For folks looking to DIY this job, it's worth noting that the drain should never undercut the footer of the foundation -- codes require that if the drain is set below the footer, it stays outside a 60 degree pitch below the footer (the deeper below the footer the pipe goes, the further away from the house it needs to be). This prevents water and sediment being pulled away through the pipe from undercutting the foundation.
I installed my open french drain around my house using all of your products. My basement smells better and I haven’t had any water in the basement. Thank you French Drain Man! Love the videos! Easy ordering products online. Products arrived promptly and perfect quality. You will be so happy if you follow their instructions.
I'm a plumber with over 20 years drain cleaning experience. I love a 2 way tee on sewer lines. Prevents me from needing to pull a toilet if the clog is inside. I can keep all my nasty tools out of a customers house. A drain cleaner with some experience should be able to tell which way his cable is heading even when the pipe is full of sewer. It's as easy as pulling up on the cable and seeing what side of the pipe it goes to. Your snake is going the opposite way because of how the snake bends when it makes a turn. Don't be hatin' on the 2 way tee. Lol. Great work on the perimeter drain.
People dont realize how complicated ...how many different ways there are to do these jobs...but to get it done right your doing a good job...Was thinking a couple weeks ago about putting an extra 1 to 2 inches of stone on the botttom where in the beginning stages in the first two months after trenching the fines can drift down from the outside edge of the ditch...and this gives them a final resting place outside the fabric ....on the bottom..It seems likely that fines filtration only occurs in the first few heavy rains then when everything is in place the fines are likely done comming through...so this system looks pretty good and I got to see your method for free...You bet thumbs up !
That’s the house just outside of the yard! Just picked up an order last week from your facility. Zeros complaints and easy to work it! Thanks for all your help
Here in Texas we like the trees to shade our house when it's 100° outside which cuts down on the A/C bill. They also add value to the property. Wouldn't cut down any tree unless it was dead !
Thank you for sharing. I understand. Everything comes with a price. Regular small doses of copper sulfate over two weeks is a great, inexpensive way to control tree root growth.
I love the reference to the "clay cap" at the end! People don't realize that one of the first layers of water protection is having dirt that water DOESN'T go through!!! The drain is actually just a backup for having dense water-resistant clay sloping away from the foundation.
We didn’t have a residential building code in place until 1970, and that’s when the code was enforced. Thank you for watching, commenting, and sharing.
Another excellent, informative and educational video. Thanks, for this video FDM looking forward to the follow up videos. I am gaining more confidence in this area and will look forward to offering this service to my clients in the Columbus, Ohio area.
Great video showing reality of doing a proper drain where none existed. This is what the spec home builder I worked for in college called "ball busting work" (& why he paid my fellow laborers pretty well for the time). For those thinking this is a DIY project, good luck replicating what French Drain Man does for a living. You would have to have incredible amount of time on your hands and a lot of talent/stamina. These videos are great in terms of showing how to do projects right and why you need to consider the bigger picture (and make judgement call about what you can control - I can't control the distance of large oaks near my house. First, they aren't mine. Second, the county has tree ordinance). FYI, as bad as trees are, let's discuss home builders that plant shrubs 3 feet from foundation (I see it all the time - azaleas and other evergreens that will eventually grow 6-8 feet tall, and just as wide. Talk about stupidity - my number one pet peeve with builders who probably should not be in the industry.....)
Thanks for the informative video. I have a basement and I’m digging along the foundation wall. How do I ensure I don’t undermine the footer? How far down do I trench below the top of the footer and do I dig at an angle?
@Frenchdrainman love your vids. Question for you or anyone knowledgeable. You mention using this method with no trees, vs a fence line where a neighbor’s tree is present such as in many cases. What do you call the alternative method when a tree present? Trying to understand what to research or how to tie into a burrito system if one can’t cut down a neighbor’s tree. appreciated!
I'm going to say like this video it showed the rout of problem and you progress as your crew want to fix it thank you for this very very good video these type are the good ones i under stand you can't do this all the time because you a very busy keeping every thing going plus bring more work in but i will say good work by you and your team
I'm currently 64" below grade next to my foundation and think I will try to paint the foundation tomorrow.This is a really helpful video, but I am not willing to clear my entire small lot of trees though.
Make sure you clean your foundation thoroughly. I would create an air gap as well by using dimple board. You have ground opened up, and I know you have to keep moving. I have a follow-up video showing us waterproofing the foundation. But I don't believe I'll have it ready until next weekend. It's a lot of editing, it's a lot of video files.
@@kurtvonfricken6829 My uncle has an old cast iron sewer pipe located around 4-5 feet deep and it is supposed to be solid. In 2020, he had to call a plumber to clean his sewer pipe out because he has a massive maple tree about 40' from the sewer line. I helped him install a clean out for his sewer line after his trouble in 2020 and he just thanked me in September of 2023 for helping him install the clean out in 2020. Yes the trees can and will find it. I live in a rental house right now and all my trees are small. If my foundation drain doesn't work in 20-30 years, it won't be my problem!
Roots will certainly get into this flex pipe with so many openings. That said, roots will even get into glue or gasketted sdr35 or schedule 40 pvc. It’s all a matter of degree and balancing risks. Can’t gainsay fdm’s per[se tube though that the further away tree is the Better off u r.
You mentioned several times that water destroyed this house. Could you please elaborate? Also, I can’t believe you didn’t paint the foundation with rubber BEFORE you installed the stone, fabric and pipe. Yes, it would have been more work, but the peace of mind is priceless.
Hi Master of French Drain!!! you know what you do!!!!! your customers are lucky to have you!! I have a question, when digging, what depth are you aiming for? Just equal or below the foundation? Can it be slightly above? Thanks a million! A follower From Quebec!
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN when you say 'wall'. Are you talking about where the 2x6 meets the concrete block, or below the concrete block. My house is off grade with a crawlspace, no basement...
So the pipes right along the perimeter of the house are all at the same level, correct? It’s not until they head toward the sump that it begins to slope at all, right?
Thank you for making this video. Any additional tips when prepping an insulated slab? Just put the rubberized coating on the outside of the insulation?
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN Thanks. I see what you are saying, no need for the rubberized coating with the membrane already there. We put the waterproofing membrane over the insulation in the middle of the slab so it doesn't float during the pour. So it's the same deal on the outside footing, makes things easy. Great channel, love the positive energy you give your crew
Don't recommend putting a roof run-off drain with a foundation drain. We will run them with a yard drain combination. I will do updates on this project. Once we get the gutters on the house we can take care roof run-off drain. Thank you for commenting and contributing. Stay Tuned!
So helpful! How deep should the drain be placed? Certainly you were not at the base of the foundation. My house was built in 1907 and I have so many water problems in my cellar with a dirt floor.
Great info mate. how deep have you gone down below the top of the foundation? Would be great to know as i’m doing my house at the moment which has non permeable soil. so lots if standing water after rain. I will be doing a french drain around the house that runs to stream on the property. thanks
how many feet to a house would you be comfortable with leaving lodgepole pine trees? 30’? 50’? 100’? i’m building in a forest and don’t want to clearcut all my trees, but also plan to clear enough for forest fire safety and to avoid the root damage you speak of.
For a new basement dig, what is best practice for much rock should be poured around the new walls? How much dirt soil on top of the rock? How far down should the dimple board go?
How many clean outs do you recommend on a square structure? I was thinking one on each side but maybe that's over kill. This house seems to have a lot more little corners and additions. I'm planning to have a rectangle build.
@Unknown-pc9yq I don't want to go around more than a (1) 90° corner with my cameras or my jetter. When I'm snaking in a cleanout, I put one in a location where I can go one direction or the other and hit a (1) 90° corner on each side of the cleanout. Then I place another one before I have to try to push my camera through two 90s.
I’m a contractor in northern Nevada. I also purchase you’re materials and absolutely value you’re knowledge. But I have questions that I’ve struggled to find answers. Foundation drain slope, how important is it around you’re footing? Also the “depth/elevation of you’re trench/pipe? The last French drain I did I installed the high octane 14” deep at the high spot, then calculating 2% slope I ended up 28” deep to a drywall. Also installed pipe to bottom of trench. Is this wrong? I can’t seem to accept that a drain that’s level will move water.
Exterior Foundation Drain is level in many cases. If you cut a water bottle in half and lay it level on its side does it hold water? Answer is NO it does not. Water runs out of a level Drain as long as the discharge drops. You can start 10" deep instead of 14" Foundation drain is different than yard drain. This video is a Foundation drain. If you watch everything and don't skip around I explain the differences. I have a part 2 and part 3 to this system. Stay tuned for all the details. Appreciate your support.
No. You could keep Band-Aided it all you want you could spend as much as you want an infinite amount of money, if you don't put a drain system in you will not collect the water. It's really that simple. I don't know why people have a hard time understanding this. You have to manage your water you can't dam the water, you can't block it in anyway. You have to collect it in a collection system built for water collection, direct it and discharge it in a safe location.
So informative. The clean outs should be freaking mandatory on any foundation drain. Silly question but can you slab a sidewalk on a corner of the house on top of the drain?
This foundation drain looks like you were able to get it well under the footer. If you were to hit rock or weren't able to dig that deep, is it okay to lay the octo pipe at the base of the footer where the base of the CMU block and slab meet?
I have a follow-up video showing us waterproofing the foundation. This video was 36 minutes long, and I couldn't remove any of the content because I found the details to be too important. It's gonna have to be a series of videos, and I will cover that. Stay Tuned Appreciate your support!
Corrugated pipe has inlets 360 degrees all the way around the pipe bottom, top, and sides. PVC only has inlets on the bottom. Once a trench bottom is filled with sediment, PVC is Useless. You can't get any water in the pipe. If I want to build a fail-safe drain and I want to throw everything at it, I'm gonna use extra heavy-duty corrugated pipe with inlets, bottom sides, and top..
What about a step foundation? Dig way below the highest step to make the entire trench level with the lowest foundation step/corner? Informative video - appreciate you sharing knowledge!
I've read all comment and listen to all the video, but i'm not sure why you are puting rock in the bottom before installing the fabrics and doing the burritos wrap. More information would be appreciated. My question is related to an interior drain in a crawl space. Also what is the distance from the side of the footing the drain need to sit? 6 inches? Thank you Sir!
@FRENCHDRAINMAN how do you determine if a footer drain is required at the foundation vs. A shallower french drain set back 3 or 4 feet from the house (like a curtain drain? I have negative grade towards the side of my house that cant be graded resulting in some water infiltration under the footer and intonmy crawlspae.
Since you apply the Liquid Rubber on the wall, I assume you have to dig down all the way to the very bottom of the foundation? Just to get the entire foundation wall protected? Im asking because mine goes 8 feet underground.
Man i'm in east WA i need to dig around 2-1/2- 3ft to the bottom of the foundation. I wonder if petrol auger could help me. I plan to dig the earth in 6-7 days.🤔
Fantastic job. Do you have a list of materials? Cu. Yds. of stone; linear yds. of fabric; linear ft. of drain pipe and dry well PN; total man hours. Thanks.
I plan to build a house but I love mature trees flanking corners/edges of homes. If I plan to plant trees, wouldnt I just go the interior perimeter drain route instead and be completely fine?
I use your products on my own property, and I follow your channel. Question: How will the water drain from the octane pipe if stone is beneath the fabric? I have no trees or plants within 100+ feet of my house and garage, when I installed my French drains using your products, I dug the trench, laid the non woven fabric you sell, laid the octane notched pipe, filled it with 2” cleaned river rock, burrito wrapped it, then covered it with exposed 2” cleaned river rock. I would think that having the octane pipe sitting on top of 3/4” gravel wouldn’t allow the pipe to fill with water. Can you educate me please. Edit: Since I have no trees on my property, should I of put gravel down beneath the pipe as you did in this video? Great videos and thank you.
We build our yard drains differently than we build our foundation drains. We were so deep in areas that we were gonna have a lot of backfill. Having a smaller stone around the pipe does add for strength. When you're going to backfill for 6-11 feet, there is a ridiculous amount of weight. High Octane is the strongest perforated pipe. But we love overkill. In yard drains, we do not want to leave any water behind. With the foundation drain, I'm okay with there being a couple of inches of stone holding water underneath the pipe. I want the very best soil filters zone that I could build for my foundation drain. Thank you for supporting our channel and our products. Hope I answered all of your questions.
A contractor I know did that. What happened was the pipe developed a clog. Water filled all the voids in the stone, and the hydraulic pressure blew the basement wall in. The basement was filled with mud. The homeowner had to stay in a hotel for a couple of months while the repairs were made. So NO, I do not recommend that. It's a terrible idea. Bulk surface water should be shed away with native soil sloped away from the home to not put additional stress on the foundation drain. I hope this help
I have a follow-up video showing foundation waterproofing. A full basement doesn't have a 42" footing. You want the pipe just below the cold joint ( where the foundation wall meets the footing. Thank you for supporting the channel Appreciate you
Quick question what stops the water from leaking into the foundation or under foundation into the basement? Would this work on an old house with old rock foundation. I have water leaking into and under foundation. I would love to send a video for your input. Thanks.
Hi FDM. Great video and congratulations for the years of success. Im here in New York with thoughts of a new foundation for a cellar (4.5ft underground and 4ft above ground with 50ft by 33ft foundation size). Im following and taking notes. But do you necessarily have to have the drain pipes run to a sump pump in the yard or can i run pipes to drywells if you have a 30ft long rear yard?
My personal experience is dry wells 99% of the time can't handle the water. It will fill up, back up and cause flooding. If you want to core the footing and run the sump system inside you can. This was a house on a slab so that wasn't even an option.
Good point with trees near a house, thanks! Considering all the hard work this is, I would open up a couple basic points for a discussion in case if anyone would want to joint: First of all, gravel is an easier path for water to travel, so all the roof water, some water from a ground and some of the surface ground water will be there, constantly keep the foundation moist to wet (depends on a rain fall intensity and sump pump capacity). The idea is to get all the water and even moist (molding issue) away from foundation, not to invite it there. Wouldn’t it a better choice to dig the trench a few feet away from the foundation and do a concrete pad around the house up to the trench? This would probably be easier to dig by avoiding carving around those utilities that runs along the house foundation. The other point is about a gravel. I noticed on the video rounded edge gravel was used in the trench. This may be due to economical reasons or a local quarry availability, but rounded gravel tend to shift or settle easier and prompt to faster clogging. Edged gravel on the other side, interlocks and doesn’t move over time (even without a cloth), as well as provided better water channeling for ages.
I see that you put the drain around the front steps. Would you ever want to undermine underneath steps to put the pipes up against the footing instead of around the steps. Where do you buy your pipe and the burrito blanket material? Good video.
I thought if your going deep next to house you need to be 4 ft or more away from foundation or else it promotes water to go towards the foundation? I am having small amount of water come into old basement. Any insight would be appreciated on the reasoning to do a drain deep like this but so close to the house instead of 4 ft away from foundation. Thank you for all your videos!
Do you do this in sections so the home doesn’t have any chance to shift or do you just get it all done and placed in one day. Then you have no worry of shifting? Need to do this to my home I have horrible water entering my basement was gonna do similar but put a seal coat on the wall before backfilling.
@@FRENCHDRAINMANCan you explain a bit more what would you differently? I need to build a similar foundation drain and it would be next to my crawl space (post and pier foundation)
You really need to watch the whole video and stop jumping around. Because we wrapped the stone and pipe as one, and then we put some additional stone on top of the fabric.
Would that material be safe to run a snake through? I avoid running them through anything corrugated because the teeth can catch the ribs and rip the pipe to shreds.
We run a jetter through them, and it will even blast all the roots apart. We have no problem running a powerful jetter line through the corrugated pipe.
If it was a full basement we would have dug down the entire wall. We wouldn't go as far below the footer because the basement footer is shallow. We would go just below the cold joint.
@FRENCHDRAINMAN ok thank you, but i think what im asking is how deep should i dig the trench in general to capture all the water. Down to the foundation or halfway?
What products do you recommend for French drain behind a 10 foot high solid concrete wall? Would the corrugated pipe get crushed under all that column of drain rock?
Dont go as deep passed the cold joint as we did because we had a 42" footing and had that luxury. Basement walls are on a footing thats not to deep so just drop the pipe below the cold joint. Pack around the pipe with 1/2" stone as seen in this video. Use Extra Heavy Duty High Octane 8 slot Armor Pipe. Wrap stone and pipe as one in fabric. No sock because they clog. Continue backfill with sand. Clay cap the top 6" if it's available for water shed. Non-woven Geotextile Fabric in 4 oz and 8 oz frenchdrainman.com/filter-fabric/
What is that smaller t shaped pipe with a riser right before the sump pit that the drain pipes go around. Doesn't look like it was connected to anything
Looks like this exterior curtain french drain was dug tight against the block foundation in many places? If I remember correctly other videos you recommend digging the trench slightly away from the foundation so that water isn't flowing through the system right against the building. That 6-12" or more gap of leaving clay/dirt against the building keeps water away. Which is how I built ours to your standards and it's been working flawlessly.
This is not a curtain french drain. This is a foundation french drain. They are worlds apart. A foundation french drain has to be below the footer. So it is really deep dig. Curtain french drain is several feet off the house. Some homes need both. Thank you for watching and contributing. Appreciate you
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN would you consider making an overview video/short on all styles of drain that you build and maybe those that are just popular? Thanks.
@FRENCHDRAINMAN Would love to see example vids where both are needed. I’m certain that’s probably what I need. Water is destroying my home. Your content is beyond valuable and appreciated.
I repair house with constant tree damage, i tell everyone keep the trees a hundred yards from the house. And if u build a house or remodel and can do it make your overhangs 3 feet out. Get the water away from the house. I know u said gutters but i hate the damage gutters do to the house. Most people dont Clean them out. Or gutters are installed wrong so many times.
If you have no trees near the house, you shouldn't have plugged gutters, plus we've made a lot of new products that take care of this problem. A 100 yd is a bit too much. That's way overkill if the trees are 70 feet from the house, you're good. I agree with bigger overhangs, but gutter is a must for collecting the water and discharging it in a safe location. Appreciate you watching and contributing.
Not saying I love gutters, however you would be surprised what water on masonry can do to a home over time and worst case, wood siding (or OSB based) run without a rain screen behind it.
FDM - A quick question. With an open french drain, is it necessary to pull out the gravel above the top layer of fabric and clean out the organic matter that collects over time? I live in New England and leaves, etc. get in every little crevice of anything outside.
Great work and well explained. This is hard work and you have a solid crew. Do you also recommend foundation waterproofing or membranes on retrofits like this? Also, as you mentioned, it being much more complicated retrofitting, how much more expensive is a system you are retrofitting vs new construction, double? Thanks for sharing.
Hello, I have seen many of your videos and find them very informative. I have a 125-year-old house and we experience damp brick walls and damp concrete floors in several locations, I believe your techniques might be a solution. In this video, the burrito and drain pipe sit on top of 2-3 inches of round rock, in many of your other videos you insist the burrito and drain pipe sit at the bottom of trench, what are the reasons for the change of design on this project?
You need to watch this video in its entirety and not skip around. I covered that twice. I don't make 36-minute videos all that often, so that tells you how important it was to see the details in this video. I do have a follow-up video that shows us waterproofing the foundation before backfilling. So you can look forward to that in the near future. Thank you for watching and being a subscriber. We appreciate you!
I have a garage and two rooms build in front of my retaining wall walk out basement and have no idea how I would check the drain or replace it. I do have access to the side wall so could pound one in like they do gas lines. But I bet no one would agree to dig ditches underneath a slab. lol
Nice work. I would have tarred the foundation to seal it and also used a membrane. The Frenh drains need to be pitched away from the house or else the water will just pool around the foundation.
A few questions: 1) Why the stone bed outside the fabric? 1a) Why no stone layer under the Hi-Octane Pipe? 2) Why no rubberized sealant on the foundation? 3) Would the double piping be more effect if they were at different depths? I would put the one further away from the structure a little deeper to make the actual perimeter drain is a final outside defense against water intrusion. Or would a drain further away from the foundation be more effective above the perimeter drain? 4) I see you're using a larger stone on top on the exhaust section of the system - why? Doesn't larger stone tend to collect more water? 5) It seems that the footer drain is well below the footer of the house. My other research indicates that slightly lower is ideal. What is the reason for this? Thanks for a response to any of these questions someone may know the answer to.
What you really need to do is watch the entire series and don't skip around in the videos. I answered all your questions, plus so much more valuable information at no charge 😃 Enjoy th-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BWSyew4JyZuxDpBvULztf91.html&si=wZxI-Kk5-uNMQuc6
I typically don't film the muddy ones because they're no fun for the guys. I don't want to be in their way and add to their day, and it sometimes doesn't make for the best viewing when it comes to the audience's experience.
@@FRENCHDRAINMANI need to do a similar job. I plan on ordering your corrugated pipes both solid and perforated. I'm going to get 4 rolls on the pallet. Very cost effective. My question is this. I cant see in the video, as your filming multiple affected areas. You lay a thin layer of ston alongside thew footer but lower then the top side edge. You place the pipe in that trench if you will with the fabric underneath so you can wrap it. The thing I cant really tell. When you fill the fabric with the stone to cover the pipe. Is the fabric filled so the fabric is against the foundation or do you slowly fill both inside the wrap and outside to put a layer of stone between the fabric and the foundation to create 2 layers of stone? My thinking is a second layer of stone between the fabric and foundation may allow easier water flow to the fabric.
Mr. Sherwood, could you please tell me what a job like this would cost? Many older homes I sure need this done, I am certain. I have some of the same challenges at my parent's home, but they are retirees with very modest means. I have tried to battle this problem by myself for them the best I can with little or no money. The house was built in Minnesota in mid 70's at the bottom of a hill. 😪Believe me I well aware of the damage water can do. I shovel the snow away from the foundation all winter long. I have used heavey plastic sheeting, and patio block landscaping the landscaping, digging trenches. We have gutters and sump pump. I am their daughter. Thank you so much for your content.
How come you did a French drain along the foundation? I thought it’s better to build dirt so water slopes away then have French drain couple feet away (3-6 feet) from the foundation. Since water goes thru gravel and want to avoid water near foundation if pipe ever gets clogged down the road. So water from the yard goes directly into the French drain and avoids sending water close to the foundation
This is not a basement wall. You are thinking of a curtain drain when you are on the outside of a basement. th-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BVdT-DTxvVZNn0FAXbzCrUt.html&si=IAS-6c2m9VSiH4k9
![French Drain, Yard Drain, Roof Runoff System Combined [ 3 Great Systems In 1 Trench ] 2024 Updates](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FK5ZlN0Ogow/mqdefault.jpg)
![French Drain, Yard Drain, Roof Runoff System Combined [ 3 Great Systems In 1 Trench ] 2024 Updates](/img/tr.png)
For folks looking to DIY this job, it's worth noting that the drain should never undercut the footer of the foundation -- codes require that if the drain is set below the footer, it stays outside a 60 degree pitch below the footer (the deeper below the footer the pipe goes, the further away from the house it needs to be). This prevents water and sediment being pulled away through the pipe from undercutting the foundation.
Thank you for commenting and sharing. We appreciate you!
Thank you for adding this comment. I wouldn't have thought of that, but makes perfect sense
I installed my open french drain around my house using all of your products. My basement smells better and I haven’t had any water in the basement. Thank you French Drain Man! Love the videos! Easy ordering products online. Products arrived promptly and perfect quality. You will be so happy if you follow their instructions.
When you did yours. Did you do it right at the foundation?
I'm a plumber with over 20 years drain cleaning experience. I love a 2 way tee on sewer lines. Prevents me from needing to pull a toilet if the clog is inside. I can keep all my nasty tools out of a customers house. A drain cleaner with some experience should be able to tell which way his cable is heading even when the pipe is full of sewer. It's as easy as pulling up on the cable and seeing what side of the pipe it goes to. Your snake is going the opposite way because of how the snake bends when it makes a turn. Don't be hatin' on the 2 way tee. Lol. Great work on the perimeter drain.
I glad to hear this from experienced professionals plumber, as I have 2 way clean out installed on my drain pipe ✅👍
People dont realize how complicated ...how many different ways there are to do these jobs...but to get it done right your doing a good job...Was thinking a couple weeks ago about putting an extra 1 to 2 inches of stone on the botttom where in the beginning stages in the first two months after trenching the fines can drift down from the outside edge of the ditch...and this gives them a final resting place outside the fabric ....on the bottom..It seems likely that fines filtration only occurs in the first few heavy rains then when everything is in place the fines are likely done comming through...so this system looks pretty good and I got to see your method for free...You bet thumbs up !
Excellent Job,
Stay warm up there
😊
That’s the house just outside of the yard! Just picked up an order last week from your facility. Zeros complaints and easy to work it! Thanks for all your help
Awesome, very nice system, no shortcuts, hard work done the RIGHT way.
Major job - first class.
th-cam.com/video/tQedrhHyX4s/w-d-xo.htmlsi=b0xD1L12iP_PpvTo
Neat and clean,excellent job.👍👍
@@BlueSky-iy5pw
Thank you
Here in Texas we like the trees to shade our house when it's 100° outside which cuts down on the A/C bill. They also add value to the property. Wouldn't cut down any tree unless it was dead !
Thank you for sharing.
I understand. Everything comes with a price. Regular small doses of copper sulfate over two weeks is a great, inexpensive way to control tree root growth.
Yes so true
I love the reference to the "clay cap" at the end! People don't realize that one of the first layers of water protection is having dirt that water DOESN'T go through!!! The drain is actually just a backup for having dense water-resistant clay sloping away from the foundation.
Explain more please
@@livelifefree1209It's preventing the top water from soaking through - it has to run down hill away from the house and find somewhere to absorb into.
We got a whole village of houses like that here in New Berlin NY! Code should have never allowed it, if they had any back then! Great job!
We didn’t have a residential building code in place until 1970, and that’s when the code was enforced. Thank you for watching, commenting, and sharing.
Another excellent, informative and educational video. Thanks, for this video FDM looking forward to the follow up videos. I am gaining more confidence in this area and will look forward to offering this service to my clients in the Columbus, Ohio area.
I wish you would have talked more about what you do with the water from the sump and beyond, sweet drain video!
th-cam.com/video/M6iWecqUPeU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=lwKXul660xg80hwj
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN thank you so much for sharing this with me, looking forward to learning more!
Nice job (as always), why am I not surprised that people didn’t use conduit to save a few bucks.
Great video showing reality of doing a proper drain where none existed. This is what the spec home builder I worked for in college called "ball busting work" (& why he paid my fellow laborers pretty well for the time). For those thinking this is a DIY project, good luck replicating what French Drain Man does for a living. You would have to have incredible amount of time on your hands and a lot of talent/stamina. These videos are great in terms of showing how to do projects right and why you need to consider the bigger picture (and make judgement call about what you can control - I can't control the distance of large oaks near my house. First, they aren't mine. Second, the county has tree ordinance). FYI, as bad as trees are, let's discuss home builders that plant shrubs 3 feet from foundation (I see it all the time - azaleas and other evergreens that will eventually grow 6-8 feet tall, and just as wide. Talk about stupidity - my number one pet peeve with builders who probably should not be in the industry.....)
Thanks for the informative video. I have a basement and I’m digging along the foundation wall. How do I ensure I don’t undermine the footer? How far down do I trench below the top of the footer and do I dig at an angle?
The basement footer is only 6 - 10" inches deep. Just dig down 4 inches to put the pipe below the cold joint ( where the wall meets the footer )
@Frenchdrainman love your vids. Question for you or anyone knowledgeable. You mention using this method with no trees, vs a fence line where a neighbor’s tree is present such as in many cases. What do you call the alternative method when a tree present? Trying to understand what to research or how to tie into a burrito system if one can’t cut down a neighbor’s tree. appreciated!
Install many cleanouts and mix copper sulfate with water. Pour the mixture into the cleanouts every 6 months. I'll make a video about this.
You are & crew are the best! I have a French drain with solid pipe and think I need perforated also. Can I send a pic and get your opinion
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I'm going to say like this video it showed the rout of problem and you progress as your crew want to fix it thank you for this very very good video these type are the good ones i under stand you can't do this all the time because you a very busy keeping every thing going plus bring more work in but i will say good work by you and your team
I'm currently 64" below grade next to my foundation and think I will try to paint the foundation tomorrow.This is a really helpful video, but I am not willing to clear my entire small lot of trees though.
Make sure you clean your foundation thoroughly. I would create an air gap as well by using dimple board. You have ground opened up, and I know you have to keep moving. I have a follow-up video showing us waterproofing the foundation. But I don't believe I'll have it ready until next weekend. It's a lot of editing, it's a lot of video files.
If the drain pipe is solid can roots actually get into it? Do tree roots get down to the perforated foundation/footing drain???
@@kurtvonfricken6829 My uncle has an old cast iron sewer pipe located around 4-5 feet deep and it is supposed to be solid. In 2020, he had to call a plumber to clean his sewer pipe out because he has a massive maple tree about 40' from the sewer line. I helped him install a clean out for his sewer line after his trouble in 2020 and he just thanked me in September of 2023 for helping him install the clean out in 2020. Yes the trees can and will find it.
I live in a rental house right now and all my trees are small. If my foundation drain doesn't work in 20-30 years, it won't be my problem!
Roots will certainly get into this flex pipe with so many openings. That said, roots will even get into glue or gasketted sdr35 or schedule 40 pvc. It’s all a matter of degree and balancing risks. Can’t gainsay fdm’s per[se tube though that the further away tree is the Better off u r.
FDM- I assume you have experience cleaning out a blocked hi-octane pipe? What do you use once you pass the schedule 40 riser? Hi pressure water ?
A lot of work. Looks like a great system. I can’t imagine what that cost.
45k
I was waching and enyoing it, thanks ! I will be doing simmilar jobb next week around my house !
You mentioned several times that water destroyed this house. Could you please elaborate? Also, I can’t believe you didn’t paint the foundation with rubber BEFORE you installed the stone, fabric and pipe. Yes, it would have been more work, but the peace of mind is priceless.
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Question.
At what depth should ya dig trench? With bottom of footer being the reference point.
@josephpassley5385 Never should it be below the bottom of the footing.
@FRENCHDRAINMAN thanks
Awesome video! Youns are THE BEST! Thank you so much for the videos!
Thank you for watching.
Appreciate your comments.
Excellent job as usual that's how u build a foundation drainage system
Hi Master of French Drain!!! you know what you do!!!!! your customers are lucky to have you!! I have a question, when digging, what depth are you aiming for? Just equal or below the foundation? Can it be slightly above? Thanks a million! A follower From Quebec!
It has to be below the cold joint ( where the wall meets the footer )
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN Thanks for your reply! Appreciated.
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN when you say 'wall'. Are you talking about where the 2x6 meets the concrete block, or below the concrete block. My house is off grade with a crawlspace, no basement...
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN so if i have a full size basement, i’d need go the full 8ft down with any perimeter drain I’d want to install?
So the pipes right along the perimeter of the house are all at the same level, correct? It’s not until they head toward the sump that it begins to slope at all, right?
Here's the playlist
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Is the black fabric call geo mesh? If so. is it a non woven or woven mash? Thank you for sharing.
Non-woven Geotextile Fabric in 4 oz and 8 oz
frenchdrainman.com/filter-fabric/
Yup on the trees. We had a 70 ft oak come down. Fortunately it fell the right way.
Thank you for making this video. Any additional tips when prepping an insulated slab? Just put the rubberized coating on the outside of the insulation?
I don't recommend that, and I can't see that working. I would apply the waterproofing membrane first and then put your insulation over it.
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN Thanks. I see what you are saying, no need for the rubberized coating with the membrane already there. We put the waterproofing membrane over the insulation in the middle of the slab so it doesn't float during the pour. So it's the same deal on the outside footing, makes things easy. Great channel, love the positive energy you give your crew
Epic project! How come you didn’t add a roof runoff drain for the upcoming gutters? Thanks for the content!
Don't recommend putting a roof run-off drain with a foundation drain. We will run them with a yard drain combination. I will do updates on this project. Once we get the gutters on the house we can take care roof run-off drain.
Thank you for commenting and contributing.
Stay Tuned!
So helpful!
How deep should the drain be placed? Certainly you were not at the base of the foundation.
My house was built in 1907 and I have so many water problems in my cellar with a dirt floor.
Oh boy!
I would throw some money at that and get it all dried up. Because you're going to have health issues if you ignore it.
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN I already do. Air quality in the house is SO bad.
Great info mate. how deep have you gone down below the top of the foundation? Would be great to know as i’m doing my house at the moment which has non permeable soil. so lots if standing water after rain. I will be doing a french drain around the house that runs to stream on the property. thanks
Only 4" below the cold joint
how many feet to a house would you be comfortable with leaving lodgepole pine trees? 30’? 50’? 100’? i’m building in a forest and don’t want to clearcut all my trees, but also plan to clear enough for forest fire safety and to avoid the root damage you speak of.
50ft
Is this suitable for something that will be backfilled 6ft deep?
@@chordle1605
13ft
looking forward for the update vid with gutters installed and waterproofing the foundation !
Coming soon stay tuned.
For a new basement dig, what is best practice for much rock should be poured around the new walls? How much dirt soil on top of the rock?
How far down should the dimple board go?
All those answers are in the video. If you watch the entire video and don't skip around, we show all of that.
Do you use the same method for a basement? What about for ground water vs surface water? Thanks for the videos!
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How many clean outs do you recommend on a square structure? I was thinking one on each side but maybe that's over kill. This house seems to have a lot more little corners and additions. I'm planning to have a rectangle build.
@Unknown-pc9yq
I don't want to go around more than a (1) 90° corner with my cameras or my jetter. When I'm snaking in a cleanout, I put one in a location where I can go one direction or the other and hit a (1) 90° corner on each side of the cleanout. Then I place another one before I have to try to push my camera through two 90s.
I’m a contractor in northern Nevada. I also purchase you’re materials and absolutely value you’re knowledge. But I have questions that I’ve struggled to find answers. Foundation drain slope, how important is it around you’re footing? Also the “depth/elevation of you’re trench/pipe? The last French drain I did I installed the high octane 14” deep at the high spot, then calculating 2% slope I ended up 28” deep to a drywall. Also installed pipe to bottom of trench.
Is this wrong? I can’t seem to accept that a drain that’s level will move water.
Exterior Foundation Drain is level in many cases. If you cut a water bottle in half and lay it level on its side does it hold water? Answer is NO it does not. Water runs out of a level Drain as long as the discharge drops. You can start 10" deep instead of 14"
Foundation drain is different than yard drain. This video is a Foundation drain. If you watch everything and don't skip around I explain the differences.
I have a part 2 and part 3 to this system. Stay tuned for all the details.
Appreciate your support.
If you’re adding a system like this around an old house with a bricked in window well, do you just bend the pipes around it?
@@AerosRed
Yes
Wouldn't pouring a 5-7 foot wide concrete skirt around the perimeter of the house work just as well?
No. You could keep Band-Aided it all you want you could spend as much as you want an infinite amount of money, if you don't put a drain system in you will not collect the water. It's really that simple. I don't know why people have a hard time understanding this. You have to manage your water you can't dam the water, you can't block it in anyway. You have to collect it in a collection system built for water collection, direct it and discharge it in a safe location.
Totally agree! The approach here is a much more complicated and expensive project, which will be a headache to maintain in a few years! I
How long did it take to do the job and what was the over all cost of it. Tia
@@paulchinn5981
One week 45k
So informative. The clean outs should be freaking mandatory on any foundation drain. Silly question but can you slab a sidewalk on a corner of the house on top of the drain?
I agree with you that cleanouts should be mandatory.
Yes, you can pour a sidewalk over a drain system.
This foundation drain looks like you were able to get it well under the footer. If you were to hit rock or weren't able to dig that deep, is it okay to lay the octo pipe at the base of the footer where the base of the CMU block and slab meet?
@@TheDjjimmyneutron
👎
Awesome video! Can you explain that well system at the end? Does it hav e a pump? How much water can the area handle?
I have a follow-up video showing us waterproofing the foundation. This video was 36 minutes long, and I couldn't remove any of the content because I found the details to be too important. It's gonna have to be a series of videos, and I will cover that.
Stay Tuned
Appreciate your support!
Why twin pipes?? You’ve removed trees and ostensibly you have confidence in this flex pipe as opposed to sdr35 ?
Corrugated pipe has inlets 360 degrees all the way around the pipe bottom, top, and sides. PVC only has inlets on the bottom. Once a trench bottom is filled with sediment, PVC is Useless. You can't get any water in the pipe. If I want to build a fail-safe drain and I want to throw everything at it, I'm gonna use extra heavy-duty corrugated pipe with inlets, bottom sides, and top..
Is drain tile level all the way around, or is there slope to the well?
Both. Level around the home, and the discharge is on a slope to the well.
Thank you for commenting and contributing. Really good question. 👍
What about a step foundation? Dig way below the highest step to make the entire trench level with the lowest foundation step/corner?
Informative video - appreciate you sharing knowledge!
I’ve seen you connect downspouts to solid pipe in your other videos. Curious why you went with corrugated connected to the downspouts here…
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Nice job!
I've read all comment and listen to all the video, but i'm not sure why you are puting rock in the bottom before installing the fabrics and doing the burritos wrap. More information would be appreciated. My question is related to an interior drain in a crawl space. Also what is the distance from the side of the footing the drain need to sit? 6 inches? Thank you Sir!
Dig out the soil on the bottom and sides of the pipe to rule out Iron Ochre.
Hello, can you explain how you back filled on top of the stone that was placed on top of the fabric? Thanks
I have a part 2 video that shows the waterproof of the foundation and the back filling.
Stay tuned!
@FRENCHDRAINMAN how do you determine if a footer drain is required at the foundation vs. A shallower french drain set back 3 or 4 feet from the house (like a curtain drain? I have negative grade towards the side of my house that cant be graded resulting in some water infiltration under the footer and intonmy crawlspae.
First and foremost, you should always have a footer drain. Anything on top of that is just extra protection.
Aren’t you unnecessarily drawing water to your footer by putting a footer drain?
Do you consider dimple board like Mira-drain. Heavy duty with heavy duty geo-fabric bonded to it?
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Since you apply the Liquid Rubber on the wall, I assume you have to dig down all the way to the very bottom of the foundation? Just to get the entire foundation wall protected? Im asking because mine goes 8 feet underground.
Yes 8ft down
I’m assuming the outside sump needs to be at the lowest point right? Is there a slope requirement from the house piping to the sump? Awesome work man.
Watch the 3rd video in this 3 video series
Man i'm in east WA i need to dig around 2-1/2- 3ft to the bottom of the foundation. I wonder if petrol auger could help me. I plan to dig the earth in 6-7 days.🤔
You just need to be below the cold joint.
Fantastic job. Do you have a list of materials? Cu. Yds. of stone; linear yds. of fabric; linear ft. of drain pipe and dry well PN; total man hours. Thanks.
65k
I plan to build a house but I love mature trees flanking corners/edges of homes. If I plan to plant trees, wouldnt I just go the interior perimeter drain route instead and be completely fine?
Need both outside and inside.
I use your products on my own property, and I follow your channel.
Question:
How will the water drain from the octane pipe if stone is beneath the fabric?
I have no trees or plants within 100+ feet of my house and garage, when I installed my French drains using your products, I dug the trench, laid the non woven fabric you sell, laid the octane notched pipe, filled it with 2” cleaned river rock, burrito wrapped it, then covered it with exposed 2” cleaned river rock.
I would think that having the octane pipe sitting on top of 3/4” gravel wouldn’t allow the pipe to fill with water. Can you educate me please.
Edit:
Since I have no trees on my property, should I of put gravel down beneath the pipe as you did in this video?
Great videos and thank you.
We build our yard drains differently than we build our foundation drains. We were so deep in areas that we were gonna have a lot of backfill. Having a smaller stone around the pipe does add for strength. When you're going to backfill for 6-11 feet, there is a ridiculous amount of weight. High Octane is the strongest perforated pipe. But we love overkill. In yard drains, we do not want to leave any water behind. With the foundation drain, I'm okay with there being a couple of inches of stone holding water underneath the pipe. I want the very best soil filters zone that I could build for my foundation drain.
Thank you for supporting our channel and our products.
Hope I answered all of your questions.
What do you think about backfilling entirely with 3/4" stone except for the top 1 or 2 feet? Im looking to do a drain to my new full basement.
A contractor I know did that. What happened was the pipe developed a clog. Water filled all the voids in the stone, and the hydraulic pressure blew the basement wall in. The basement was filled with mud. The homeowner had to stay in a hotel for a couple of months while the repairs were made.
So NO, I do not recommend that. It's a terrible idea. Bulk surface water should be shed away with native soil sloped away from the home to not put additional stress on the foundation drain.
I hope this help
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN got it! Thanks for the advice..
How did you address the exterior areas where the house has a full height basement?
The video seems to show areas that are on a crawlspace or slab.
I have a follow-up video showing foundation waterproofing. A full basement doesn't have a 42" footing. You want the pipe just below the cold joint ( where the foundation wall meets the footing.
Thank you for supporting the channel
Appreciate you
Quick question what stops the water from leaking into the foundation or under foundation into the basement? Would this work on an old house with old rock foundation. I have water leaking into and under foundation. I would love to send a video for your input. Thanks.
There is no basement in this example.
Hi FDM. Great video and congratulations for the years of success. Im here in New York with thoughts of a new foundation for a cellar (4.5ft underground and 4ft above ground with 50ft by 33ft foundation size). Im following and taking notes. But do you necessarily have to have the drain pipes run to a sump pump in the yard or can i run pipes to drywells if you have a 30ft long rear yard?
My personal experience is dry wells 99% of the time can't handle the water. It will fill up, back up and cause flooding. If you want to core the footing and run the sump system inside you can. This was a house on a slab so that wasn't even an option.
How many days on this job? Wish I had the ditch witch and all her sister's to help me out.
I have a 3 video series on this job.
5 days
Good point with trees near a house, thanks!
Considering all the hard work this is, I would open up a couple basic points for a discussion in case if anyone would want to joint:
First of all, gravel is an easier path for water to travel, so all the roof water, some water from a ground and some of the surface ground water will be there, constantly keep the foundation moist to wet (depends on a rain fall intensity and sump pump capacity). The idea is to get all the water and even moist (molding issue) away from foundation, not to invite it there.
Wouldn’t it a better choice to dig the trench a few feet away from the foundation and do a concrete pad around the house up to the trench? This would probably be easier to dig by avoiding carving around those utilities that runs along the house foundation.
The other point is about a gravel. I noticed on the video rounded edge gravel was used in the trench. This may be due to economical reasons or a local quarry availability, but rounded gravel tend to shift or settle easier and prompt to faster clogging.
Edged gravel on the other side, interlocks and doesn’t move over time (even without a cloth), as well as provided better water channeling for ages.
I like it just the way we built it.
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I see that you put the drain around the front steps. Would you ever want to undermine underneath steps to put the pipes up against the footing instead of around the steps. Where do you buy your pipe and the burrito blanket material? Good video.
Best French Drain and Yard Drainage Contractor
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I thought if your going deep next to house you need to be 4 ft or more away from foundation or else it promotes water to go towards the foundation? I am having small amount of water come into old basement. Any insight would be appreciated on the reasoning to do a drain deep like this but so close to the house instead of 4 ft away from foundation. Thank you for all your videos!
This is a foundation drain. You are referring to a curtain French drain.
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Do you do this in sections so the home doesn’t have any chance to shift or do you just get it all done and placed in one day. Then you have no worry of shifting? Need to do this to my home I have horrible water entering my basement was gonna do similar but put a seal coat on the wall before backfilling.
If it was a basement, I would do it differently. This was a house on a slab built in a sloped grade. On one side, it was a few feet deep.
@@FRENCHDRAINMANCan you explain a bit more what would you differently? I need to build a similar foundation drain and it would be next to my crawl space (post and pier foundation)
Do you have a visual of how the system works? Still confused as to how it displaces the excess water.
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How do you install a French drain around an old farm house when you have natural gas and a septic line at one spot of the house please? Thank you.
Hand dig.
Curious, why didn't you burrito wrap all the stone ? Won't the very top have soil settle into the store and clog it up eventually?
You really need to watch the whole video and stop jumping around. Because we wrapped the stone and pipe as one, and then we put some additional stone on top of the fabric.
u guys rock thanks for the video !
Would that material be safe to run a snake through? I avoid running them through anything corrugated because the teeth can catch the ribs and rip the pipe to shreds.
We run a jetter through them, and it will even blast all the roots apart. We have no problem running a powerful jetter line through the corrugated pipe.
would you put hydraulic cement by the base of the footer to make no water comes in the basement
Stretch Flex | Polyguard
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This is amazing work. What's a round about cost of something like this? If they had a full basement would you have dug down the bottom?
If it was a full basement we would have dug down the entire wall. We wouldn't go as far below the footer because the basement footer is shallow. We would go just below the cold joint.
How do you terminate the drain for a full basement?
I’m thinking of doing this to my property in New England how deep would I need to dig to make sure I’m getting rid of all the water.
Our drains are anywhere between 10" and 11ft
@FRENCHDRAINMAN ok thank you, but i think what im asking is how deep should i dig the trench in general to capture all the water. Down to the foundation or halfway?
What type of damage did the water cause the foundation?
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@@FRENCHDRAINMAN That's a pity. I hope the owner didn't pay much for the property.
The stone inside the burrito wrap, is that round or crushed?
Round Rock
What products do you recommend for French drain behind a 10 foot high solid concrete wall? Would the corrugated pipe get crushed under all that column of drain rock?
Dont go as deep passed the cold joint as we did because we had a 42" footing and had that luxury. Basement walls are on a footing thats not to deep so just drop the pipe below the cold joint. Pack around the pipe with 1/2" stone as seen in this video. Use Extra Heavy Duty High Octane 8 slot Armor Pipe. Wrap stone and pipe as one in fabric. No sock because they clog. Continue backfill with sand. Clay cap the top 6" if it's available for water shed.
Non-woven Geotextile Fabric in 4 oz and 8 oz
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What is that smaller t shaped pipe with a riser right before the sump pit that the drain pipes go around. Doesn't look like it was connected to anything
Back up sump pump system in case the primary fails; the secondary kicks on.
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN nice. Thanks.
Looks like this exterior curtain french drain was dug tight against the block foundation in many places? If I remember correctly other videos you recommend digging the trench slightly away from the foundation so that water isn't flowing through the system right against the building. That 6-12" or more gap of leaving clay/dirt against the building keeps water away. Which is how I built ours to your standards and it's been working flawlessly.
This is not a curtain french drain. This is a foundation french drain. They are worlds apart. A foundation french drain has to be below the footer. So it is really deep dig. Curtain french drain is several feet off the house. Some homes need both.
Thank you for watching and contributing.
Appreciate you
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN would you consider making an overview video/short on all styles of drain that you build and maybe those that are just popular? Thanks.
@FRENCHDRAINMAN Would love to see example vids where both are needed. I’m certain that’s probably what I need. Water is destroying my home. Your content is beyond valuable and appreciated.
I repair house with constant tree damage, i tell everyone keep the trees a hundred yards from the house. And if u build a house or remodel and can do it make your overhangs 3 feet out. Get the water away from the house. I know u said gutters but i hate the damage gutters do to the house. Most people dont Clean them out. Or gutters are installed wrong so many times.
If you have no trees near the house, you shouldn't have plugged gutters, plus we've made a lot of new products that take care of this problem. A 100 yd is a bit too much. That's way overkill if the trees are 70 feet from the house, you're good. I agree with bigger overhangs, but gutter is a must for collecting the water and discharging it in a safe location.
Appreciate you watching and contributing.
Give the man a cookie!
Not saying I love gutters, however you would be surprised what water on masonry can do to a home over time and worst case, wood siding (or OSB based) run without a rain screen behind it.
FDM - A quick question. With an open french drain, is it necessary to pull out the gravel above the top layer of fabric and clean out the organic matter that collects over time? I live in New England and leaves, etc. get in every little crevice of anything outside.
Every site has its own variables. I wouldn't do anything unless it starts to become a problem.
Great work and well explained. This is hard work and you have a solid crew. Do you also recommend foundation waterproofing or membranes on retrofits like this? Also, as you mentioned, it being much more complicated retrofitting, how much more expensive is a system you are retrofitting vs new construction, double? Thanks for sharing.
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Can you run a downspout into the same line as a sump pump discharge?
I don't recommend it. If the pipe becomes overwhelmed during a thunderstorm, it can backup.
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN thanks, ill build out a separate line for each!
Did you say you were pouring con rest on top of that system next to the house?
Here's the video series
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What type of conservation work do you implement after having to cut down trees?
I will have follow up videos
Stay Tuned!
Hello, I have seen many of your videos and find them very informative. I have a 125-year-old house and we experience damp brick walls and damp concrete floors in several locations, I believe your techniques might be a solution. In this video, the burrito and drain pipe sit on top of 2-3 inches of round rock, in many of your other videos you insist the burrito and drain pipe sit at the bottom of trench, what are the reasons for the change of design on this project?
You need to watch this video in its entirety and not skip around. I covered that twice. I don't make 36-minute videos all that often, so that tells you how important it was to see the details in this video. I do have a follow-up video that shows us waterproofing the foundation before backfilling. So you can look forward to that in the near future.
Thank you for watching and being a subscriber.
We appreciate you!
Foundation drains and french drains are different. French drains weave through landscaping these should not.
I have a garage and two rooms build in front of my retaining wall walk out basement and have no idea how I would check the drain or replace it. I do have access to the side wall so could pound one in like they do gas lines. But I bet no one would agree to dig ditches underneath a slab. lol
That's an unorthodox way of going about it. That's for sure.
What is the grey pipe sticking up around 20:36?
Abandoned electrical conduit.
Nice work. I would have tarred the foundation to seal it and also used a membrane. The Frenh drains need to be pitched away from the house or else the water will just pool around the foundation.
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A few questions:
1) Why the stone bed outside the fabric?
1a) Why no stone layer under the Hi-Octane Pipe?
2) Why no rubberized sealant on the foundation?
3) Would the double piping be more effect if they were at different depths? I would put the one further away from the structure a little deeper to make the actual perimeter drain is a final outside defense against water intrusion. Or would a drain further away from the foundation be more effective above the perimeter drain?
4) I see you're using a larger stone on top on the exhaust section of the system - why? Doesn't larger stone tend to collect more water?
5) It seems that the footer drain is well below the footer of the house. My other research indicates that slightly lower is ideal. What is the reason for this?
Thanks for a response to any of these questions someone may know the answer to.
What you really need to do is watch the entire series and don't skip around in the videos. I answered all your questions, plus so much more valuable information at no charge 😃
Enjoy
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@@FRENCHDRAINMAN I just realized this was part 1. Part 2 is answering some of these questions. Thanks for putting this information out there.
How did you guys keeping track of slope in your drain on this project? It seems like you’d get pretty deep by your discharge I’d imagine.
It's not sloped. I have 2 more videos of this project. Wait for the discharge line. I explain how to discharge in detail.
Thank you for watching!
Been watching your videos for a while now. This has to be the muddiest job you’ve guys have done.
I typically don't film the muddy ones because they're no fun for the guys. I don't want to be in their way and add to their day, and it sometimes doesn't make for the best viewing when it comes to the audience's experience.
Wow, looks kind of deep for a French Drain.
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@@FRENCHDRAINMANI need to do a similar job. I plan on ordering your corrugated pipes both solid and perforated. I'm going to get 4 rolls on the pallet. Very cost effective. My question is this. I cant see in the video, as your filming multiple affected areas. You lay a thin layer of ston alongside thew footer but lower then the top side edge. You place the pipe in that trench if you will with the fabric underneath so you can wrap it. The thing I cant really tell. When you fill the fabric with the stone to cover the pipe. Is the fabric filled so the fabric is against the foundation or do you slowly fill both inside the wrap and outside to put a layer of stone between the fabric and the foundation to create 2 layers of stone? My thinking is a second layer of stone between the fabric and foundation may allow easier water flow to the fabric.
Mr. Sherwood, could you please tell me what a job like this would cost? Many older homes I sure need this done, I am certain. I have some of the same challenges at my parent's home, but they are retirees with very modest means. I have tried to battle this problem by myself for them the best I can with little or no money. The house was built in Minnesota in mid 70's at the bottom of a hill. 😪Believe me I well aware of the damage water can do. I shovel the snow away from the foundation all winter long. I have used heavey plastic sheeting, and patio block landscaping the
landscaping, digging trenches.
We have gutters and sump pump. I am their daughter. Thank you so much for your content.
45k
How come you did a French drain along the foundation? I thought it’s better to build dirt so water slopes away then have French drain couple feet away (3-6 feet) from the foundation. Since water goes thru gravel and want to avoid water near foundation if pipe ever gets clogged down the road. So water from the yard goes directly into the French drain and avoids sending water close to the foundation
This is not a basement wall. You are thinking of a curtain drain when you are on the outside of a basement.
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