Oklahoma Drainage : 405-203-9419

French Drains, Surface Drains, Channel Drains, Sump Pumps

Oklahoma Drainage

Installing: French Drains, Surface Drains, Channel Drains, and Sump Pumps since 1993.

We provide service to all Central and Western Oklahoma.

A French Drain many times is incorrectly labeled.

This is not a French Drain. This is a Channel Drain.

NDS Grey Composite Channel Drain Running Across Driveway Connected to 4 Inch ADS Solid Drain Pipe

NDS Grey Channel Drain Running Across Driveway

This is also Not A French Drain, This is a Surface Drain

Surface Drain connected to a Transition Pipe

This Is a French Drain

French Drain Protecting Driveway

This Is Decorative French Drain being installed

Installing Decorative French Drain

Completed Decorative French Drain

Completed Decorative French Drain

A French Drain is a Drainage Trench dug across a problem drainage area. The dirt is removed from the Drainage Trench and hauled away. A Semi-Permeable Trench Liner is placed in the bottom of the Drainage Trench. A perforated French Drain Pipe is placed in the bottom of the trench. The Perforated Pipe has thousands of small holes in It and has a Black Neoprene Cloth Filter around It. Some type of gravel or crushed stone is placed on top of the French Drain Pipe, filling the trench to the surface.

Installing 4 Inch French Drain with trench Liner and pipe filter

The White Material is the Trench Liner. The black material is the Pipe Filter.

The Trench Liner and Pipe Filter shown above are Extremely Important. The Trench Liner keeps the gravel clean over a long period of time and maintains the integrity of the Drainage Trench so it wont collapse and clog the Perforated Pipe. The Pipe Filter keeps Debris out of the French Drain Pipe ensuring its longevity. I HAVE INSTALLED FRENCH DRAINS IN NORMAN THAT WILL BE 31 YEARS OLD IN SEPTEMBER THAT STILL WORK GREAT!!!!!!

French Drains are Designed to handle a higher volume of water than Surface Drains. They can handle broad problem drainage areas that are irregular and would be impossible for a Surface Drain to handle just because water just runs around them and keeps going. A French Drain can handle a broad water flow.

French Drains also Intercept Sub-Surface water too! People don’t realize or think about water flowing across their yard under ground. Every Home has water flowing across it’s yard underground to some degree. Most are inconsequential but some yards have a big problem with sub-surface water flow. They have areas that seem to be wet all the time.

French Drains are many times placed across areas that stay wet all the time. Water flows into the gravel of the French Drain under ground and are take to the exit out of the problem area. THEY DO A GREAT JOB DRYING OUT THE ENTIRE AREA!

A Surface Drain Does absolutely noting for Sub – Surface water. If you put a Drain Basin With a Grate in the middle of a muddy area with ground water issues, it is a total waste of time and money.

Below is a Combination Drainage System. Initially We have a 6 Inch ADS French Drain with Trench Liner and Pipe Filter Connected to a NDS 4 Inch Channel Drain. Actually they are not connected. The 6 Inch French Drain Runs under the Driveway and the 4 Inch Channel Drain is Installed on top of It. So you have a total of 10 Inches of in Drain Pipe Diameter. This was necessary because of the huge volume of water running across their yard. The two drains have their own separate outlet pipes. Together they can handle the “River” that runs across their driveway every time it rains hard.

4 Inch NDS Channel Drain With Grey Grate Connected to 6 Inch ADS French Drain With Trench Liner and Pipe Filter Making a Duel Intake Drainage System

French Drain and Channel Drain Independently running across the Driveway

French Drain Under Gravel Flower Bed

French Drain under walkway

French Drain

: French Drains can look great!

Just what is a “French Drain?” Many times people incorrectly use the phrase, “French Drain,” to apply to many different types of Drains that could be used in a Drainage System. The term is widely used and many times incorrectly connected to “Surface Drains,” or “Channel Drains.”

A Surface Drain has a grate that sits on top of a basin. The basin is underground. A Drain Pipe is connected underground to an outlet on the Drain Basin. Storm-Water Drains through the grate into the Drain Basin. Once in the Drain Basin, water travels out of the basin through a Drain Pipe. The Storm-Water continues downhill in an underground Drain Pipe to an exit point.

THIS IS NOT A FRENCH DRAIN!

A Surface Drain may come in many different shapes or sizes. The Drain Grate may be round or square. Here is a picture of a common Surface Drain.

: Surface Drain and Drain Pipe

A Channel Drain is a type of Surface Drain and many times is installed in concrete across sidewalks or driveways.

Channel Drain installed in Driveway

Finished Channel Drain From the previous picture

: Channel Drain

A French Drain is completely different from a Surface Drain. A basic French Drain consists of a Perforated Drain Pipe in the bottom of a trench. The Drain Pipe should have a neoprene sock around the Perforated Drain Pipe. This is to ensure that the Drain Pipe does not become clogged. The Drainage Trench should have a Trench Liner.

French Drain Installed, Water is gone, just need to clean the mud off the sidewalk

The dirt that was taken out to make the trench is hauled away. It is replaced by some type of small stone or gravel depending on what is desired or available. I prefer crushed 1 inch lime stone. It is the most economical option in my area. Pea Gravel or some other type of small stone can work just as well. The lime-stone or gravel is placed in the trench on top of the perforated Drain Pipe and filled all the way to the surface (ground level).

French Drain Pipe Installation in Edmond

French Drain Installation

In some cases where the French Drain needs to be deep or is being placed in sandy soil, a special trench liner must be placed in the trench before the perforated Drain Pipe or the Gravel are installed. This helps maintain the integrity of the trench over time. It also increases the cost of the French Drain and the amount of time to install it. I install a trench liner in a French Drain . .

Connecting Gutter to French Drain

: French Drain

A French Drain is designed to handle a large volume of water and cover a large area. The Drain is anyplace the trench goes. It has many applications and can be used in many situations. It can be installed by itself or incorporated into a Drainage System with Surface Drains or Gutter Down-Spouts connected to it.

The main downfall of a French Drain is, that they, for the most part aren’t very pretty. They don’t look very nice in a yard once they are completed.

Depending on the area the French Drain is installed and the type of grass around the French Drain, will dictate whether grass grows over the lime stone. Grass can grow up and through the gravel in the French Drain over time eventually covering the gravel. This is Ok. It won’t have a measurable effect on the performance of the drain.

DON’T COVER THE GRAVEL IN THE FRENCH DRAIN WITH DIRT. THE FRENCH DRAIN WON’T WORK IF THE TRENCH IS CLOGGED WITH DIRT. DON’T EVEN INSTALL IT IF YOU ARE GOING TO COVER IT UP WITH DIRT. PUTTING DIRT OVER A FRENCH DRAIN IS LIKE PUTTING A CORK BACK IN A BOTTLE.

DECORATIVE STONE CAN BE USED TO COVER A FRENCH DRAIN AND THEY LOOK GREAT AND LAST A LIFETIME.

French Drain with colored river rock along foundation

A French Drain or Surface Drain has to take the water somewhere once the water is inside it. This involves running a solid drain pipe to an exit point to release the water from the Drainage System.

Most Drain Pipes come in 3 inch, 4 inch, and 6 inch although larger size is available for industrial applications. Four Inch Drain pipe is the most commonly used.

There are 2 types of Solid Drain Pipe. ADS and PVC.

I Prefer ADS because it is much easier to use.