How To Install French Drain In Backyard – French drains are a great way to solve water problems… which can be a homeowner’s worst enemy. I have struggled with my fair share of water problems so I understand the frustration you may be feeling right now trying to solve this problem.
A french drain is an underground trench or pipe designed to collect water and redirect it to another location on your property. French drains can solve pooling water or water runoff issues that have the potential to damage your property.
How To Install French Drain In Backyard
In most cases, you won’t see a french drain, because the trench is underground and can easily be hidden with sod or even gravel. Sometimes, a french drain is disguised as a dry creek bed, making it a functional and beautiful focal point in the landscape.
Mistakes To Avoid When Installing A French Drain
If you want to install a french drain at home, it’s a DIY project that most homeowners with a little sweat equity can handle. Here are the steps I will discuss in detail:
You may be wondering how far your french drain is in the house. In an ideal world, you should have a drain that runs at least a foot from your foundation… but it’s not absolutely necessary if you’re working in a very tight space.
I’ve seen landscapers install french drains across the house, wiping the foundation! However, if you want to run your drain close to your home, you must first prepare the foundation of your house. You can do this by brushing tar over the foundation to seal it. This creates a barrier between the flowing water and the porous concrete foundation so you don’t create more water problems for yourself.
So, it doesn’t make much difference whether it’s next to the foundation or a foot away. Although, if I had the option, I wouldn’t put the french drain on the opposite side of the house… just to be safe.
Easy Diy French Drain
Also note that if you place the french drain more than two feet from the foundation, there may be a watertablegradient that increases as you get closer to the foundation. So, you’ll want to stay within a 1-2′ distance to properly eliminate water pooling near your foundation.
Obviously the end of your french drain needs to be lower than where the drain starts… but what is the appropriate french drain slope? As a general rule, a french drain should slide down at least 1″ for every 8′ of length.
More important than the distance of the drain to the foundation is that the bottom of your drain be at least six inches lower than the highest groundwater level you are willing to tolerate. If possible, the bottom of the drain should be approximately 12″ below the base elevation of your home.
But, this is not a hard and fast rule and the depth criteria can be adjusted a bit to suit your particular situation. This is just a rule of thumb to follow if possible.
French Drain Mistakes You Should Avoid
One of the most common pipe materials used to create a French drain is 4″ plastic pipe because of its durability. Pipes for French drains also include holes that allow water to seep into the drain.
Just be aware that a french drain does NOT have to come with a pipe to be effective. You can create a trench using just the landscape fabric and fill with rock if you like.
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You can even make a french drain without a pipe! To do this, simply dig a trench, line the trench with landscaping fabric and fill with gravel/rock. Some people refer to this as a pipeless french drain and it is just as effective as a french drain with a pipe to carry the water.
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There are two ways that homeowners can create this type of french drain. In the same way, a trench is dug about 16-18″ deep, then the landscape fabric is placed under the trench. Then you fill the trench with gravel. In one variation, the french drain is left open so you can see all the stones. In the other case, the drain will be covered with topsoil and sod or grass (more on this later).
If you have water that collects on your home, you can change the slope of your lawn to divert the water away from your home. This is a great solution that you can try if you have the right conditions!
But, if you decide a french drain is the way to go, keep reading for step-by-step instructions to do it without hiring a professional.
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The first thing you need to consider when installing a french drain is where the water is pooling and where you will redirect the water. You have to make sure the water is moving downwards or it won’t work. So when you choose a location on your property to “finish” the drain, it should be on lower ground than where you started the drain. The drain should go down.
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At the beginning of the drain, where the water currently collects, you will need to create a mouth, or opening, to collect the water. It’s a good idea to make this opening wider than the rest of your gutter so it can hold more water.
You can also place a catch basin or a drain box at the mouth of your french drain to help collect water. But, with the v-notch style trench that we dig it’s not 100% necessary to do. If you position the drain correctly, water can flow through it the entire length of the drain. Water does not necessarily enter the drain at the “mouth” or beginning.
Most people will complete this project by digging a LARGE trench by hand or with a trencher. But there is actually a better (and less laborious) way to create a french drain in your yard. You can make an effective french drain by digging the drain in a triangular (or pointed) shape.
To create a triangular trench, or a v-notch, dig at a 45 degree angle toward the center of the drain. Then go to the other side of the drain and do the same thing. The result will give you an inverted triangle shape as in the image below.
Now Is The Time To Install A French Drain
With this method, the “tip” of the triangle is at the deepest point of the drain, which is about 16-18″. This is relatively easy to handle with a square shaped spade or a trench spade.
Once you dig the ditch, clean out any loose soil and debris to prepare it for the landscape filter fabric.
Spread the landscape filter cloth over the trench and secure it with a landscape staple on one side. Pull the fabric down under the “v”… you can add another staple at the bottom to hold it in place. Then bring the fabric to the other side and, again, staple it in place. You just wrap the drain with a cloth.
If you plan to completely cover the drainage with soil and grass, make sure you start at the edge of the fabric and have a decent width of landscape fabric left over so you can fold it back over the gravel. Kind of like a pita or taco that holds the meat (or in this case, the stones).
Channel Drain Installation
Once the fabric is fixed, you can add your drain pipe to the bottom of the trench. This is optional — a french drain does NOT need to have a pipe to be effective.
You can use your garden hose to run water through your new french drain to make sure it drains properly. I would recommend testing the drain after you install the landscape fabric just to make sure the drain slope is correct.
Once the fabric is placed in the trench, you simply fill the entire trench with gravel. If you plan to make an invisible french drain, make sure you don’t fill the drain to the top with stone. You will need extra room for topsoil and sod to be placed on top. If you plan to leave the stone exposed, you can fill the stone to the top.
You can cover the stone you laid so that your french drain is not visible. But, this is an optional step. You can also leave the rock exposed to give your french drain a “dry creek bed” look that can add interest to your landscape.
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Quick Tip: For more “aesthetic” landscape ideas, check out my post about Landscape Layering. Create an invisible french drain
If you want to completely cover the french drain with soil
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