Oklahoma Drainage and Sprinkler Repair – 405 203 9419

French Drain Design –

Before you begin.

Identify the Problem Area

This is very important.  You don’t want to underestimate the size or scope of your problem.  Your French Drain Design needs to address everything that it can help with or improve. You want to get things wright the first time if you can.

Identify the water sources to your problem.

Most of the time there is more than one water source to your Water Problem.  There can easily be several ways that water is getting to the problem area.  Usually, you have a Primary source and one or several Secondary Sources.   In Rare occasions two or more primary sources may need to be dealt with.

Identify water Movement, Speed, and Volume.

Determine if you are dealing with Surface Water or Sub-Surface Water or Both.

Click on the link above and I will Explain How to do this without using advanced Mathematics or Engineering.  No Multiple Linear Regression Needed Just Common Sense.

Determine If you want a Flood Prevention System or a Drainage System.

This will have a Profound Effect on the French Drain Design.

Decide if you can physically handle the installation of a French Drain.

If you have never done this before you really need to read this.  Oklahoma Drainage has installed French Drains since 1993.  I always recommend digging the French Drain by hand.  Using a Trencher ( a machine that digs ditches) is a bad idea for many reasons.  My Crew and I have literally dug thousands French Drains and Drainage Systems.

If using a digging machine is necessary, we always use a Mini Excavator, never a Trencher.  Using a Mini X as I call it takes a tremendous amount of skill and practice.  It is far beyond the capability of a Weekend Warrior or a Confident Brother-in-Law.

Determine the Pipe Size needed for the French Drain and other Drainage Intakes.

Decide how large the Transition Pipe needs to be.

Determine the Exit.

Identify the French Drain Location

Make a decision on the Width and Depth of your French Drain.

Decide if other types of Drains should be connected to a French Drain to handle Secondary Water Problems.

Finally Decide What to do with the Displaced Dirt.  You will have leftover Dirt.  What are you going to do with it?

This means asking yourself where you want to take the unwanted water to.

French Drain Design Edmond. —   French Drains are designed to do a lot of things.  If you have an area that has unwanted water standing in it or running across it.  A French Drain can be the answer.

A French Drain is a trench that runs across the Drainage Problem Area.  A French Drainpipe is placed in the bottom of the trench.

The French Drainpipe is perforated with thousands of small holes.

In most cases the Drainpipe has a nylon soc around the pipe to act as a filter for the French Drain.

The French Drain trench is then filled with some type of small rock or stone.  We typically use crushed 1 inch Lime Stone to cover the French Drainpipe.  The dirt that was dug out of the trench is taken away or spread out around the French Drain.  The Limestone replaces the dirt and fills the French Drain Trench all the way to the surface.

Oklahoma Drainage has been installing French Drains since 1993.  We also install Fescue Sod and Bermuda Sod by the pallet as well.  A pallet of sod will cover about 450 square feet.

Oklahoma Drainage also installs Surface Drains of all kinds including Channel Drains in Driveways or 12 inch, 9 inch, and 6 inch Drain basins in yards and sidewalks and along driveways.

 

Sorry I got sidetracked.  Back to talking about French Drains.   French Drains keep water off of Foundations, Sidewalks, and Driveways.

THREE BAD THINGS CAN HAPPEN WHEN WATER SITS AGAINST CONCRETE.

1. Concrete can break down and deteriorate from temperature change when the water freezes and thaws.  Lots of cracks can occur.
2. Concrete can be de-stabilized.  Supporting soil can be washed away or removed.
3. Mold!!! Yikes!!  Mold needs water.  Water against a foundation or saturating it is definitely a risk for mold to occur.  Mold development can be a very small issue or it can be a Huge Problem.  If Black Sludge starts to appear on top of ground near a foundation, action should be taken.  I have seen extreme mold situations where a home had to be condemned.  Again, this is very rare, but it does happen to good people.

 

In the pictures below, water was running across the walkway and into the pool every time it rained hard.  We pulled up the necessary stones on the side that the water was coming from and put a French Drain underneath.  A trench liner was utilized as well as a filter around the perforated French Drain Pipe.

Before

After

 

French Drains can be decorative and be made to look nice.  As shown above, they can be placed under walkways or had designer stones placed on the gravel that fills the French Drain Trench.

Covering a French Drain with dirt is a bad idea.  Water can’t get into the drain through the stones if it is clogged with dirt.  If you are more concerned about how it looks over what it does, then don’t install it in the first place.  French drains can move a lot of water and protect property such as foundations, sidewalks, plants, yards just to mention a few things.  If you don’t like how a French Drain looks then change it.  Put Steppingstones on top of it, use river rock to improve the look, You are limited only by your own creativity.

 

 

 

Oklahoma Drainage  — Installing – French Drains – Surface Drains – Channel Drains – Sump Pumps

Servicing all of Central and Western Oklahoma since 1993.  If you have water standing in your yard, we can install a French Drain for you.  If you step out of your car into water on your driveway, you may need a Channel Drain.  If water is in your basement, you may need a sump Pump.  Your Drainage needs may be very complex or very simple.  We have been solving every type of Residential Drainage Problem since 1993.

 

When water come in contact with the French Drain, it seeps down through the stones and into the French Drain Pipe.  It then flows through the Drainpipe to the exit point.  Typically, a French Drain will have two possible exit points.   The First is called a “Pop-Up Emitter.”  It is a Green Lid on top of a release basin for the French Drain.

The second type of Exit Point for a French Drain is a “Curb Fitting.”  The Curb Fitting is installed through the curb going out into the street.  The French Drainpipe runs to the Curb.  The curb is cut out and the Curb Fitting is cemented through the Curb.

French Drains are designed to move large amounts of water.

A French Drain moves water away from the Drainage Problem area from the Surface like a large Surface Drain.   But also below ground, or sub surface.  Most people don’t take into account the water that flows to a problem area underground.  Sub surface water flow is not eliminated by a Surface Drain.  A French Drain can move away water that is below the surface of the ground and drain away water that is on the surface too.

 

Oklahoma Drainage and Sprinkler Repair designs and installs Drainage Systems. Water Drainage is a big concern to homeowners and small businesses.  Standing Water from Storm-Water runoff can cause all kinds of problems.  Concrete in driveways, sidewalks, and foundations can be damaged.  Prolonged Drainage Problems allow mold to occur along with deterioration to plants, trees, and property.

 

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 Drainpipe is connected underground to an outlet on the Drain Basin.  Stormwater Drains through the grate into the Drain Basin.  Once in the Drain Basin, water travels out of the basin through a Drainpipe.  The Storm-Water continues downhill in an underground Drainpipe 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.

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

 

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

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 Drainpipe and filled all the way to the surface (ground level).

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 Drainpipe 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 Every time.