5 years ago I researched French drains & settled on FDM system. I have a bit of OCD so I even power washed 4 tons of rock before putting in 198' French drain. Absolutely appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us & helping us to protect our castles 😉
All I can say is I’m sitting in the middle of hurricane Ian here in Florida and i can’t be happier and more prepared with the 209 foot Baughman tile French drain I installed myself over a year ago! Learned everything here on FDM TH-cam ..Two 4inch high octane French drains plus a solid gold tapped in all my four gutters plus one neighbors on one side- will post action as long as I make it out alive
Okay, French Drain Man, after watching close to 10 hrs of your videos, this particular video made total sense to me the first time i saw it. So, to all you diy-ers, don't give up. Learn the nomenclature (aggregate, knife-cut, high-octane), be patient, and you'll understand it.
Thanks for all the info I have gained from you. I see you don't think too much of the Florida drain guys. Cracked me up. The french drain wars have begun!
In the diagram of the wrap it shows stones underneath the pipe? I thought that you said to make sure that pipe lays on the bottom of the wrap? Bc otherwise water will stay at the bottom of the burrito and not be able to get into the pipe to get out of it? Or did i miss understand your other videos?
What do you think would happen if you used a landscape fabric on the 1st half of a 12 ft section on interior drain tile. The second section has geofabric leading to a sump pump. Wallboard was also used. Do you think the system would fail? Or do you think it would still drain? Unfortunately the landscape fabric that was used just not allow water to go through.
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN I was just asking what your thoughts were on if I didn't use your fabric. I did not use your fabric I did use some geofabric but then the other part I messed up and used landscape fabric but the drain towels already installed with the concrete on top so it's too late for now but I was just wondering what you thought of it and if it would last
Wish you would have added soil on top of your fabric bucket test to see if the soil fines blinded the fabric and whether water continued to flow so nice through your new clean fabric. From what I've seen, the soil fines blind the fabric much like a coffee filter gets plugged and can't be reused over and over.
We over lap 2" and pin it. If you need to trim it cut it with a box knife. If you have a hole in it where stone is showing put a piece of fabric over that area.
Writing from Australia have been following you for sometime now but using the pipe that comes with a sock good to be used and then wrapped with Geo fabric for double protection preventing the pipe from been clogged?
Watch "How to Use High Octane Drainage Pipe: Sock or Burrito Wrap Method? [ Drainage Contractor Explains ]" on TH-cam th-cam.com/video/vaquDFw5bnw/w-d-xo.html Watch "Do I Need to Use Perforated Pipe with a Sock in My Yard Drainage System?" on TH-cam th-cam.com/video/4mzFc3J295Y/w-d-xo.html
Previous home owener has a NDS grate system and at one end he did a large hole filled with sand and rolled corrugated sock 4” drain tile. I lay fabric under the grate covers to help filter out the system going into the sock drain system. I have used silt fence in the past. That ended up deteriorating over time. A few years back I installed landscape fabric and as stated it is just getting clogged. Do you recommend a fabric I can procure from you that will perform? Keep in mind When I did the past fabrics I simply roll out a 12” wide 13’ pice and just tightly lay it under the covers and screw the covers down so it does get uV RAYS. Let me know if you recommend a fabric and I will order. Or I just go back to the stacked silt fence , remove the stakes and install that again. Thank you.
I have a large gravel driveway/lot. To stop my shop from flooding, I must bisect the driveway with a french drain. But I will never run out of sediment! Besides erosion control, (which is prohibitively expensive) any suggestions?
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN this site is blocked for viewing. I’m from India.. here ounce specifications are not considered.. only gsm ( grams square meter ) is considered. So I can use the unit conversion..??
So people wrap their footing drains with this to keep their drains from clogging. Wouldn't this just clog the fabric instead and diminish it's ability to let water get into the drain tile?
Soon to be installing a French drain around my foundation what brand is recommended? I know I need a non woven geotextile fab but where to buy quality?
What do you recommend for an area with a lot of clay? I apparently have A LOT of clay where I'm putting my open french drain. Will this fabric work on top of it? Or does the clay have to come out and good soil brought in?
There’s another video that emphatically recommends running the gravel up to the surface (exposed) with less permeable clay soil. But, it’s important to be clear about which problems you’re trying to solve. There’s separate issues of collecting flowing surface water and a high water table. Running the drain rock to the surface also collects surface runoff.
@@zanepaxton7452 I have at least 6 ft of solid clay so my dry well idea didn't work out at all, but for my original comment I was curious if the clay would cause clogging in my French drain but with the use of FDM double punched fabric it doesn't clog from the clay (at least so far) but where I was wanting to discharge to a dry well that idea has now turned to me building my own custom sump basin using 18" culvert pipe that I just picked up and may or may not make a TH-cam video on how I'm building the basin.
@@DirtyDirtbath There’s issues with the capacity of dry wells. Where I live I can get 4” of rain in a big storm (that just happened). A typical storm is listed as 1.5”. With just a typical storm, I’m seeing about a gallon per square foot! So with my rear acre that’s about 40,000 gallon to deal with! 1 CF of volume = 7.5 gallons. So for my 1 acre that’s about 5,300 CF of water! That’s a 42’ square dry well 3’ deep! So I’m guessing that your drywall is woefully too small even with a light storm over a smaller area. Also just to complicate matters, you need to consider that if the land slopes up around some of your lot you’re getting additional rain water runoff from a much bigger area beyond your property. Also ground water can be higher too during the rainy season. Trying to drain a dry well into a high water table just doesn’t work!
Thats exactly what's happening, besides the 4 down spouts and 2 different sections of French drain around the house, the yard has a slope to it and pretty much directs the water to the hole,which the hole is 4.5' long, 3' wide and 5.5' deep and I had dug an extra 4' in the center to have "extra drainage" and to see if I could get past the clay. No luck to get past the clay a d I most definitely underestimated the volume of water I was getting. We got a somewhat hard rain that barely lasted 2 days and I had to drop my "dirty water sump" in and drain it 4x within a 12 hour period which really prompted the motivation to build this sump system.
Where do I get this fabric? I have an area that has very little grass because the water has stood there so long and it gets little light. Will a buried french drain like this work in that situation? (covered with mostly dirt and little to no grass) or do I have to do one with gravel to the surface?
If anyone here can answer, I'm planning on doing perforated corrugated pipe and large drainage stone built up to essentially hardscape/decorative, it's to get water away from the front of my house where it's down hill and itaking my crawlspace damp, if I'm wanting it to get away asap, I wasn't planning on wrapping. Just leaving the top open so water has plenty of room to catch and flow away. I should still be using the double punched non woven geotextile correct? I dug up the hardscaping that used a plastic, the ground under was still very damp and we hadn't had a rain in at least 3 weeks. Any heads up from anyone would be GREATLY appreciated!
Michigan (and Indiana where I am) are also heavy clay. Have seen some FDM videos that show that. If ive done my homework right, the answer will depend on whether you are running your downspouts away from the house (solid pipe no fabric) or draining the soggy yard etc. (knife cut pipe with the gravel and the wrap). Hope it helps
@@jordan110 think the knife cut pipe is FDM product featured in some of their videos. It’s got slits cut into it for extra drainage when you get to the leeching field, wherever the water is headed to, so that it distributes more evenly at destination. Just my recollection but am no expert. Good luck
is it just me or is the image 1.b showing the drainage stone going out into the native soil instead of opposite. He speaks as if the native sediment needs to penetrate the double punched geo-fabric, yet the image shows the drainage stone going outside of the fabric (to the right). Lol. I realize what he is saying is correct. I believe that. The illustration is wrong. 100% needs a rev.
Are there places in the Pittsburgh area that sell the high octane pipe? I’d buy directly from you but I don’t want to pay 355 dollars for shipping for 200 feet of pipe haha
I know how you feel, brother. The shipping companies take their pound of flesh. We definitely have been getting more networked throughout the country, but I don't think at this moment in time we have a distributor in the Pittsburgh area. All I can do is say it's definitely worth the price of shipping when you consider what your time is worth to do this job. You can call the office and request that we send you out a sample so that you can hold it, stand on it, and see for yourself. All I can do is make it available. Unfortunately, there's no way around the shipping.
Don't think the excess overlap matters that much at the top though. French drains fill from the bottom up if I remember correctly. If the water is getting in from the top then you need another type of drainage system. If however the overlaps were below or at the sides I definitely understand the importance of the "no more than 2" overlap rule
![How to Build a French Drain Full Tutorial in Less than 10 Minutes [ Veteran Contractor Explains ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wPkMB7qlUSo/mqdefault.jpg)
![How to Build a French Drain Full Tutorial in Less than 10 Minutes [ Veteran Contractor Explains ]](/img/tr.png)
5 years ago I researched French drains & settled on FDM system. I have a bit of OCD so I even power washed 4 tons of rock before putting in 198' French drain. Absolutely appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us & helping us to protect our castles 😉
All I can say is I’m sitting in the middle of hurricane Ian here in Florida and i can’t be happier and more prepared with the 209 foot Baughman tile French drain I installed myself over a year ago! Learned everything here on FDM TH-cam ..Two 4inch high octane French drains plus a solid gold tapped in all my four gutters plus one neighbors on one side- will post action as long as I make it out alive
Okay, French Drain Man, after watching close to 10 hrs of your videos, this particular video made total sense to me the first time i saw it. So, to all you diy-ers, don't give up. Learn the nomenclature (aggregate, knife-cut, high-octane), be patient, and you'll understand it.
It nice that they know how their product works !
Thanks for all the info I have gained from you. I see you don't think too much of the Florida drain guys. Cracked me up. The french drain wars have begun!
Never though I’d get hyped for moving water from a yard. 🔥 It’s very satisfying though.
Just checked out your online store. Prices are good. I'll have to give you a holler on my next project.
Best French Drain and Yard Drainage Contractor
frenchdrainman.com/
Thank you very much for sharing all this!
Its crazy to think that grass being replaced is going to survive. Its very interesting. I have clay where I'm at, and I really need to do this.
th-cam.com/video/VFYj7sbmXGg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=9ac5E0x3j0lXL30n
In the diagram of the wrap it shows stones underneath the pipe? I thought that you said to make sure that pipe lays on the bottom of the wrap? Bc otherwise water will stay at the bottom of the burrito and not be able to get into the pipe to get out of it? Or did i miss understand your other videos?
th-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BXWZPUFUNw6SMI64dtHlhzl.html&si=QRxqDxRGM3yvsYR1
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN 👍
What do you think would happen if you used a landscape fabric on the 1st half of a 12 ft section on interior drain tile. The second section has geofabric leading to a sump pump. Wallboard was also used. Do you think the system would fail? Or do you think it would still drain? Unfortunately the landscape fabric that was used just not allow water to go through.
We get great results with our fabric
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN I was just asking what your thoughts were on if I didn't use your fabric. I did not use your fabric I did use some geofabric but then the other part I messed up and used landscape fabric but the drain towels already installed with the concrete on top so it's too late for now but I was just wondering what you thought of it and if it would last
Thanks ❤
th-cam.com/video/vRDArxPmK88/w-d-xo.html
Wish you would have added soil on top of your fabric bucket test to see if the soil fines blinded the fabric and whether water continued to flow so nice through your new clean fabric. From what I've seen, the soil fines blind the fabric much like a coffee filter gets plugged and can't be reused over and over.
Your not understanding how the fabric works
th-cam.com/video/OeMdMhRA_Mg/w-d-xo.html
This will explain
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN so your miracle fabric is the only fabric that works in French drains? All other fabrics don't work?
Did you cut the sod like that or is that new sod for restoration?
Watch "How to Grow Grass on a French Drain Yard Drain" on TH-cam
th-cam.com/video/VgXkA0kstuo/w-d-xo.html
How many ounces is the geo fabric you use?
4!
Non-woven Geotextile Fabric in 4 oz and 8 oz
frenchdrainman.com/filter-fabric/
We 99% of the time use 4oz
Do you have a video somewhere that explains the way you guys join/lap the fabric at a tee or wye intersection?
We over lap 2" and pin it. If you need to trim it cut it with a box knife. If you have a hole in it where stone is showing put a piece of fabric over that area.
So those fine roots.... don't they eventually clogged the fabric and or enter the pipe and end up growing to a point they block the pipe flow??
th-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BUmAXw5xwQ0zbQRPxnX0U7R.html&si=1TZPptCtuwhi4Xzq
What is the optimum depth for a french drain?
th-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BXWZPUFUNw6SMI64dtHlhzl.html&si=_nYjgjELgdSYEUaF
Writing from Australia have been following you for sometime now but using the pipe that comes with a sock good to be used and then wrapped with Geo fabric for double protection preventing the pipe from been clogged?
Watch "How to Use High Octane Drainage Pipe: Sock or Burrito Wrap Method? [ Drainage Contractor Explains ]" on TH-cam
th-cam.com/video/vaquDFw5bnw/w-d-xo.html
Watch "Do I Need to Use Perforated Pipe with a Sock in My Yard Drainage System?" on TH-cam
th-cam.com/video/4mzFc3J295Y/w-d-xo.html
Previous home owener has a NDS grate system and at one end he did a large hole filled with sand and rolled corrugated sock 4” drain tile. I lay fabric under the grate covers to help filter out the system going into the sock drain system. I have used silt fence in the past. That ended up deteriorating over time. A few years back I installed landscape fabric and as stated it is just getting clogged. Do you recommend a fabric I can procure from you that will perform? Keep in mind When I did the past fabrics I simply roll out a 12” wide 13’ pice and just tightly lay it under the covers and screw the covers down so it does get uV RAYS. Let me know if you recommend a fabric and I will order. Or I just go back to the stacked silt fence , remove the stakes and install that again.
Thank you.
th-cam.com/video/VFYj7sbmXGg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=XnLWaO4OvtwR36rU
I have a large gravel driveway/lot. To stop my shop from flooding, I must bisect the driveway with a french drain. But I will never run out of sediment!
Besides erosion control, (which is prohibitively expensive) any suggestions?
You can move the driveway so it's not a straight shot.
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN
I probably deserved that.😆
Good job bro
Thank you
Will this work for septic tank drain system?
Watch "Soak Away and Leach Field Kits [ Online Store Product Video ]" on TH-cam
th-cam.com/video/Ksy8guRodxA/w-d-xo.html
Is there gsm specifications or thickness for the fabrics
4oz Non-Woven Geo Textile Filter Fabric (9 sizes)
frenchdrainman.com/product/4oz-non-woven-geo-textile-filter-fabric/
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN this site is blocked for viewing. I’m from India.. here ounce specifications are not considered.. only gsm ( grams square meter ) is considered. So I can use the unit conversion..??
Can 8oz non woven pond underlayment be used for french drains?
No it's not punched
So people wrap their footing drains with this to keep their drains from clogging. Wouldn't this just clog the fabric instead and diminish it's ability to let water get into the drain tile?
Watch "How Non Woven Geotextile Filter Fabric Works | Michigan Drainage Contractor Gives Detailed Breakdown" on TH-cam
th-cam.com/video/fZIjnUoKp_I/w-d-xo.html
Soon to be installing a French drain around my foundation what brand is recommended? I know I need a non woven geotextile fab but where to buy quality?
Non-woven Geotextile Fabric in 4 oz and 8 oz
frenchdrainman.com/filter-fabric/
What do you recommend for an area with a lot of clay? I apparently have A LOT of clay where I'm putting my open french drain. Will this fabric work on top of it? Or does the clay have to come out and good soil brought in?
There’s another video that emphatically recommends running the gravel up to the surface (exposed) with less permeable clay soil. But, it’s important to be clear about which problems you’re trying to solve. There’s separate issues of collecting flowing surface water and a high water table. Running the drain rock to the surface also collects surface runoff.
@@zanepaxton7452 I have at least 6 ft of solid clay so my dry well idea didn't work out at all, but for my original comment I was curious if the clay would cause clogging in my French drain but with the use of FDM double punched fabric it doesn't clog from the clay (at least so far) but where I was wanting to discharge to a dry well that idea has now turned to me building my own custom sump basin using 18" culvert pipe that I just picked up and may or may not make a TH-cam video on how I'm building the basin.
@@DirtyDirtbath There’s issues with the capacity of dry wells. Where I live I can get 4” of rain in a big storm (that just happened). A typical storm is listed as 1.5”. With just a typical storm, I’m seeing about a gallon per square foot! So with my rear acre that’s about 40,000 gallon to deal with! 1 CF of volume = 7.5 gallons. So for my 1 acre that’s about 5,300 CF of water! That’s a 42’ square dry well 3’ deep! So I’m guessing that your drywall is woefully too small even with a light storm over a smaller area.
Also just to complicate matters, you need to consider that if the land slopes up around some of your lot you’re getting additional rain water runoff from a much bigger area beyond your property. Also ground water can be higher too during the rainy season. Trying to drain a dry well into a high water table just doesn’t work!
Thats exactly what's happening, besides the 4 down spouts and 2 different sections of French drain around the house, the yard has a slope to it and pretty much directs the water to the hole,which the hole is 4.5' long, 3' wide and 5.5' deep and I had dug an extra 4' in the center to have "extra drainage" and to see if I could get past the clay. No luck to get past the clay a d I most definitely underestimated the volume of water I was getting.
We got a somewhat hard rain that barely lasted 2 days and I had to drop my "dirty water sump" in and drain it 4x within a 12 hour period which really prompted the motivation to build this sump system.
th-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BUmAXw5xwQ0zbQRPxnX0U7R.html&si=wttvCXoQYbvUFCiY
Where do I get this fabric? I have an area that has very little grass because the water has stood there so long and it gets little light. Will a buried french drain like this work in that situation? (covered with mostly dirt and little to no grass) or do I have to do one with gravel to the surface?
Watch "How To Build and Install the BEST Yard Drain, French Drain, 2 Great Systems Combined" on TH-cam
th-cam.com/video/-M3K4p39J84/w-d-xo.html
Store | French Drain Systems | Curtain Drains | Macomb, Oakland, Lapeer, St. Clair County
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@@FRENCHDRAINMAN This one had thick grass. I didn't find anything about in about putting one in, in an area with little to no grass.
Watch "Open French Drain Installations for EXTREME Yard Drainage [Commercial and Residential]" on TH-cam
th-cam.com/video/mSfXGLlyIKM/w-d-xo.html
If anyone here can answer, I'm planning on doing perforated corrugated pipe and large drainage stone built up to essentially hardscape/decorative, it's to get water away from the front of my house where it's down hill and itaking my crawlspace damp, if I'm wanting it to get away asap, I wasn't planning on wrapping. Just leaving the top open so water has plenty of room to catch and flow away. I should still be using the double punched non woven geotextile correct? I dug up the hardscaping that used a plastic, the ground under was still very damp and we hadn't had a rain in at least 3 weeks. Any heads up from anyone would be GREATLY appreciated!
th-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BXFJKxV1EfanZ1Q-lZ1SODD.html&si=8r8Q86CPSOUBg1gE
Sooooo what are the specs of the fabric? Weight/(meter or yard) gcolored with carbon black during manufacturing?
It has 100 lbs. Tinsel strength and 140 GPM through a sq ft
so bottom line, I'm south Georgia (basically Florida), I'm in the clay, Should I use filter fabric or not?
Michigan (and Indiana where I am) are also heavy clay. Have seen some FDM videos that show that. If ive done my homework right, the answer will depend on whether you are running your downspouts away from the house (solid pipe no fabric) or draining the soggy yard etc. (knife cut pipe with the gravel and the wrap). Hope it helps
Knife cut french drain with gravel.
@@jonathanschubert9052 yep i think that goes inside the burrito wrap
@@jordan110 think the knife cut pipe is FDM product featured in some of their videos. It’s got slits cut into it for extra drainage when you get to the leeching field, wherever the water is headed to, so that it distributes more evenly at destination. Just my recollection but am no expert. Good luck
All our guys in Florida use fabric.
is it just me or is the image 1.b showing the drainage stone going out into the native soil instead of opposite. He speaks as if the native sediment needs to penetrate the double punched geo-fabric, yet the image shows the drainage stone going outside of the fabric (to the right). Lol.
I realize what he is saying is correct. I believe that. The illustration is wrong. 100% needs a rev.
Thank you for commenting and sharing
Are there places in the Pittsburgh area that sell the high octane pipe? I’d buy directly from you but I don’t want to pay 355 dollars for shipping for 200 feet of pipe haha
I know how you feel, brother. The shipping companies take their pound of flesh. We definitely have been getting more networked throughout the country, but I don't think at this moment in time we have a distributor in the Pittsburgh area. All I can do is say it's definitely worth the price of shipping when you consider what your time is worth to do this job. You can call the office and request that we send you out a sample so that you can hold it, stand on it, and see for yourself. All I can do is make it available. Unfortunately, there's no way around the shipping.
You need to do a vs video with all youtube drain guys.
Not really. It's pretty simple if you use the wrong fabric and install it wrong it fails. We already know why guys have problems with fabric
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN agreed.
Don't think the excess overlap matters that much at the top though. French drains fill from the bottom up if I remember correctly. If the water is getting in from the top then you need another type of drainage system. If however the overlaps were below or at the sides I definitely understand the importance of the "no more than 2" overlap rule
th-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BVX2cpGD7wJqH37RSS1JAOz.html&si=du3LJcVc4SAvED0o
Very good job on drain but installing sod on top of fabric that gras will died soon
th-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BXWZPUFUNw6SMI64dtHlhzl.html&si=wVQfrKzMT5UZ1Dje
What does "double punched" mean?
It has holes in it to up the flow rate
What about in clay zone?
th-cam.com/video/OeMdMhRA_Mg/w-d-xo.html
This was in clay
Almost everything we do is in clay
Best Pop Up Emitter FDM's V2.0 for Downspout Drainage
frenchdrainman.com/drainage-products/pop-up-emitter-and-turf-restrictor-plates/
what is the name and brand of the geofabric?
i found it on your website. I am on a river bank in alabama. sandy muddy soil. should i use 4 or 8 oz?
You keep saying "double-punch", but what does that mean exactly?
th-cam.com/video/vRDArxPmK88/w-d-xo.html
I explain it better in this video
Tell me more about the fabric I'm dying to know🤦♂🤦♂
th-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BUmAXw5xwQ0zbQRPxnX0U7R.html&si=R3caQuWUX2OjyMTx
Great info and important info hey i sent you a email just a FYI check it out please.
Are you doing a lot of drainage these days?
Our contractor deals right now are ridiculous.