High capacity french drain Installed and shown in action 

Check out part 2 of this project ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wC5c7xPal5k.html

I had a client years ago, where his house sat was in a swale where all of the neighborhoods uphill from him sent all of their storm water. He had asked the city to do something about the issue because every time it rained his entire back yard became a pond and it took weeks for the pond to drain and dry out. When I designed the addition to his house, I designed a massive french drain system for him. There were (15) 6" perforated lines running across his back yard into (2) 12" lines that ran to the storm water system underground. I worked with the contractor and the city to approve the permits to tie this system directly into their drain which they were NOT happy about and fought us tooth and nail the entire time because it was a significant volume of water they had been trying to avoid adding to their system for years; they tried to claim that their back yard was officially wetlands. We did the work during the summer when 4 months out of the year it was typically bone dry and we could claim that it wasn't wetlands because there wasn't currently a pond. The entire back yard was completely transformed and my clients now enjoy many games of cornhole out there for all of their cookouts.

Actually, this is the perfect situation where neighbors should cooperate and share the costs of solving their water issues for the long term.....

Tune in next time for when their neighbor installs a German drain, which directs water around the French drain!

As a french, i'm fascinated by the sheer number of "french" things that didn't come from my country.

Love that you followed up after install to show the results! Well done!

I love how this guy basically gave himself two new jobs by damming up the neighbors' yards in the process of draining this yard.

My upstream neighbor had something similiar put in between our houses, and it did a wonderful job keeping me from being flooded when it rained. He sold his house, and the new neighbor put a walkway and paver stones over the drains, and water would gush over the drain system and into my yard. I built a berm between our two yards, now "our problem" is "his problem". The water gushes under his house.

To me the best part, the absolute triumph of your work is when you go a revisit and show the final result IRL. Many videos here in RU-vid or regular TV never show the product of their work in months or years later. You do. Thank you for that.

Ultimately this shows how poorly the development was graded to begin with because they should have dealt with the water runoff from the beginning. Nice job with your system though.

It's refreshing to see how nice of a job you did on the cleanup. I see too many contractors that do great work on the actual task yet fail to make the place better than they found it. Bravo.

I truly thought, "I'm not gonna watch a video like this," and ended up watching every minute. I grew up in South Florida so I know about flooded yards. Great job, man!

Two things I was hoping you'd do, show how effective your system is after it rained and explain why you don't use filter fabric. You did both. Great! Thank you for a great video. You put an awful lot of work into this.

These are so great, the after shots with actual rain flow once it’s done takes the videos from a boring how to that others may do, to quality RU-vid content that has a satisfying conclusion

Seeing the water fly outta the end of that pipe is sooo satisfying!

I dug a French Drain for my daughter to resolve her drainage issues. By far one of the oldest but best methods of moving water off of property. Nothing is more detrimental to building materials than standing water. Concrete and cinder block will draw it up like a straw into the wood of your home, then the termites come to claim what the water didn't already destroy.

Nice and informative. I had to call “ Call before you dig” here in New England and glad I did. My house was built in 1870 and there was a dry well which was about 12’ deep right along the property line where I was going to install a French drain. The guy from the locating company found it with a sub sonar machine. The small backhoe I was goi g to rent would have fell into the hole. Gave the guy from the surveying a $20. tip for finding and telling me this.

That back neighbor is going to be pissed!

You also created TWO more new customers! The neighbors! LOL! I'm sure they'll be calling you soon!!

The person who installed the drain is actually taking care of the neighbors issue as well.

Excellent job. I know they are happy customers

I'm in the uk & a big fan of the french drain, our specifications always make us use weed suppressant membranes, the powers that be think it will stop the drains getting blocked with soil. I've yet to come across any architect that realises a good flow of water will flush away sediment. I will show them this video as a good example of how a french drain should work. Thanks for posting this video

Love the video; love your calm demeanor; this is a great teaching tool The viewer can decide what they would and wouldn't do based on their own needs. That said; As a former contractor and home owner I would have definitely put some type of landscape edging plastic, green metal, etc, just to contain that gravel and prevent it from making its way into the lawn Looks like they have kids; gonna throw rocks anyway And yep, connect the downspouts but homeowner has last word. A short call to 811 and they would identify the gas lines along with all other underground lines

The after care of the lawn apart from the craftsmanship showed the quality of you and your team’s work. Just great👍

I grew up in the trades and have been a carpenter for over 45 years. I can build a house from the ground up; masonry, plumbing, electrical, carpentry and do all of my own work on my house. My day job for 31 of those years was in a State environmental agency and I've reviewed stormwater projects, industrial, commercial, residential for a good portion of that time. There is a real storm-water problem in my State. Rain must go somewhere and if there is impervious surface, than rain will find its way, as it always does, to places where it either can percolate into the ground or run to the sea, however if it does not percolate, often it causes flooding on it's journey to the ocean. While warehouses, malls, and most importantly, roads and parking lots, contribute heavily to impervious surface totals, individual homes, especially older ones, contribute heavily to it through the roofs, driveways and roadways. Developments in my State are required to keep stormwater onsite as much as possible and may not let discharges into streams exceed a certain cfs. Impervious surfaces are a known issue with stormwater. Less known is soil compaction in which the rate of percolation is reduced, sometimes to the point of becoming in essence, impervious. This is especially true with developments where heavy machinery often is running over the soils, compacting it so badly that water is not absorbed and sheets off. Generally speaking, once built, we don't mess with developments once built and certified, but we do get calls from homeowners. Solutions to these kind of problems on an individual basis generally include the installation of drywells, pervious pavement for driveways, rain gardens, decompacting the soils, changing the soil composition to include more permeable materials, etc. with direction of drainage towards the street (which for developments that have them, would then feed into an existing stormwater basin) as a last resort. Soil analysis/composition is extremely important when developing a plan. You can't install a drywell for instance, where the soil composition is mostly clay and will not perk, where there is too much rock or bedrock is close to the surface, or where the water table is close to the surface during wet months. Water catchment (rain barrels/cisterns) are a solution but are limited. There is a way to make an above ground drywell for areas where slopes allow for them and soil conditions don't allow for below ground ones. The best way to deal with stormwater is when the home, whether part of a development or a single home site, is in the planning stage. That takes some will on the part of State and local governments to create laws and rules, as well as implement them. Unfortunately in my State in the past, people were allowed to build in areas of flood plain and swamps (no longer). There is very little you can do if a home was built in a swamp other than elevate the home and/or collect the water and, if the water reaches a certain volume, pump it if possible to a location that doesn't impact others. As I've said above, retrofitting a home to be "stormwater neutral" is more difficult, but not impossible. My house is 110 years old and in a small town. My lot is 30' x 120'. I hope to have it completely stormwater neutral by late spring or summer, but I'm dealing with very compact soils. Time to get out the shovel.

Beautiful job; it’s heartwarming to see a craftsman who takes pride in his work.

I have a similar “swamp” problem every time it rains. Glad I found your video. Love your work. It looks great. Thanks for sharing 🙏🏽

It’s cool that everyone that works for you has a positive attitude and has fun working together 🤙🏽

I am writing this comment while watching,I've never heard of a French drain so I am going to learn something new,anyway it's very interesting to a Brit here in the UK

The husband was worried about yall tearing up most of the yard the water already tore it up.

Gotta give Shawn his props. He always stops back to check his work!

Thank you for the primer on french drains. I installed my own a decade ago, while I was flashing out and sealing the foundation. Wish I'd seen this before (I didn't know about clean-outs, and I did use filter paper over the gravel), but it still works well and I haven't had any problems especially with the amount of run-off I get from the snow melt and parking lot behind my property. I was worried I didn't put enough of a drop in it - now I see it's not supposed to be much.

Thanks for taking the time to shoot and include the full installation and examples of it actually working. So many other videos show only the installation and we never know if it worked. Nice to see! Greetings from Berlin, Germany where we have such high water tables that dealing with standing water is a constant challenge.

I can imagine all the business he gets from all the neighbors! Super cool!

Such short sightedness from the home owner not picking up the gutters. The trencher being there alone makes it worth it

i like how you guys comeback and check up on your work to see if it's working.

Very nice presentation of all of the process and great follow-up showing it all functioning when raining. Great job!

French drains are amazing, such a simple yet effective solution. Great work!

I created a pond and started gardening, making use of that beautiful water!!

This was very helpful for me. I have a much better understanding of how to build the French drain. The clean up looked nice as well as the care to prevent damage to existing yard. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, I appreciate it.

It’s like….. magic 👀👀👀 I can only imagine how satisfying it is to accommodate and help people with frustrating situations and come up with a solution… great job!

What a great video -- very informative and enjoyable as well. You and your crew do good work. I admired the way you were undeterred and just got to it with wheelbarrows when the cement bucket was unavailable. Thanks for posting this video.

That is a CRAZY amount of water coming through that french drain! 😲

I've put several of these drains in different properties I've owned. Did the same and used gravel, no fabric. On my latest property I've created rain gardens where applicable, it works wonders for gutter drainage. Maybe the homeowner would feel more comfortable with that for his two downspouts. No digging around the house and little maintenance on the plants used.

shawn will push a wheel barrow too.. thats a true leader

The grass seed and straw layer gets me. Such a professional thing to do. That’s how I know u spent good money.

I love this project so much. I watched over and over again. Great job on this 👏

Professional would be an understatement. You guys did hell of a job! And the clean afterwards makes everything look clean

You have no idea how much I appreciate this video, I have a water problem that kept me up at night. I am going to definitely try this French Drain. Thanks for sharing such a detailed video 📹

That water flow onto the street was amazing! Good job. Good video

With all the water still going to the fence where the French drain is, that fence is going to rot fast because it’s touching the ground

Great video. I put in my own gutters 2 years ago and I've been thinking about connecting them like this and running it further away from my house. The water drains 8 feet away now, but moss is growing near the current exit.

Nice to see the neighbors got a new pool!

I like how the boss is a leader instead of just a boss. Even tho he is digging he gets out to haul the dirt as well.

You can almost see the eyeballs of the neighbors peeking thru the blinds...That SOB, Now all the water is in my yard! 😆I can't believe the HO didn't want to tie in those down spouts...No brainer. Looks like you guys done good. Good Job. Now take that old timer out for a brew...He earned it.

grandma's house had a long, sloping backyard that led to the house, so my dad and I dug a French drain. He thought about renting out a trench digger but we ended up doing it by hand, and man was that a task. Got some help from the local missionaries for a day or two, and it was extremely satisfying to see finished.

I like how you roll! Always a pleasure to watch true craftsmen at work. Pride in doing a job correctly is good to see. Analyzing the job/situation, setting the expectation for the customer then solving their issue: Win, win, win. Good on ya!

I agree with your assessment that the gutters should’ve tied into the drain while you were on site and working. Sometimes people don’t understand the benefits of doing the job right.

That is one happy worker after getting that concrete buggy.

Good job guys! I was gonna comment y'all should try power wheelbarrows, then you brought one out... They are awesome! Tried one for the first time last year and loved hauling 1,500lbs in a single go and having the machine do all the work!

Awesome job. I am going to have to do this next to my house foundation. Old concrete block walls for the downstairs, and when the house was built in '65, no drain was ever put in. Got some work cut out for me this summer!!

Good evening Shaun, from Australia. On the east coast we are having a wet summer, so your videos are very helpful. Thanks for the info and entertainment.

The lack of curtain drain will often lead to standing water too, nice job Another reason to buy during the rainiest part of the year in the PNW

A lot of great information.. Thanks, it's nice to see someone taking pride in a job well done!

Great job on the follow up was the icing on the cake for this video!

Firm believer in just open trench. With no fabric, no dirt/plant overlay. Nice job on the berm-neighbors won't like it, but it WILL force them to finally deal with their own mess rather than literally dumping it on their neighbor.

this is one of best videos I have ever seen per drains......excellent and great explainations throughout. Good job again!

Love you for inspire me ( my son is in your America and i made my drainage , ... because of you ... ) Be blessed !

Nice work, Shawn and crew Love the videos Thank you for uploading

Once again, an HOA prevents progress because they’re afraid of “how it will look.” Geez I hate those things.

Amazing work--thanks for sharing this project.

Wow great job very informative thank you and I appreciate the mention of the fabric decreasing water flow.

As soon as I heard it was an HOA, I would’ve never taken the job. Good job.

Love how you install a berm and keeping the water back in the neighbours yard - Great way to go over and try and get them to use your services to install a french drain in their yard too ;)

I’m convinced most people in the comment section do this type of work everyday just based on how much they know about everything.

Before and after looked incredible!

You guys do great work. You cleaned everything up nicely. Like it was your own home. Great video

You get a permit to redirect the natural flow of water? Advice to all: When you buy property... Buy on higher ground. And Never, ever be associated with an HOA.

Really a great video for the problem - Appreciate tremendously.

Awesome video! My favourite part was the pet when you shows the water going into the street! So satisfying

Another great 👍 job done by your and your team Shawn and I really like the fact that you go back and check on your work and show how well the French drain is working and it’s working excellently.

Your work ethic, quality of workmanship, and attention to detail is something an old timer like me finds lacking today. I am a retired Industrial Arts teacher that has taught everything from auto mechanics to woodworking to welding and computer graphics. In every one of my classes, quality of workmanship and taking pride in one’s work was reinforced every day of my 26 years in the classroom.

such a good illustration of how it works... thanks for the education

I’ve worked in the Raleigh Durham area nc for a foundation company for 10+ years and I’ve always recommended to my customers to never join gutter downspouts to a foundation drain nevertheless a gravity drain just because downspouts always carries debris making that very expensive drain jobs life span cut short. So it’s a good thing the customer told you no to do it but overall you did a fantastic job and very professional with the project. Keeping water away from homes is always a way to go for a homeowner. 👍🏽

I'm confused why people are saying the dam redirected water into the neighbors yard...the water came from the neighbors yard and they are just keeping from being directed to their yard. If anything the neighbors on both sides of this property should be at fault for not maintaining their properties and allowing their waterflow to drain into this property.

Hopefully the neighbor behind will hire you to solve their new lake problem

Great work! Both neighbors need to hire you and hope they do.

Wow. Great job with amazing results.

I would have taken the French drain to the back fence

"The owner doesn't want the yard tore up anymore.." Bring in the tracked wheelbarrow! 😂 Wicked awesome work guys!

These good guys doing very good jobs. Hats off to them 🙏👋❤️

Those tandem wheel wheelbarrows are awesome! Another great job by Gate City Foundation Drainage!

I never realized how important my back yards drainage ditch is.. Wow

I expect that neighbor in the back will be getting upset about their new pond. Water used to flow under the fence on to the client's yard, but is now dammed up by her new berm.

I like how you didnt put a border on the gravel and grass. Also love how you cover up your tracks with straw.

I never knew I needed this channel and I never have needed drainage, yet. First thing I'm always gonna do is to try and blame the neighbors. Then, I'm gonna turn the flood back on them. GOTTEM.

Give your business card to the neighbor next door to hire you 😊 Good job

Informative video, didnt know that was called a french drain over in the US!

In the process of making the drainage better on this property the neighbours are now going to need their drainage done next. That's smart thinking. Make sure to up the price though. Watching from England.

Great video I learned a lot. Now onto my project!