Advantages of a French Drain

Installing French drains, or drainage tile, is a highly effective way to deal with poor yard drainage.

A French drain is dug into a trench that you then cover with rocks. This drainage tile system connects to your pipes to help guide water away from your house. The first part of a French drain is the elevated end, also referred to as the drain field. This drain field is where the excess surface water enters into the drain pipes. Second, the French drain exit point. This is the lowest point where the water leaves the drain. The French drain creates a slop in which the waste water can easily exit.

A French drainage tile system is a perforated tube that allows water to enter while keeping soil out and over time, the drains can be overgrown by tree roots, stray soil, gravel and other debris. You should be cleaning out these French drains every year, usually after Winter and before Spring.

The easiest way to tell if your French drain is operating properly is to look for wetness in your lawn. Even keeping your eye out for wet patches in certain areas of your lawn. If there is water pooling anywhere or you do encounter certain areas of the yard with water and not others, chances are high that there could be an issue and your drain isn't functioning properly. This problem is almost always due to the drainage tile being clogged.

When water seeps through soil to get to your French drain, it often brings along sediment into the drain, where it dumps the sediment in the drain on the gravel as it flows through the ditch. The sediment will gradually build up over time and slows the flow through the drainage tile. This sediment could even block it up completely. When this happens, the water gets backed up in the French drain and causes the area around your home to flood.

If you are unsure if your lawn drainage tile is functioning properly or you think that it may be clogged up, reach out to your local plumbing company, and in some cases, even a landscaping company. These types of companies can let you know if there is any buildup that could turn into a clog or bigger problems down the road.

It doesn't matter where you live, or how much rain falls in a day. Bad yard drainage can damage your basement and/or its foundation and put your entire property in jeopardy. If you are currently looking for a new home, take yard drainage into consideration on top of all the other home inspections you should do in advance before purchasing anything. You don't want to move into a new home and find that there are yard drainage issues right off the bat, not to mention the extra money you will have to spend soon after moving in. Flooding is costly.

 If you are already a home owner, upgrading the drainage tile system can prevent flooding or erosion and keep you at ease.