We solve all types of unwanted water problems in and around your home or business. Oklahoma Drainage Provides : Drainage System Installation utilizing French Drains, Surface Drains, Channel Drains, and Sump Pumps.
If you need a French Drain along an exterior wall, or a surface drain installed in concrete in a sidewalk or driveway, or a sump pump in a basement, We can help. There are literally thousands of specific drain installation applications.
Hard rain and flooding seem to be more common all the time. When I started this business in 1993, having over an inch of rainfall in an hour was pretty extreme. Now having over 4 inch an hour rainfall is not unheard of and is becoming more common.
Protecting our homes and businesses from unwanted water should be a goal for all of us.
Oklahoma Drainage has seen and dealt with virtually every possible Drainage and Standing water problem that can occur in or around your home. With over 2700 Drainage Systems installed since 1993, we have amassed a great deal of experience. This is helpful in seeing underlying problems. We look for Secondary Water Issues not just the Primary ones. In this business EXPERIENCE TRULY COUNTS!
Hiring your brother- in- law or a Landscape Company to put in your Drainage System is a bad idea. If a landscape company also installs French Drains, you should run!
Why don't they specialize??? Does your Lawyer also do physical therapy?
Some Builders also make bad choices concerning drainage on new homes they are building. New houses should not have problems with water. Builders usually have a landscape company that installs their drains. Sometimes its a maintenance guy that works for the builder. It's Usually the cheapest fix possible. I've testified in more than one class action lawsuit where a whole housing sub-division had unnecessary Drainage Issues.
Water can cause a huge amount of damage. How important is your money and your home? Over 30% of the work done by Oklahoma Drainage is fixing other people's mistakes. I appreciate the work, but I get frustrated when bad things happen to good people concerning water!
Blane Callen, 405 203 9419
Harsh weather inOklahoma seems to becoming more common. In 2013, Norman Oklahoma had 4 inches of rain in two hours. That’s the most rain in a short time that I can remember. Storm-Water runoffcan cause damage to all types of property and buildings. Water getting inside your house is never a good thing. A Drainage System that utilizes a French Drain can help.
Oklahoma Drainage Installs 4 Inch and 6 French Drains.
A French Drain is the “Intake” part of a Drainage System. Simply Put, the French Drain is the part of the Drainage System that takes in the water in the low areas and gets it into the pipe.
French Drain – A French Drain is a perforated pipe that is basically full of slits or holes. A trench is dug across the problem drainage area. A Semi-permeable liner is placed in the trench which lets in water but not dirt. The dirt from the trench is hauled away. The French Drain Pipe has a Neo-Preen Soc around it witch also lets in water but keeps the dirt out.
The perforated pipe is placed in the trench. The Drainage trench is dug deep enough so that the perforated French Drain Pipe is several inches below ground level when placed in the trench. Next gravel or some type of crushed stone is placed on top and around the French Drain perforated pipe until the trench is full.
French Drains can be complex or simple. A Simple French Drain System is a French Drain Connected to an Exit Drain Pipe that is released out a pop up emitter.
An example of a complex drainage system would be: A French Drainin the back yard connected to a Surface Drain near a flower bed connected to several gutter downspouts, which are connected to a Channel Draingoing across a driveway, which is connected to additional Surface Drain in the front yard, which runs to a Curb Fittingthat lets all the waterdrain out on to the street.
AFrench Drain is a trench that runs across the Drainage Problem Area. A French DrainPipe is placed in the bottom of the trench. The French Drain Pipe is perforated with thousands of small holes. In most cases the Drain Pipehas 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 Drain Pipe. The dirt that was dug out of the trench is taken away or spread out around the French Drain. The Lime Stone 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 fall 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 Areais 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 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.
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
French Drain Installed along and under walk way to pool.
French Drains can be decorative 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 Stepping stones on top of it, use river rock to improve the look, You are limited only by your own creativity.
One common type of Drain used in a Drainage System is A “French Drain.” Surface Drains, Channel Drains or Sump Pumps can also be used separately or together.
Many times a French Drain is installed close to a building foundation or in a low area next to a home or business. This puts the French Drain in close proximity to Gutter Down Spouts.
Recently we installed a 4 inch French Drain with Trench Linerand Pipe Filter In West Norman on Harrogate Street. Our customer had a heavy water build up area on the side of her house. Water would pool up during a rain and sink down into her flower bed. Once the slab and foundation of the house got very wet, the water would seep into the floor ducts for their Central Heat and Air unit. This is bad for several reasons.
A wet foundation causes deterioration of the cement. Cracks can occur leading to all sorts of other problems.
Oklahoma Drainage Installed 4 Inch French Drain with trench liner and pipe filter about one foot away from the wall where all the water was standing and penetrating the Duct Work. The French Drain ran parallel to the house for 60 Feet. At that point the French Drain transitioned to 4 Inch solid ADS Drain Pipe and continued South an additional 80 feet to a Curb Outlet installed at the street.
We cut the curb and installed a Curb Outlet With Acrylic Concrete to make it look nice and last without chipping.
Along the course of the French Drain, we also connected 2 Gutter Down Spouts Directly into the French Drain..
This provides more efficient movement of the storm water to the exit, but also creates suction in the French Drain behind it.
This is called the “Bernoulli Effect.” If you remember your High School Science Class.
Oklahoma Drainage has used these simple concepts many times to provide a solution to the above problem.
Water still had to be vacuumed out of the Duct Work. But Future water was and is kept out of the Duct Work and Floor Vents. Also the Foundation Stays Dry. No mold or foundation Break Down.
Most French Drains are not 6 inch. The most common size of French Drain Pipe is 4 inch. Six inch French Drain is necessary when a person has a need for a more Robust French Drain. It needs to move more water than a regular 4 Inch.
Here are the Potential Sizes of French Drain Pipe for Residential use.
First is the 3 Inch French Drain Pipe. The pipe is small and can’t move much water. If has become less popular and is harder to find the pipe to install it. Retailer’s aren’t selling it much any more.
Next comes 6 inch French Drain Pipe. It is noticeably larger than 4 inch. For Residential use it is more for Flood Protection Rather than Drainage.
Flood protection Means you want no water coming into a particular area.
Drainage Means water Comes into the problem but is drained away over a relatively short time.
Example by Customer:
My customer in Norman Oklahoma had water that would stand on the side of her house after a rain. The 4 inch French Drain we installed drained away the water in about 15 minutes.
My customer in Chickasha Oklahoma had water Re Directed Into the Garage of her house because the city had replaced a water pipe in the street and changed the slope of her street. It tore off her garage door and took out the back wall of her garage. The city fixed the street but also paid me to install a Double 6 inch French Drain (two 6 inch French Drain Pipes Side By Side) to ensure that during a future potential flood the same event would not be repeated.
6 Inch French Drain Pipe or 4 Inch French Drain Pipe?
6 Inch moves a lot more water.
6 Inch Pipe is more Expensive.
6 Inch Pipe is more rigid and harder to work with
6 Inch Pipe requires deeper and wider trenches to accommodate the pipe. A lot more displaced dirt to haul away.
6 Inch French Drains provide much more water movement capacity. In certain applications it qualifies as “Flood Prevention” rather then just a “Drainage” Classification.
Hard rain in Oklahoma is common. Many homes and businesses have drainage problems. Standing water from storm water run-off can cause damage to grass, trees and shrubs, not to mention foundations, sidewalks and driveways. Oklahoma Drainage can design and install a drainage system that may be complex using several types of drains, or basic using just a French Drain or a Surface Drain. It depends on the customer’s needs.
Today we installed a Channel Drain. It takes a lot of attention to detail. Channel Drain installationtakes several specific steps. It is a slow process that takes confidence and experience. I was able to train a couple of our guys on the complete process. They learned a lot but are nowhere near ready to solo yet.
Installing Channel Drain Across Sidewalk in Norman
If you live in Central Oklahomaand need a French Drain to protect your home’s foundation, Give us a call. A French Drain is a great way to keep water away from cement such as a home foundation or driveway. When water is left standing near a driveway or sidewalk, it can cause deterioration and cracking. A French Drain is a Good way to keep water away from problem drainage areas. We also install Surface Drains of most types and sizes depending on our customer’s needs.
Surface Drain Installation in Edmond
We can schedule a free estimate for a drainage system. A French Draincan be an important part of a Drainage System. A Drainage System is one or several types of drains connected to an exit point, were the unwanted water is to be released. A French Drain may be connected to a Surface Drain which in turn may be connected to a gutter down-spout, or Channel Drain. All the different drains are connected under ground by drain pipe to a Pop-Up Emitteror a Curb fitting to release the water.
