French Drain Drainage System
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French Drain Installation— 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 Limestone to cover the French Drain Pipe. 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.
French Drain Will disappear once grass grows over it. Its will still be fully functional.
The Drainage part of our company name means that we solve water problems for people in Oklahoma. Heavy rain is becoming more common. Back in 1993 when I first started, a hard rain was considered to be about an Inch per/hour. It was fairly rare but not too uncommon. Today things are different. A weather report of rain falls at or above 4 inches per/hour was not uncommon in 2019. Excess water causes all types of damage to property both residential and commercial.
Our Drainage Systems drain water away from places you don’t want it to be. You might have water standing along the foundation of your house, or inside your basement. You might have water on your driveway or flowerbed too.
When I talk to a potential customer while doing a Drainage System estimate, I take a lot of things into consideration. First, I have the Customer show me where water is standing or where it is going that it shouldn’t. This is part of defining the specific problem area.
Sometimes the Water Problem Area is larger and more involved than the customer realizes. Once the Water Problem Area is clearly defined, the next step is to determine how the water is getting to the problem area. Many times there is more than one Water Source to the Water Problem area. A big mistake in Drainage System Design is to stop once the most obvious Water Source is found.
A Drainage System Designer must be a detective to some degree. For Example: Water running down the hill and onto the back patio might be the most obvious water source. Sub-surface water or a neighbor’s new gutter downspout could also be contributing. Most of the time water gets into the problem area from more than one source.
Oklahoma Drainage
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.
Oklahoma City Channel Drain
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.
- Concrete can break down and deteriorate from temperature change when the water freezes and thaws. Lots of cracks can occur.
- Concrete can be de-stabilized. Supporting soil can be washed away or removed.
- 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.
Putting limestone on top of french drain
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 Drainpipe.
Before
After
and be made to look nice. As shown above, they can be placed under walk ways 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.
WHERE WE HAVE WORKED!
In 1993 we had no website. I stuck little signs on the side of the road as advertisement. I got my first Drain Installation work in March of 1993 in Norman. It was in Brookhaven North of Robinson Street on the West side of I 35.
Over the years Oklahoma Drainage and Sprinkler Repair has installed all types of Drainage Systems in almost Every town in Central and Western Oklahoma.
The majority of our customers live in Oklahoma City, Norman, Edmond, Yukon, Mustang, Moore, Midwest City, Del City, Blanchard, New Castle, Yukon and Choctaw.
Oklahoma Drainage and Sprinkler Repair hasn’t been limited to those areas, however. We have also installed French Drains, Surface Drains, Channel Drains, and Sump Pumps in many other cities.
Installed by Oklahoma Drainage also reside in: Lawton, Duncan, Ardmore, Chickasha, Shawnee, Enid, Weatherford, Elk City, El reno and many other places.
If you live in any of these Cities or towns, we have installed a French Drain, Surface Drain, Channel Drain, or Sump Pump within 5 miles of your home.
Here is a description of other recent work.
A little bit North of Downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Drainage installed a 6-inch French Drain between two businesses which were less than three feet apart. The French Drain went between a Law Firm and a Tire shop. Water was leaking through the walls of both businesses. Gutters between the two establishments were dumping a huge amount of water. We installed a 6-inch French Drain between the gutters.
It took a long time to get the dirt out of the trench for the French Drain. It was a very tight fit. We had to use a little red wagon to haul out the dirt for the French Drain and haul back in the crushed limestone for the French Drain. It looked a little silly, but it was the only thing we could find that was narrow enough to fit between the buildings. A French Drain that normally would take 1 day to install took three.
