Oklahoma Drainage and Sprinkler Repair – 405 203 9419

French Drain Design Steps, Norman, Oklahoma City, Edmond, Moore

Installing French Drains is what we do most.

Oklahoma Drainage has been installing French Drains, Surface Drains, Sump Pumps and Sod since 1993.

French Drain Design

is just Designing the French Drain Part of a Drainage System.

If you have already Diagnosed Your Water Problem the French Drain Design comes next.

Determine the Depth of the Drainage Trench.

To do this you must first look at the amount of slope involved.

Is the ground where the drainage trench will be located on a slope?  Hopefully it is.

A very slight slope is hard to work with.   The French Drain Trench can’t be very deep.  If it is too deep and you don’t have much slope then water will enter the French Drain and will just sit there.  It won’t move toward the transition pipe which will then take the water to the Exit.

If the slope is good and you can easily tell which way is downhill, then you can dig the drainage trench toward the exit knowing that it should flow well.

You want your drainage trench to run across your drainage problem area.  It needs to be running downhill toward the exit.

The more slope you have the deeper the French Drain can be dug if desired.

If the French Drain Trench is Deeper, it can carry more water downhill toward the exit.  Some of the water will travel in the French Drain Perforated Pipe.  If it becomes completely full then additional water will travel down the trench in the gravel above the French Drainpipe while still in the Drainage Trench.  This is important it you have desire for your French Drain to Handle Flood Prevention Which is more robust than just a Drainage System.

Drainage Systems 

can be made up of one drain or a combination of many drains.  Drainage problems can be very complex.   Complex Drainage Problems may require a combination of several different types of drains all inter-connected and working together.  Other times the drainage problem may be simple and straight-forward requiring only one drain or several of the same type of drain connected together.

An example of a complex drainage system would be:  A French Drain in the back yard connected to a Surface Drain near a flower bed connected to several gutter downspouts, which are connected to a Channel Drain going across a driveway, which is connected to additional Surface Drain in the front yard, which runs to a Curb Fitting that lets all the water drain out on to the street.

A simple Drainage System might consist of a Surface Drain that is connected to a second Surface Drain which runs to a Pop-up Emitter which lets water drain over the curb and into the street.

An “Exit Point” is the term used for where all the water leaves the Drainage System.  Determining the Exit Point is very critical.  It is one of the first things we do when diagnosing a Drainage Problem.

Drainage Systems can:

1.  Keep water away from foundations —

A French Drain is best because it can move Surface Water and Sub-Surface Water (water moving underground) away from the foundation.  Many times, less experienced companies install Surface Drains to keep water away from foundations.  This can be a big mistake.  A Surface Drain can’t move or drain Sub-Surface Water.

Also, A Surface Drain often can’t move enough water fast enough and easily becomes overwhelmed during a heavy rain.  A Surface Drain also can’t cover or protect a broad enough area.

Surface Drains should be designed in a Drainage System to be located in smaller Drainage Areas moving moderate amounts of water.  Surface Drains look better than French Drains.

If, “appearance” is more important than Drainage Capacity, Go with the Surface Drain.  Just know what you are getting into and what your expectations should be. One side of a foundation alone, can be over 100 feet.  A 4 inch or 6-inch French Drain is best when protecting a large area such as a foundation.

2.  Keep water away from small or enclosed areas.  This might be a low area just through a gate on the side of a house, or the low area between a flowerbed and the wall of a house or standing water on or near a sidewalk or driveway.

Surface Drain

These types of Drainage Problems are best served with Surface Drains.  A Surface Drain can move water away from a low area that is relatively small.  This can occur in yards, flowerbeds, sidewalks and driveways.  A Surface Drain is designed to move Surface Water away from a problem area to a predetermined exit point.  Surface Drains are available in many sizes.  How quickly they remove standing water is usually determined by the size of the Drainpipe that is connected to the Drain.