French Drain Dries Out Yard in Minutes, Watch and See 

Thank you so much for Eplaining. Your demonstrations was so amazing and so very helpful. I still have to go out to finish the trenches but it has been so cold in Michigan and snowing this week. Hopefully next week will warm up. And I have so much to do still. The back of the yard, where the down spout of the garage and the front. I did about 100 ft already.

Man there is a hot debate around do or do not use the fabric. Lots of people with 30+ years experience doing contractor work with different opinions.

Chuck you need to have a satellite office here in OKC, Ok……..ASAP

GREAT demonstration chuck. This is how I install all my systems for my customers.

Great explanation Chuck good job with this you don’t realize how much you’re helping me out here and believe me I can use all the help I can get👍🏻👍🏻

I build crawlspace encapsulations in East Tennessee. I feel like I owe Chuck a million bucks for the drain knowledge he passes on . We finished a drain-only job yesterday using a ditch-witch and everything. Thanks Chuck. Check’s in the mail.

Dude....you are an excellent teacher. Thanks for being good at handing over your years of experience!

Best video! Clear, educational and to the point. Thanks Chuck!

Chuck, another superb video! I try to watch all your videos as I learn something from each of them. Your teachings, demonstrations and explanations are well done and very much appreciated. I can't thank you enough. Continued success, my friend!

Your explanation of work is absolutely perfect. Love the vids

Wow !you are getting better and wiser at this every time great demonstration ! Blessing!

Thank you for this demonstration.

Excellent demo. Thanks Chuck

I did this exact thing bout 6-8 months ago still works fine

Great demonstration and I learned so much in this video I'm hooked!! Will reference this as I move forward with my drainage project Thanks

Awesome demonstration

Great explanation ever!

great demo, thanks so much!

So true , dig up any deep sanitary sewer installed 30 years ago no filter fabric, all clean gravel

Absolutely fantastic videos

I wish I had seen this vid first. It helps me to understand your recommendations and advice earlier

love your videos. very funny, maintenance on your french drain, ha ha,,, i just installed a french drain , in clay of michigan. i used fabric, it just makes sense to me. the drain catches the water off the roofdownspout to a pipe to exit at a grate to the french drain. works great. next is to install a grate for the run off to exit the french drain. thanks, this was a great lesson on french drains.

Hey Chuck great demo. Thank you for sharing. Take care 🤙🏻

I havelearn so much from you, thanks for theteaching

Great info! Thanks!!

Fabulous. Great model.

gracias gran maestro aprecio el conocimiento que compartes con los que apenas empezamos en esta rama de la jardinería. gracias

Thanks for the video. This really helps alot

Thank you

Great video! Very cool!

Thank You Thank You have been doing a lot of research on French Drain live in Pa. Lots of gray clay nothing wants to drain through it this video was exactly what I was looking for have watched many of your videos and experiments with different pipes but this stuff looks like my yard I live by creek that floods farm field that drains to the low area THANKS for the all the information!!!!!!!!!!😁😁😁😁

We've always wrapped our pipe in the fabric instead of laying it on top of the gravel. Works just as good.

I thank GOD for knowledgeable people such as yourself. You make the French drainage installation simple to understand. I don’t think it could have demonstrated no simple than this. My question would be how would know when a sup pump is necessary?

Great video! You should make a video with making a French drain with no gravel. I’ve seen some people install systems with out gravel.

You are the best I will do my first job tommorow my mind just told me like why fabric . gravel will help even if you don’t have a drain I used to wash my cars on top of gravel and water will just drain away no mud or nothing

Your videos are awesome! I wish Apple Drains were up here in Indiana! I have a good project yard that needs work.

I watch these videos and I’m so jealous of the soil you guys have. In Wisconsin we have ALL CLAY. it’s hard as heck. You can barely get a shovel into it. To dig you basically need an excavator.

Dragging it out

Chuck’s demonstrations showed that the flow of water through fabric wrapped gravel is slow but clean (containing no silt). The flow of water is faster if the drain does not use fabric but the exiting water is full of silt. Most yard drains exit into city streets. The silt in non wrapped drains comes from soil surrounding the drain and ends up in the city street drains. I wonder if the ground level surrounding non wrapped drains lowers as the silt is removed.

I'd love to see a video on catch basin maintenance if you haven't already made one!

While cutting grass I found a shallow underground water pit covered with small logs and fabric on top. A local repairman said that it's part of a crude drainage system, connecting the old bathhouse with the drainage pipes from the kitchen and then running out to a rice paddy nearby. It was a bit unnerving to discover it, though. Glad I didn't fall in and break a leg or something. Now I just have to figure out how to fix it!

I’d like to see a real world example after a system like this is installed. Cheers.

Great video, Chuck! Thanks again!

I love your video! It's very instructive and your explanation is very thorough. I know you weren't "selling" me on a FD but I'm sold! I have a question, though. I've been told by a couple of neighbors that I need a surface drain. Why would I need a FD over a SD . . . or vice versa? Thanks again!

Great demo Chuck! Would this system also work when I have a flat yard with no slope? Can you please give some explaination as to what can I do with water standing in yard that is flat with no slope

Hey Chuck great demo. Sending this comment think I sent one but memory disconnect 😂 Take care, have a great day🤙🏻🤙🏻

What can i say: old fashion way is much simplier , cost less but more effective!

I was wondering if I could ask you a question. I am doing a French drain that I saw you demonstrate and I am trench between the driveway and the front lawn the side walk. My question is do I have to cover it with dirt.

Nice demo but that wasn’t non-woven geotextile fabric. That was a soil separator. Edit: I looked up the description of the soil separator and it DID say non-woven geotextile fabric. My bad.

I've seen a lot of people putting the fabric down, then gravel, then pipe, then wrapping fabric around top, then topping with gravel, then topping with sod/soil... So are you saying it's better to skip the fabric?

You should be an instructor. Fantastic hands on visual examples. That’s how it should be done and taught

You did a great job demonstrating how French drains work in general. I’m just wondering if having a wall of water on all four sides would duplicate the actual real effect of a yard full of water where there are no walls that are created unless the drain is in close proximity to a foundation. Would appreciate your thoughts.

Nice demonstration. I have an area in the yard near the fence where water puddles after good rain. What should I do? Catch basin, then perforated pipe like you used sitting in gravel and covered with gravel and then put sod? Not use solid pvc? I have about 100 feet run.

Hey Chuck. Love your videos. I have a real issue in our new home. Compact clay from construction. My sump pump discharges on the side and there's always standing water there because it's not draining into the soil. Do I need a French drain or a catch basin or both? I also have a downspout that dumps there as well. The ground is saturated and it hasn't rained in a week or more. I think you could say I have NO drainage in the soil. Help!

lol love the ending great video learning a lot .

Hey Chuck. I've got a lengthy question. My friends Dad has a older cottage style home probably built in the early 70's it sits on a block foundation it has been totally remodeled inside and the whole lot has been re-landscaped . We took down 8k just in trees alone, mostly pines. So when the yard was regraded they cut down a bank behind the home and used the dirt to raise the grade behind the house which was probably 1 1/2 - 2ft Lower than what it is now. In explaining that I don't think the back yard next to the foundation wall had ever been raked so basically they backfilled over no telling how many years of just pine straw litter. So intern the crawl space floods every time it rains. And not only that the yard has No grass, it's just gravel. Having explained all of that what would be my best way of removing or redirecting the Water? I don't know if the outside wall even has a French drain. Even if it did the way it was graded I have no way for gravity to carry it away. The neighbor that did the grading is a Idiot to put it lightly! On the left side of the home the homeowner had a garage built and the driveway is higher than the grade next to the home plus it has a poured concrete driveway. I was heading the direction of 1st cleaning of the crawl space walls and filling in any cracks brakes etc then applying a concrete block watersealer and then installing a French drain at the crawl space footer which will go in a catch basin with a sump pump. This has turned into a major pain for he and I. One more thing to add to the Fire. When they remodeled the exterior just the front they dug down and poured another footing and brought brick with a stone cap and in doing so they covered up the 3or 4 foundation vents it has only 3 vents on the backside. I can add 2 on the right side of the house and maybe 2 more on the left side. Just looking for your Great Expertise on my/his situation. I seen and heard about what & what not should be done, encapsulate/not to encapsulate etc etc. This home is not very big maybe 1100 sq ft max and money is no option to fix this matter. Just FYI this home is located in N West Ga. Cartersville to be exact. Thanks Again for any advice you could provide!

How do you determine where to put your catch basins in a large field say 100' x 200'? Great videos, thanks!

would it best to have big angular gravel or river stone that is oval?

Sometimes you do not use gravel or cloth? What’s the difference in methods?

Hello Chuck, I just learned all ur videos today very helpful and informative. My question is - I have a sump pump for water on the side of my house when rain pours n ground water level gets deeper where my sump pump becomes active. My side yard is along the street almost same level w/ the street so water stays on it when heavy rain comes. Can I elevate the soil level higher than the street then install a french drain along that side of my house that will eliminate this problem? Please advise, I know u have tons of work to do and ur expertise might help but I just taking my chance from u if u get back to me at ur most convenient time possible. Thank u in advance if ever...Carl

I have wrapped the pipes in the paddocks as a 1/2 ton horse will compress the ground.. your thoughts?

theres so many different techniques, one claim better than the other. I guess the only way to find out is trial and error based on your type of soil and rainfall

Does it drain just as fast if the pipe pitch is less dramatic?

My brother has a lake house and a hill going down to the beach. There are a couple sections that stay wet almost all summer. What would be the best way to get rid of the water on the hill? Another question is the water from the hill goes down to the beach. What’s the best way to get that water into the lake instead of having it sit on the beach?

My yard is very saturated! I need a whole array of this stuff out back to dry it all out!

What about if water running from top hill. Down I think gravel have go all way up not soil on top

Chuck, what is the difference between a French drain and a curtain drain?

Chuck, that gravel may be clean after one quick demonstration, but what happens after a few years of service? I ponder the gravel would be clogged with soil, if not wrapped, over time.

Hi Chuck question. A lot of people wrap the whole trench. Is that not necessary? Thanks

Chuck built like a nfl linebacker from the 80's

Doesn't the dirt eventually clog up the perforated pipe?

Chuck, do you suggest doing the fabric on top like you did here, I know you said don’t wrap it completely. Thanks Lee

So I live in Louisiana and the particular area I am in has nothing but clay in the yard. I was having an issue with the downspouts from the patio collecting water right at the discharge. So I made a plumved the downspouts to a pop up drain. Come to find out after moving in the entire yard is a muddy clay mess. Can't even mow the lawn without out sinking in. Do you think a French drain would help with this?

Someone added 8 inches of very sandy soil to my backyard. I got it tested at a lab - 73% sand. I'm afraid the sand will clog the pipes, especially if I use a catch basin. Should I wrap in a fabric for my situation? Should I forget about using a catch basin? One last question - why does wrapping in fabric decrease the life of a french drain? I understand that it slows the flow, but not the longevity.

I only saw that thin Green Sta-green fabric like u use in a 3’ wide roll. I think I need 5’ wide if I’m doing a French train that’s 18” deep and 12” wide…Do they make a wider roll? I looked at Lowe’s.

Is it a caps basin or cats basin at the end?

Could you use a pop up at the end of a system like this?

So the non-woven fabric just lays on top for the rocks? There's no need to wrap the pipe with it? And also should you fold the fabric if you lay it on top?

Does this work in a place where negative gradient is up to 5 feet?

Confused. Do you use slotted pipe and gravel and cloth, *with the catch basin* or just solid pipe??

I don't understand how a french drain system without fabric is going to hold up over the long run. Plant roots and soil WILL find their way to the pipe and voids in the rocks.

Hey I hope you're doing fine this is Jim working with Martin Brothers Landscape down here in Texas Fort Worth Texas matter fact it is a whole different ball part up there and down here you need to let your viewers know the soil you're dealing with on the foil and some areas in Texas and other states or different are working with a very easy soil

2:12 how does that geofabric hold against Roots???

How much stone can you put over the ADS pipe? I have about a 4 ft trench.

About how deep would you say that is underground?

What is the point of the fabric on top and not on the sides?

Can you build a French drain and eave it open with no sod or dirt on top just gravel? Thx!

Well of course you’re not going to get any soil in your gravel after 1 test. But imagine how much soil will migrate into the gravel after 5 years, shoot 1 year. Fabric is the way to go and is how we engineer our drains now. It has negligible impact on flow rate over the course of 8-12 hours and keeps your French drain close to 100% 10+ years, where this method will have deteriorated performance overtime.

Could you tell me where to purchase that kind of fabric? Thanks in advance

It works fast... and drains your subsoil with it

The water looks muddy when coming out of the drain. Does that mean the water is washing the dirt away? Will that cause erosion and losing material over time?

Whats the minimum slope you need to make sure the water flows towards the outlet?

Is it best to wrap the gravel and pipe? Won't soil mix with the stone and enter the pipe eventually if you just cover up the top? I've seen so many videos doing so many different things it's hard to know what's best!

Why the French drain with fabric will last 5 years?

I like this system better, what about if you just put the pipe solid or corrugated without gravel?

why would it last 5 years with the fabric and 20 without ?? My 30 years old drain without fabric is so clogged with clay that it doesn't do much now. Thanks

Fabric seems counter-intuitive in the first place. Impeding flow makes little sense. If you have velocity of water that is high enough to carry/entrain the clay or silt in the first place, it won't settle in the pipe until the very end of the rain event. The next rain even will flush the deposited material out due to the high energy relative to what's needed to loosen and carry the material...so it won't be an issue in the pipe. If clay has a chance to dry and flocculate into clumps in the void space of the gravel, over time, it can create ionic bonds that will be harder to break up, but the clay would have to be under much greater confining pressure for that to happen in a way that will be a real detriment to the gravel. If that happens over 20 years, slow build up... It's an easy fix. Remove the sod and wash or pressure wash the gravel. Or dig up the gravel, wash it, and set it back for another 20 years. For anyone doing this DIY, the cost of the "right" fabric could cost as much as the gravel itself. It's not worth that investment. It would make more sense to invest in improving the drainage quality of the soil (amending the clay soil into something that drains better) before setting the gravel in place.

Excellent teaching tips, but the video didn't show the differences between the other drains he mentioned in the begin. I thought he was doing a direct comparison video. 🤔

Wait a couple years until the roots clog it up.

All is well and good unless the French Drain clogs up with sediment. Then it gets costly to redo the system. Why skimp on fabric only to drain the soil quicker?