Norman French Drains
Norman French Drain
French Drains can be decorative and look nice
Here is an area that desperately needs a French Drain!
Installing a French Drain in the mud
If you have something that looks like this you need a French Drain.
Standing water can cause a lot of damage to your yard. The above picture was from a French Drain Installation in Mustang
Two Months after French Drain Install
Many times we wait until things dry out a bit before beginning a French Drain Installation. Some times the water never goes away. So we start digging in standing water and putting the mud in a wheelbarrow. We then haul it to a dump trailer to be hauled away. It isn’t the easiest thing to do.
Drainage Trench
The water started draining away as soon as we dug the Drainage Trench. Once the Pipe and Limestone were installed, it drained away even faster.
The trench liner allows sub surface water to pass through it and reach the French Drainpipe. The reason it is installed is to maintain the integrity of the drainage trench so it doesn’t collapse over time. It also helps protect the pipe from filling up with mud or sand, clogging the French Drain.
Below is a picture of a French Drain that we had to take out and replace because it had no liner or filter around the Pipe.
result of French Drain Installed Incorrectly
French Drains need a Trench Liner and a Pipe Filter or they will clog up and quit working. I have Installed French Drains that are 30 years old now and still work great!
French drain Installation
with trench liner and pipe filter
Trench Liner
The French Drain Pipe shown above has a neo Preen soc around it to prevent sand and debris from clogging the French Drain. The next step is to add the lime stone on top.
Other types of stone can be used as well.
French Drain with colored gravel.’
A French Drain with River Rock
The type of rock that covers a perforated French Drain Pipe can be just about any type of quality gravel or crushed stone. Very small crushed stone or sand is not a good idea, however. The water must be able to flow through the stone to reach the perforated pipe.
French Drains can be installed by themselves, or as part of a Drainage System that uses other French Drains, Surface Drains, or other Drain combinations. Typically a French Drain is used to protect a broad area that has a lot of standing water. A French Drain might run along side a homes foundation, or beside a driveway, or on any Drainage Project where Sub-Surface water is the primary problem. If water is running toward your home under ground ( through sandy soil), A French Drain is the only Solution for draining away water flowing under ground.
