Re: Question about Fench Drains
your father-in-law
<Mitch@this_is_not_a_real_address.com> wrote in message
news:9kega11od1sdnn84m...@4ax.com...
> Our downspout spills out onto our patio, and the water would then make
> its way out into the yard.
>
> We recently had some new landscaping installed, and the landscaper
> built a berm along the patio. He didn't give any consideration to
> drainage.
>
> We had a heavy rain yesterday, and the berm prevented water from
> escaping, and the patio was flooded.
>
> My father-in-law is a builder, and he told me to install French
> drains. He told me that when I go to the home store, ask for French
> drains. But after Googling and reading about these, it seems to me a
> French drain is an idea, not a specific product. Am I wrong about
> that?
>
> Is there actually a "French drain" product? What would it be? PVC
> pipe that's perferated only on one side?
>
> And is it mandatory that I use gravel? Can I just bury a drain pipe
> under the berm to direct the water out into the low part of the yard?
>
> I'd ask my father-in-law, but I don't want him to think I'm any more
> stupid then he already does.
>
> Hope someone can help set me straight without meanness and sarcasm.
> :)
Okay, dumbass, let me explain this one more time: You need to dig a damn
hole, you know how to dig a hole, don't you?, fill it with gravel, trench
(that means a long, skinny hole) away from the hole you dug that slopes
downward toward the direction you want the water to go: partiallly fill the
trench with gravel and perf. pipe and put a drain cover over the hole you
dug. Understand, dumbass? Or should I ask my daughter to do it?
(sorry, bud - couldn't resist ) :-)
Joseph Meehan
> Our downspout spills out onto our patio, and the water would then make
> its way out into the yard.
>
> We recently had some new landscaping installed, and the landscaper
> built a berm along the patio. He didn't give any consideration to
> drainage.
>
> We had a heavy rain yesterday, and the berm prevented water from
> escaping, and the patio was flooded.
>
> My father-in-law is a builder, and he told me to install French
> drains. He told me that when I go to the home store, ask for French
> drains.
Maybe he meant to tell them that you want to put in a French drain?
> But after Googling and reading about these, it seems to me a
> French drain is an idea, not a specific product. Am I wrong about
> that?
>
> Is there actually a "French drain" product? What would it be? PVC
> pipe that's perferated only on one side?
>
> And is it mandatory that I use gravel? Can I just bury a drain pipe
> under the berm to direct the water out into the low part of the yard?
>
> I'd ask my father-in-law, but I don't want him to think I'm any more
> stupid then he already does.
>
> Hope someone can help set me straight without meanness and sarcasm.
> :)
--
Joseph Meehan
Dia duit
Chip C
That's actually pretty funny. And he's right: a French drain is a hole
in the ground that's filled with aggregate, into which you send
unwanted water. You hope the hole is big enough that it will
temporarily hold the water, and then when it stops raining it will seep
into the ground and go away, before it rains again. You use them when
there is no way (legally, economically) to conduct the water to a real
drain (the sewer, a stream, whatever). Many localities don't want
groundwater, rainspouts or basement sumps connected to their sewer
systems, so a French drain may be the best hope.
I have never seen a French drain product. I suppose someone could sell
you a do-it-yourself kit consisting of a shovel, a bag of gravel and
some screening. The screening goes over the aggregate so that topsoil
doesn't clog it.
A related thing is the buried perforated pipe which is used to collect
ground water. This is sometimes called a French drain but I believe the
proper name is "weeping tile". But in your case it sounds like you want
a drain hole at the lowest point of your patio leading to a French
drain. Actually the downspout should be connected directly to the
French drain too.
If your basement isn't well waterproofed and you get heavy rains, you
may find that the French drain just puts enough water into the ground
that it starts coming through your basement walls. The further away
from the house, the better.
Chip C
SteveB
<Mitch@this_is_not_a_real_address.com> wrote in message
news:9kega11od1sdnn84m...@4ax.com...
> Our downspout spills out onto our patio, and the water would then make
> its way out into the yard.
>
> We recently had some new landscaping installed, and the landscaper
> built a berm along the patio. He didn't give any consideration to
> drainage.
>
> We had a heavy rain yesterday, and the berm prevented water from
> escaping, and the patio was flooded.
>
> My father-in-law is a builder, and he told me to install French
> drains. He told me that when I go to the home store, ask for French
> drains. But after Googling and reading about these, it seems to me a
> French drain is an idea, not a specific product. Am I wrong about
> that?
>
> Is there actually a "French drain" product? What would it be? PVC
> pipe that's perferated only on one side?
>
> And is it mandatory that I use gravel? Can I just bury a drain pipe
> under the berm to direct the water out into the low part of the yard?
>
> I'd ask my father-in-law, but I don't want him to think I'm any more
> stupid then he already does.
>
> Hope someone can help set me straight without meanness and sarcasm.
> :)
You dumb shit. The French Drains are right there in the same aisle as the
skyhooks and pipe stretchers! Tell FIL they had a sale on them.
Sheesh!
Steve ;-)
No
http://www.askthebuilder.com/175_Drying_Soggy_Soil_-_A_Simple_Trench_Drain.shtml
'It was the first hit on the following google search
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=daylight+french+drain&spell=1
The reason the word daylight is on the search is because you used a key
phrase "the low part of my yard" You do as the article suggests but have the
end of the pipe exposed at the low end of your yard where the water can flow
away naturally, by gravity. You do not want anything that would require a
pump.
For your daylight end you could get fancy and put in something like this...
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=25652-676-422G&lpage=none
Also, on your patio you could put a grate of some type. See here for ideas
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productList&catalogId=SPEC_DRAIN
And for the other pieces
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productList&catalogId=CORRUGATED_PIPE
The orange store sells this stuff too as do many hardware stores and of
course plumbing supplies and landscape supply houses.
Its an easy project. Have fun and let us know what you end up doing.
Goedjn
"Mitch@this_is_not_a_real_address.com" <> wrote:
>
>>
>> Maybe he meant to tell them that you want to put in a French drain?
>
The operative part of the phrase is "drain". The "French" part
means nothing. Or, more accurately, it's meaning changes from
place to place, and person to person.
Figure out where you want the water to go, and decide how
to help it get there.
Pete Pemberton
> pipe that's perferated only on one side?
>
> And is it mandatory that I use gravel? Can I just bury a drain pipe
> under the berm to direct the water out into the low part of the yard?
>
Gravel keeps the dirt from clogging the pipe over time, but is not
mandatory. I wouldn't do one without gravel.
--
PP
--------------------------------------
Deactivate the DYNOMITE to reply.
DanG
I've not seen anyone recommend what I feel is the simplest,
fastest, best answer. Why not change the landscaping to allow the
water to go where it needs to go?
A simple surface drainage swale should be able to move the water,
it will need attention through the years as these tend to silt in,
but I think you will have more problems with an undersized
drainage system that will be virtually impossible to daylight.
(top posted for your convenience)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)
dgri...@7cox.net
<Mitch@this_is_not_a_real_address.com> wrote in message
news:9kega11od1sdnn84m...@4ax.com...
> Our downspout spills out onto our patio, and the water would
> then make
> its way out into the yard.
>
> We recently had some new landscaping installed, and the
> landscaper
> built a berm along the patio. He didn't give any consideration
> to
> drainage.
>
> We had a heavy rain yesterday, and the berm prevented water from
> escaping, and the patio was flooded.
>
> My father-in-law is a builder, and he told me to install French
> drains. He told me that when I go to the home store, ask for
> French
> drains. But after Googling and reading about these, it seems to
> me a
> French drain is an idea, not a specific product. Am I wrong
> about
> that?
>
> Is there actually a "French drain" product? What would it be?
> PVC
> pipe that's perferated only on one side?
>
> And is it mandatory that I use gravel? Can I just bury a drain
> pipe
> under the berm to direct the water out into the low part of the
> yard?
>
Chris Lewis
> That's actually pretty funny. And he's right: a French drain is a hole
> in the ground that's filled with aggregate, into which you send
> unwanted water.
That's a "dry well", not a "french drain".
"French drain" is a _trench_ filled with gravel that's used to route
water somewhere else.
A drywell is essentially a gravel-filled pit you pour water into,
letting it seep into the ground over time.
A french drain may lead to a drywell, but it isn't the drywell itself.
French drains are often seen just inside the perimeter footings in your
basement (covered with concrete), because they do such an excellent
job of draining water from the footings.
http://grounds-mag.com/mag/grounds_maintenance_install_french_drain/
These days, french drains usually use perforated pipe inside
the gravel to avoid plugging up with silt.
"Drainage tile" is used to refer to whatever "pipe" you use
in your french drain.
--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.