Posts Tagged ‘Mustang French Drain’

Oklahoma City, Norman, Edmond , French Drain, Channel Drain

Posted: March 24, 2024 in Channel Drain Install, french drain, French Drain Design
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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 Drain Pipe is placed in the bottom of the trench.  The French Drain Pipe is perforated with thousands of small holes.  In most cases the Drain Pipe 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 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 across yard

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.

Designing a French Drain or a Drainage System

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 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.

Channel Drain Across Driveway

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.

  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.
French Drain Trench

Digging trench for French Drain

 

Adding gravel to french drain

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 Drain Pipe.

Before

French Drain walk way

French Drain Installed along and under walk way to pool.

After

 

walk way french drain

Completed French Drain under walk way

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.

 

 

French Drain Installation, Oklahoma City, Moore, Yukon, Mustang

Posted: March 9, 2024 in french drain, Surface Drains
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Oklahoma City has been Installing French Drains for a long time.  We started in 1993 so that makes 2024 our 31st year.  We have installed French Drains in Oklahoma City, Moore, Yukon and Mustang, not to mention virtually every other town in Central or Western Oklahoma.

Still many people incorrectly mistake a “Surface Drain,” for a “French Drain.”  They are not the same thing.

This is not a French Drain!

The Picture Below is Not a French Drain Either.

 

Channel Drains are one type of Surface Drain.  A Surface Drain Is any type of drain that takes water in the top (Surface).  They have a Grate on top.

 

Below is a picture of a Surface Drain that many people will tend to call a “French Drain.”

 

 

A French Drain is a Perforated Drain Pipe with thousands of small holes in it.   It is placed in the bottom of a Drainage Trench that has been dug by the installer of the French Drain.  It should be placed on top of a Trench Liner which is placed first in the Drainage Trench.

The French Drain Pipe has a cloth filter around the pipe as well.

French Drain Installation

French drain Installation
with trench liner and pipe filter

 

Once this is done correctly,  The trench is filled with gravel of some type.  We use Crushed 67 grade Lime Stone.  The empty space from the top of the pipe to ground level is filled.  THE DEPTH OF EVERY FRENCH DRAIN TRENCH VARIES.  What Determines the depth can depend on several things.  But for now just know that some French Drains are Shallow while others are Deep.  The Deeper the Drainage Trench, the more gravel it takes to fill it.

 

In the Picture above you can see the water stains on the concrete.  Water has been standing there a long time to make those types of stains.  Eventually the grass will completely grow over the lime stone gravel.  Note!  Dirt should never be placed on top of a French Drain.  In sunny areas, grass will put out runners and grow over the limestone gravel.  Once covered it creates a Natural Filter called a Thatch Filter.  The French Drain continues to work great and you don’t even know its there.

I have installed French Drains all the way back to 1993 that still work great with no maintenance.

In the picture above, you can see that the grass is growing over the French Drain more slowly in the shaded area by the trash cans.  This can be sped up by sprinkling grass seed directly into the gravel.

 

French Drains in Full or Partial Shade, can be decorated instead of letting grass grow over them.

 

French Drain or Surface Drain, Surface Water or Sub-Surface Water, Oklahoma City, Norman, Edmond, Mustang

Posted: February 8, 2021 in french drain, French Drain Information, French Drain Photos, French Drain Repair
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Oklahoma Drainage – x    We install French Drains, Channel Drains, Surface Drains, Sump Pumps and Sod.

If You live in Oklahoma City and water damaging your foundation, We can install a French Drain for you.

If you live in Norman and have water standing on your driveway, We can install a Channel Drain for you.

If you live in Edmond and have water flooding your basement, We can install a Sump Pump for you.

If you live in Moore and have water washing out your flower bed mulch, We can install a Surface Drain for you.

If you live in Yukon and need grass to grow we can install Sod too!

A “French Drain” Moves “surface water” away from a low lying problem drainage area. What flows over the ground.  Sub surface water  which runs underground  is not considered  when a drainage system is being installed.  People only think about what they can see and don’t think much about what they can’t see.

channel drain driveway
Channel Drain set in Driveway is one type of Surface Drain

Sub Surface water is water that is underground and saturated in the soil.  Just like water above ground (Surface Water) moves.  Water under ground moves too and is a very big part of any drainage problem.

Water flows over the surface into the area that floods and is a problem.  A big mistake that is made be the casual eye, is that all the water in a swampy problem area got there by running over the surface.  Yes, it probably did, but it also got there by moving there underground as well.  This is called SUB SURFACE WATER MOVEMENT, and it is important to any kind of Drainage System that might be installed.

If your problem water is partially Sub-Surface water, and you install a Drainage System that uses Surface Drains only, then you just wasted a lot of money!

Surface Drain install
Surface Drain Installed by sidewalk

Water can only be drained away that is on the surface.  It goes into the top of the Drain on the Surface.  It’s Name is ” A Surface Drain.”  It Drains Surface Water ONLY!

A French Drain can drain Surface water and Sub Surface water both.  It water is in the problem area by means of Sub – Surface movement, then it will enter the French Drain Laterally, under ground,  and be drained away along with the surface water.

New French Drain
French Drain with very little fall

When Installing a Drainage System, What kind of Drain Pipe do you use and what size Drain Pipe Do you need?

For a Drainage System you have 3 Choices of Drain Pipe.  You can use ADS,  Or Sewer and Drain, or Thick Walled Pvc Pipe.

ADS is Black and Flexible.  It is used in a majority of Drainage Systems.  It works well and is the easiest to install.

 

connecting down spout

Connecting Gutter Down Spout to French Drain Under Sidewalk

Covering

Covering ADS Drain Pipe

ADS is available in 3 inch , 4 inch, and 6 inch for residential and small business Drainage Applications.

Sewer and Drain Pipe is white, green, or grey and is thin walled.  It is used for cheap plumbing applications such as sewer lines.  It is also used for inexpensive Drainage Systems.  A Drainage System using Sewer and Drain Pipe is slightly cheaper than ADS.   It is rigid and harder to install than ADS. It takes more time to install and more digging is required at the joints or connections.  It is very difficult attaching a rigid Drain Pipe to a Curb outlet because the Pipe does not flex at the connection.  The pipe hits the curb outlet at a downward angle and does line up straight with the connection.  Many Drain Installation Companies use a piece of ADS on the end of the Sewer and Drain pipe and then connect it to the curb outlet.  Many times there is no other way to connect them depending on your downward slope.

 

Sewer and Drain

Green or White Sewer and Drain Pipe

Sewer and Drain is brittle after a short amount of time.  You can break it with a hammer.   Tree roots, many times squeeze the pipe and crack it causing it to leak.   It is not a good long term solution for anything.

Old Sewer and Drain Pipe

Old Sewer and Drain Pipe

Thick walled PVC is superior to ADS and Sewer and Drain.  It will last a lifetime.  It won’t crack under normal circumstances.

That being said, It is The most difficult of all to install.  It is not for weekend warriors or your brother-in-law who says he knows what he is doing.  Someone with a lot of experience is needed to install a Thick Walled PVC Drainage System.

SD and 40 schedule

40 Schedule PVC Drain Pipe on the right, Sewer and Drain on the left.

Oh, by the way, 40 Schedule or 200 Class PVC is by far the most expensive.

If money is no object, then absolutely hire an Expert to install a Thick walled PVC System.

There are two types of Thick Walled Pvc Pipe available for Drainage Systems, 40 Schedule and 200 class.

Forty Schedule is always the same thickness at a particular size pipe.

Two Hundred Class gets thicker as the pipe gets bigger.

Forty Schedule is thicker in pipes smaller than 2 inch.

Two hundred Class is thicker in pipes over 2 inch.

Typically 4 inch pipe is most commonly used in a Drainage Systems.  Forty Schedule and 200 Class are both very good in the 4 inch Size.

 

The size of Drain Pipe you use in your Drainage System is fairly simple.  You can use 3 Inch, 4 Inch, or 6 Inch.  Sometimes 2 inch can be used on a small single drain but it is easily overwhelmed by too much water.

Four Inch, as stated earlier is the most common size used in a Drainage System.

If your system is a Drainage System and not a Flood Prevention System, then 4 Inch Should be fine for most applications.

If your drainage system must handle a lot of water in a hurry and is designed intercept water to protect property then two 4 inch pipes may be needed or one 6 inch Pipe.  It can vary.

In 2015 we installed a Flood Prevention System that had two 6 inch pipes in the same trench.  Our customer never had water in her garage again.

If you can afford larger Drain Pipe or more than one Drain Pipe in the same trench, your Drainage System should do its job well.

If you connect 5 large Surface Drains to one small 3 inch pipe, be prepared for poor performance.  I’ve seen a large French Drain connected to a 3 inch pipe.  The water shot out of the exit point like a cannon and the problem drainage area stayed flooded for a long time.

I try not to use 3 inch at all for a Drainage System and I am very careful not to attach too large or too many drains to 4 inch.

Gutter to French Drain
Connecting Gutter to French Drain

Surface Drains look nice but they have limited applications.  They must be installed in situations that they are designed for.  Surface Water only in smaller volume applications.  Surface Drains don’t move as much water as French Drains.