reason in my area.
Seems like a good place to ask, when depth do you usually dig a french drain? Redoing mine soon and want to learn
Probably whatever allows you to maintain a minimum 1% slope (required for wster to drain) all the way to the outlet. If you're asking about how much material should be between the surface of the ground and the top of the pipe I'm not sure
We dig according to the frost line,or if installed at footer.we go just below the depth of the footer,so the water flows at a lower level Than the top of footer,Works good for us,we use lots of gravel,im talking several tons around a 2200 square foot home,
I have watched a few videos on french drains and this is definitely the best! My only concern is laying sod directly back onto pipe with out any base soil for sod?
put drain rock over the pipe, enclosed with fabric, so that none of the soil flows into the system. I'd use a layer of sand over the fabric then another layer of fabric before adding soil, as a buffer for the roots.
This great try using Capiphon belt with this system it help drain the whole garden
Bet the grass dries a nice long stripe in dry conditions where the soil is shallow over the pipe .Seems to fix your flooding problem though 👍
I just hired a company to do a FD and he put the drain in and then put in the gravel. I fired him knowing the gravel had to go first, after watching this video. Unfortunately the pipe was too difficult to remove so I lifted the pipe as high as I could and shoved as much gravel underneath as I could. Hope it works. Lots of videos show workers placing the pipe over dirt - no gravel and no fabric - good luck with that. It would be nice if more contractors watch this video.
His own earlier videos show pipe on dirt then gravel..
I have a friend who is an engineer and his sites they never put gravel down first. Why would you? It just holds the water below and stops it from getting in the pipe
@@AlexSilis IDK because when I did my first drain I lined the drain with fabric then a layer of gravel, then the pipe, more gravel and burritoed the drain and it works fine. If any dirt gets into the drain and dirt will the dirt is going to smash between the pipe and fabric and clog. The pipe is less likely to clog with dirt when the pipe sits on the gravel.
@@AlexSilis IDK because when I did my first drain I lined the drain with fabric then a layer of gravel, then the pipe, more gravel and burritoed the drain and it works fine. If any dirt gets into the drain and dirt will the dirt is going to smash between the pipe and fabric and clog. The pipe is less likely to clog with dirt when the pipe sits on the gravel.
😅eeeeeede we😊
Great vids but there's one thing that I don't understand... I can see how these systems work when newly installed, but why doesn't the mesh on any drain tube get blocked with sand, clay/soil etc or the slots/holes get blocked up (without mesh) until it doesn't flow (just like a vacuum cleaner bag or filter getting blocked up)?
That's what the fabric is for. To filter that out so it doesn't get into the perforations. Of course. What prevents the fabric from clogging up is the next question 😉
@@DannyBowen25 Not the next question. It was the analogy used in my 1st question - copy/paste "(just like a vacuum cleaner bag or filter getting blocked up)"
@@takleteck7008 oh, I see. I missed the word mesh. My bad
Thanks for the demonstration. I'm wondering if anyone ever used groundwater or surface collected water to move away to a different point in the garden and use for irrigation in a dripping system?
I need to install a french pipe in my garden but I won't be able to direct the pipes into an IBC tank due to difficult terrain and placement of the tanks themselves. So I'm thinking I'll try and accumulate the rainwater in solid pipes close to my raised beds where I'm able to open a tap and water them when needed. My only concern with this solution is low water pressure and simply using gravity, but for a dripping system this might be more than enough. Has anyone got a similar solution? Thanks!
Just what I needed, thanks for the demonstration chuck.
Now can you build us the French drain from oak island season 2😁
What about in clay soil chuck. You used to advise not to use fabric. Has new fabrics now changed your recommendation?
Coconut wrapped pipes to the rescue.
There's a fabric like a sock that is used to slide the pipe into to keep dirt out
A sock over the pipe will eventually clog up and significantly reduce the amount of water that seeps into the pipe through the slits/holes, which reduces the effectiveness of the system. That's why he is not recommending using a sock, but rather lining the trench with a geo-textile fabric.
I always learn from you
Thank you
Great info
Thank you
You forgot to tell us which is better! PVC looks to be much easier to maintain / clean out if it's ever needed.
PVC flows much better and will last longer
It's a lot easier to set your angle with PVC.
The PVC looks to be carrying a lot more dirt/soil away down the drain. May have substantial settlement line if that continues.
Pvc twice as expensive if not more
I think the camera falling off the pipe is shows which is better.🤷♂️
Great info. Question though, would you not need to add soil on top of the pipe for the grass to grow?.
I used very similar fabric to this, looks exactly the same but it's gray instead of green. It works ok but doesn't appear to work as well as this.
Named after a Mister French that developed it.
Thank you. I really appreciate the info.
Thanks Craig 🤓
Why isn't the pvc pipe perforated all around instead of only at the bottom? And which is preferred: pvc or corrugated pipe?
According to this video, the perforated PVC pipe moves water faster. The holes are only at the bottom of the pipe because as the water fills in the trench under the pipe, the water level in the trench rises. Once the water level hits the holes on the bottom of the pipe, the water will enter the pipe and the pipe will carry the water away (via the central bottom section of the pipe, between the two holes). Water rises from the bottom of the trench - hence why the holes are at the bottom of the pipe.
I want to install a footer tile in my crawl space. The ground is clay, to wrap the pipe or not wrap the pipe? I've also seen conflicting videos on just setting pipe directly in the trench vs. setting a base of gravel then the pipe?
I've used the black weed fabric to wrap the "burrito". It degrades in a few years.
Does the green fabric last longer?
Is there something really heavy duty so I don't have to redo the system?
Where in France does the water drain?
Mainly in the plain
I have a question. Is the fabric necessary if there will be no grass over the drain or is it recommended for all installations?
No
@@appledrainswhat is the purpose for the fabric then? Thanks!
@@greadore I suggest you Stop watching the Moron in Michigan. He has no idea what he talking about.. but fabric is not needed unless your in a sandy soil. I would use StaGreen. Available at Lowe’s
my french drain was installed upside down according to your video. the holes were put on top.
Water builds up, drains in from the top, flows out. It will work, but you're allowing more water to settle.
The fabric works to prevent soil migration into the stone and eventually into and out the drain. Why are you installing in thin strips though? Should be laid lengthwise and envelope the stone. You can get rolls up to 6m wide and if you do need to oveap you want 1m full lap. And you're going to want more topsoil cover over the stone, if you can't achieve more cover due to grade limitations then just run the stone to grade. There's other good ways to cheaply promote infiltration into the subsoil and/or storage capacity within the French drain system.
The video was just a demonstration and not actual install, so they used scrap fabric
Demonstration... demonstration... demonstration...🙋
The holes down? Shouldn’t the bottom have no holes so the water flows without impeding the flow? I was always told the holes go on the sides.
You may have been misinformed 👍
Hey Chuck, can you please define the ratios of gravel below the pipe and above the pipe? I'm guessing about 1/3 below, 2/3 above?
Hey my wife and I just recently bought property and had a trailer put on it but our yard is flooding something awful I really don’t know how to fix the situation if anyone has any insight I will gladly hear it
Put a catch basin in the middle of where the flood is, have solid pipe running from it to a discharge area with a pop up emitter. Make sure your slope is down hill, because water runs down hill, if you don’t have the slope to do so you will need to use a sump pump.
Scrape away topsoil where water is building up and set aside for gardening. Dig a pond, and mound that dirt up as a hill twice the area of your trailer. Park the trailer on your new hill. Grade the property to drain away from your home. Dig a drain system around your home and feed it to drain into the pond. Dig a pit at the lowest edge of your property and fill with gravel. You can set a simple solar pump in the gravel pit to top off your pond daily.
Why put a layer of stone under the pipe and not just have the pipe on the bottom directly on the fabric?
So, I make my own decision?
Remember, no drain will work against gravity. French drains will not send water UP a hill.
so i would like to know how this works in the winter when that bank has 2 ft of snow on it and freezes over, as well as the ground around the perforated tile
If the water is frozen why does it matter?
Was you drunk when you asked that ?
...todd , you never said which method worked better
It’s your choice. They work the saney
How often do those French drain fill with grass and weeds?
I wonder would using 1 -2 inch River rock work is good ?
So which is/was the best pipe to use ????????????????????????????????????????
Corrugated pipe doesn't need gravel underneath since it naturally has voids built in.
Really, if you go through the trouble of digging the ditch, add a few more $$'s and get a quality sch40 pipe.
SCHEDULE 40 not the pipe to use in RAINWATER DRAINAGE SYSTEMS. This pipe is used in Sewer pipes. Regular #3000 PVC or corrugated pipe are both great material and will easily last many years before the pipe needs cleaned.
Thanks for your comment
Cool!
Do you have a model or item number for the stagreen fabric? Seems to be a few different choices. Thanks!
If I wanted to collect runoff water from the road and use a swale to collect it, but some sort of french drain under the swale to pump the silt-filtered water out to a holding tank, can you please point me in the right direction? This is for rainwater harvesting, to use water many times on the property rather than just let it sink into the abyss or run off.
IBC totes are the key to rainwater harvesting. They are cheap and easy to use. Bit of an eyesore, but they can be buried if you aren't afraid to dig really big holes. Tie them together with PVC.
pvc it looks to be far better to use than a corrugated pipe?
That Sta green fabric only comes in 4ft wide rolls at Lowe’s. Where can I get 6ft?
how about non corrugated 4 inch HDPE pipe fused together?
There is no requirement to install a pipe.... properly sized clear stone, wrapped in a proper layer of geofabric placed to the base prior to rock and wrapped over is sufficient. Yeah I am a geotech and installed lots of "french drains". Thicker cloth will not noticeably slow down the ingress of water since water will always take the path of least resistance. This is nothing more than a sales pitch. No mention of geomorphology for the installation. I am not saying that pipe is a bad idea, its fine, just not an absolute requirement for a cheaper fully functioning french drain installation.
How is it a sales pitch when he's not making any money from it?
The pipe is there to allow faster flows as the rock base acts to resist the flow. Yes, you don't have to install the pipe but if the flooding is such that it would flood the gravel as well then the pipe becomes essential to help move the water away. In my area we have very sandy soils and pretty flat land. We invert the usage to make drain fields.
Pipes can be rodded...
@@eastyg rodded?
@@ianbelletti6241 cleaned using rods. I'm agreeing with you. A trench just full of gravel over time if it gets clogged with silt is useless but a hollow pipe can be cleaned out meaning its useful for longer. Much greater volume for water than the small gaps between gravel aswell
I still don't understand how a pipe with holes down will physically be able to carry anything away. But that could just be me. I would think the lowest point in the trench should be the inside of your conduit. If the water table rises it can enter the pipe from above and actually follow your pipe to daylight. If it can't get above your pipe level then who cares? If water to the top of your pipe is too high, then just dig a deeper trench.
But again, could just be me.
😢
How deep are you making these. My project is in Indiana (18’ frost line) and specifically for sump pump from basement out to yard that floods and we put a drain to the creek but the people who did it did it wrong and it’s as if there is no pipe at all. The total distance is 800 feet from sump to creek. There is a “natural” drain here from back yard to back yard and the guy next to me made a cement foundation for a shed right on the natural drain and now it backs up to my yard. I’ve spent too much already. I’m willing to make a pond where the natural drain goes in my yard (250 feet from sump pump) and then make a stream to the back to the creek. It can stop at point 150 feet from creek to facilitate a watering hole for my livestock. It’s an intolerable mess for sure. How deep do I need to buy these pipes ? AND what can I use to make the desired watering holes/ponds? Pond plastic/Edpm ? And where do I place the pipes in regards to the ponds….I’d think if the pipes were too low, they could back up(?)
If I just get a lot of water off my roof (no gutters) that forms surface water next to my house what would be the best drain for me to try and install?
Hi .. I think you should install gutters and downspouts with drain from downspout out to street or storm.. but if you cannot do that, this system would work to help collect the water on the yard
@@appledrains You are the best, I like your videos, thank you!
Hi thinks you
Something without holes in it, get the water away as fast as possible and pvc's Mannings Number is about as slick as it gets.
Regarding that wrapping fabric.... What is it needed for? Can you do the job without it? Is it a waterproof fabric or it has holes I assume for drainage ?
I am not Sure what is it's purpose so please confirm. Thank you for a great video.
The fabric allows water to enter but prevents and/or limits soil and fines from entering into the stone and pipe which would quickly plug up the drain.