Oklahoma Drainage and Sprinkler Repair – 405 203 9419

French Drain Installation

French Drain Installation is the very cornerstone of our business. We take great pride in the Drainage Problems we solve and the people we help.

Oklahoma Drainage has been Installing French Drains, Surface Drains, Channel Drains, Sump Pumps, and Sod since 1993.  405 203 9419

Check out – ” Where we have worked.”

Below is basic Information About French Drains. 

 

The last part of this page is Information on French Drain Design and Installation MISTAKES that we help customers fix.  Typically, these mistakes are caused by LANDSCAPE COMPANIES AND BROTHER – IN – LAWS.

A French Drain is one part of a Drainage System.

Drainage Systems have three parts, an “INTAKE,’ A “TRANSITION,” and an “EXIT.”

A French Drain takes water in through a perforated pipe.  This is the, “Intake,” portion mentioned above.  The French Drain is how the water gets into the Drainage System.

The Perforated Pipe is placed at the bottom of the Drainage Trench.

To Review, A French Drain’s Job is to put water into the Drainage System.

They can be used for Drainage or Flood Prevention.

For Drainage, a French Drain takes water away from a problem area once it reaches it.

For Flood Prevention, a French Drain never allows water to reach the problem area at all, intercepting it before it gets there.

Your Goals will affect the French Drain Design and Application.

This Blog can also be very Helpful! Click on the Link below!

What is a French Drain?

French Drain Pictures

 

French Drain Trench Liner – Pipe Filter

Oklahoma Drainage and Sprinkler Repair – 405 203 9419

A Trench Liner is a semi-permeable fabric that lets water pass through it into the French Drain.

It is placed in the empty French Drain Trench before the French Drainpipe or Gravel are installed.

The Trench Liner’s purpose is to Maintain the integrity and functionality of the French Drain without allowing Debris to enter or clog the Perforated Pipe.

Debris typically is Mulch or Grass Clippings.  It can even be sand or dirt.

Installing a Trench Liner is the Key to ensuring that the French Drain will work correctly for a long time.  I have installed French Drains in 1993 that still work.

The white fabric in the picture above is the Trench Liner.  The black fabric around the pipe is the Pipe Filter.  They work together to make the French Drain last.

Many “Weekend Warriors,” or Landscape Companies that don’t specialize in French Drain Installation, skip installing Trench Liner and Pipe Filter.   It may save a small amount of time or money.

Big mistake!

In a short amount of time the French Drain will clog up and quit working.

What is the point of installing a French Drain if it won’t last very long?

A French Drain is one part of a Drainage System.

Drainage Systems have three parts, an “INTAKE,’ A “TRANSITION,” and an “EXIT.”

A French Drain takes water in through a perforated pipe.  This is the, “Intake,” portion mentioned above.  The French Drain is how the water gets into the Drainage System.

The Perforated Pipe is placed at the bottom of the Drainage Trench.

To Review, A French Drain’s Job is to put water into the Drainage System

Oklahoma Drainage French Drain Pictures

The French Drain takes in water and places it into the Drainpipe.  The Drainpipe is in a Drainage Trench that crosses a large area that has water problems.

The French Drainpipe is connected to a solid drainpipe.  The water moves through the French Drainpipe into the solid Pipe.  The Solid Drainpipe is the TRANSITION.  It takes the water where you want it to go.

 

The black ADS solid drainpipe above is taking water from a French Drain in the back yard to the exit at the street called a “Curb Outlet.”

The EXIT is the place where water leaves the Drainage System and goes on its way.

French Drain Applications

French Drains are designed to cover a large problem area of Surface Water or Sub-Surface water or both.  Typically they run alongside a foundation or driveway that needs protection or across a low area in a yard that has standing water.

A French Drain is Dynamic!  It is the only type of Drain that can take in Surface Water above ground and Sub-Surface Water below ground.

A French Drain will move large amounts of water from the Drainage Problem Area to the Exit point.

A French Drain Will Drain away water that gets to the Drainage Problem Area in 3 ways.

1.  Water gets to the problem area by falling from the sky.

2.  Water gets to the problem area by flowing downhill over the ground.

3.  Water gets to the problem area by flowing underground. (Sub-Surface water flow)

Number 3, Sub-Surface water flow is the big consideration.  When doing a Drainage Diagnostic, this is the area that is many times missed or not considered by less experienced companies.  Water flows underground virtually everywhere.  

WHEN DIAGNOSING A DRAINAGE PROBLEM, SUB-SURFACE WATER FLOW MUST ALWAYS BE CONSIDERED, NOT JUST WATER FLOWING OVER THE SURFACE.

French Drain Information

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 limestone.  It is the most economical option in my area.  Pea Gravel or some other type of small stone can work just as well.    The limestone 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.

French Drains as Part of a Drainage System

French Drains can be a part of a Drainage System as mentioned above.  When water flows into a problem drainage area a Drainage System Drains away the water whether it be above ground or below ground.  It takes time to drain away the water from the problem area.  Some Drainage Systems Drain away water quickly.  Others take a long time.  It depends on the volume of water to be drained away and the size of the French Drainpipe.

A Second type of Drainage System is called a Flood prevention System.  It keeps water from getting into the problem area at all.  Water is intercepted before it can even get into Problem Drainage Area.  A flood prevention Drainage System is more robust than a regular drainage system.  The French Drainpipe has a larger Diameter than a regular drainage system.  The French Drain trench is also Deeper or Wider or both.  Using much more gravel to fill the trench.

Decorative French Drain

Check out below

French Drain Installation Mistakes, Problems, and bad practices to avoid.   THINGS NOT TO DO!

Recently we installed a Drainage System in NE Edmond.  Our customer had purchased a new home at a large discount.  The new home had sat empty for three years because of all the drainage problems on the West side of the house in the front, side, and back yard.  The builder could not sell the home.   Originally The builder of the home had installed a French Drain to solve these problems.  Whoever originally installed the system had no idea what they were doing.  Many mistakes were made.

Once the house was finally sold at a very large discount, the new homeowner hired us to come in and assess the situation.  We determined that the drainage problems could be solved.  Our quotes for drainage system installations are always free with no obligation.

French Drain Problems

Here are some of the problems we found:

1.  A French Drain was installed, but perforated pipe was not used in the last 60 feet of the French Drain.  Crushed Limestone was used to cover the French Drainpipe in the drainage trench, but since the pipe in the trench was solid and not perforated, the water had no way to get into the French Drain.  THIS IS LIKE PUTTING GAS INTO YOUR CAR AT THE GAS STATION BY POURING IT ON THE ROOF?
2. In the areas where perforated pipe was used, it was installed incorrectly.  No type of filter was installed to protect the French Drain.  Neither a “Trench Liner” or a Neo-Preen soc was used to protect the perforated pipe from getting clogged.  The soil was very sandy in this NE Edmond neighborhood.  Here is the Pipe that we dug up.  Sand had completely filled the French Drainpipe.  It was so heavy, that we had to cut it into sections just to lift it out of the trench.
   

   Clogged French Drainpipe in Edmond

    

   Clogged Drainpipe

    

    

   3.  Finally, the thing that left me scratching my head and made me speechless was this!  Much of the French Drain in the back yard would need to flow uphill a substantial distance to reach the exit point of the drainage system.  I can’t explain this or make it up, but somebody got paid to do this.  I’m sorry! I need to just let this go.  Anyway

    

   

   French Drainpipe with a Trench Liner

   We ripped up all the bad French Drainpipe that was filled with sand.  We installed perforated French Drainpipe that had a Neo-Preen soc around it and we installed a trench liner as well.

3. 

   New French Drain in Edmond

   Our customer is very happy!  I checked on the progress of the yard drying out yesterday, a week after the install.  He now has a normal firm back yard.