French Drains

Situation: Client had recently seen the side of her house flood after heavy rains. This was new in the past year or two. The neighbor had recently installed a French drain and was suspected of improper installation. To combat the water flooding issue, the client was manually digging a small swale using an ice cream scooper to divert the water 70' downstream (it worked pretty well!) but it was not a long term solution as it could easily clog with debris.

Our Actions: First, we dug and observed. We dug to see if the ground was saturated from groundwater movement. In the sample sites, we found very hard and dry compacted clay which reduced (but not totally ruled out) ground water issues. Then the customer observed and sent pictures of the neighbors drain and water flowing into their yard. While we never dug up the neighbor's french drain, we're pretty certain it was improperly installed somewhere, most definitely at the connection to the drain.

Then we identified a source for stormwater drainage which was located around the perimeter of the house (not all homes have this). From there we dug ~70' trench at a gentle slope and bored underneath the sidewalk, placed drainage rock below and above a 4" socked and perforated pipe to tie into the stormwater drain.

Elevation was on our side so we were able to negate the need for a sump pump which not only saved on costs, but the potential for mechanical/electrical failure. The homeowner now no longer has drainage issues.