HOW A FRENCH DRAIN WORKS 

Thanks for the explanation. I'll go to sleep less dumb tonight.

Excellent Video! Thanks for explaining why the holes need to point down.

Chuck how are you and family Doing. I watch you all time thanks for information. I live in a 1950 one level house with a basement when I first move here 30 years ago we had water coming in when we did a wash. So my plumber said to dig a large trench. So I got up early on a Saturday and dug 6 ft down 6 ft wide 20 feet out. I then told my plumber and he told me to go to industrial store and pick up 6 ft plastic heavy duty with slits on side of container’s he then connected it all. I first put stone down then container’s then more stone on top. Then slowly added dirt. It has been working great. For the washing machine. In front of my garage that goes under my home is a large pit rain came so fast it wasn’t able to keep up with seepage of water into the five foot deep pit when I opened my garage a wave of water flooded my garage and basement. It took me 8 hours to get water out with a wet vac. Thanks Just last week it rained for 3 hours and dropped 9 inches of rain I had water coming into my basement from my garage and from the back wall what would you suggest for me to keep water coming into basement. Would u suggest pipe with the holes facing down and run it towards the street. Only question how far do I have to go down into ground.

excellent video to explain the french drain system.

You are an incredible teacher!

Maybe dumb question. Using perforated corrugated pipe means that a little water can accumulate in the corrugations. I am worried that that might be an attractant to roots over time, which would compromise the system. If cost was not an issue would you suggest non-corrugated perforated pipe? And thanks for your videos. They help out a lot.

Wow! I've also always thought the holes go up. Now I know! Thank you.

Thanks. I was going to put the holes up. Seems obvious now! Well done video.

Wow!!! I did a drainage on the side of my house and I did it with the holes up and I thought I did a good job Until I seen your vid. Tomorrow is November so I’m waiting until spring next year. Thank you for this informative video and I wish I had seen it before. Subscribed.

can you install a french drain against the slope of the soil? i plan on making sure the trenches have a negative slope but just curious about digging my trenches opposite the natural slope of my backyard, my basin is in the back of my yard and my land slopes toward my house hence the question, thx love your videos, so informative

Excellent video. Informative and straight to the point. Thank you

This is the first video I have found that explains why I have holes in my drainage pipe. Now I have to go see if they are on the bottom. I hope so. I have an explose 4" pipe under my basement floor that comes out at the bulkhead stairs. It's clogged with rock however. trying to figure out if I remove that rock, will that hurt anything because the water has been backing up from the bottom of the bulkhead stairs for 30 years. Just discovered it was plugged. ugh.

Great visual explaiation using the rigid PVC.

Oh my that crawlspace

Why your US pipes don’t have holes all around is curious... The pipe is there to be a ditch for free flow of water. Also surprised the pipe isn’t surrounded by geotextile to prevent dirt from blocking the holes and entering the pipe.

What size should the holes be and what size should the gravel be?

SCIENCE !!! (of sorts) im going to make this to carry water away from my house to lessen rain water puddles. I like it and I have a shovel.

Thanks for the explanation can I ask do you wrap the pipe with a membrane sheet to stop soil from going into the pipe?

Honest question. If water travels through the gravel, and first at that, why not just fill the trench with gravel? Why use a pipe at all?

Why no landscape fabric or sleeve on the pipe?

So does that mean technically we don’t need a catch basin? It would still work with just a drench?

Thanks for this very valuable video. Great idea.

Thank you, sir

Excellent video! Thank you!

Looked like most of the water flowed from around or under the pipe. Not a whole lot through it. Makes we wonder what the point t of the pipe is at all. Why not just use crushed rock over a bed of plastic sheeting that is directed to away from the home?

How much gravel under the pipe? 2”-3”? Also did you drill you own holes in the pipe? As I recollect perforated PVC have holes all the way around, wouldn’t this would allow dirt to eventually go thru the top layer of gravel and get into the pipe? Guess that’s what the clean out is at the other end.

Laces out!!

To be honest It looks like 50% of the water is going under that pipe. But I really like the lesson and appreciate the good advice

Does it matter where the water drains off too? We've got a spot near the back of our house that just pools water after it rains. I want to install a french drain to take care of this. Can I just dump it into the side yard or does the drain need to run down towards the sidewalk at the front of the house? Thanks!

Is that sdr 35?

Can you only do a single pipe like this or could you do a large gravel area metres wide and have a single pipe every 30cms and have them join at one end into a single pipe that directs the water into say a pond or creek or hell even into a in ground water tank which can be filtered and used for drinking or grey water at least? We get either drougjtllht or flooding rain here in australia and its common and considered necessary in most states to have water tanks that catch the water from the steel roof into the gutters then into pipes directly into your above ground water tanks. But as flood prevention and also to make use of rain when we get it id love to make the land without buildings over it catch rain too especially if you can pop a lawn overtop as im nit a fan of all gravel yards like they do in arizona and such places would this work? Im imagining it a tad like underfloor heating where it has this snake of water pipes under the floors that get heated and provide warmth but instead of that a french drain under the lawn section of the backyard and the raised vegie patch and have the trees and garden on the slopes where they can prevent soil erosion and get the water themselves in places where a french drain wouldnt work. And the excess water can end up in a dam or farm irrigation channels which are a bit like swales of sorts as extra above groune catchment and also the plants help filter the water and the yabbies and fish in the dams are good food if need be. Not like theres a lot of seafood in the outback 😂 unless you want freshwater that you catch yourself. It seems simple enough just would be a lot of earth moving but rather have that done and prevent flooding than not have it done and have to replace flooded buildings and contents... thoughts? Love a video on large scale french drains i wonder wouls it have anything in common with septic tanks/sinks concept... just a different kind of water 😂...

I know this is an old video but I am going to try to DIY this. Do I cap off one end of the pipe or does that stay open?

Can you still add holes to the top as well?

What if you have nowhere for the drain to go to, for example bordered on all sides by gardens?

Well explained!

Interesting. Thanks!!

I have clay soil and it takes days for water to reach my drain. What can i do to improve my drainage? I have artificial grass and having stagnant water in the base rock seems like a bad setup

Maybe somebody can help me. If we have heavy rain fall literally all the rain from the surrounding houses comes to my yard. My front and back yard are alllllllllll HUGE LONG PUDDLES and it’s becoming a problem. Is this a solution? What do I do?

Can I ask why you wouldnt just fill a trench with gravel? What is the purpose of the pipe itself? I imagine for significant downpour the water will flow easier through a pipe than through drainage rock, but it still has to fill the pipe through the smaller holes compared to just running alongside the pipe. Even if enough water entered the pipe in a storm the high flow rate through the pipe would probably have to be restricted or dispersed when the water exits the pipe at the other end to not damage soil where it exits? Thanks

What’s pipe best for French Drains? Corrugated perforated or solid perforated PVC pipe?

You for got to mention how the holes get clogged when up, even whit the holes up in the basement like you're saying it should still drain, but you for got to mention the holes get clogged

Chuck ive seen you use fabric and not use fabric i dont know what to do anymore

Thanks Chuck almost put it in the wrong way.

I'd like to see if it works with soil over the stones

What if the pipe after two years get stuffed with mud and soil?

whats the name of music towards the end ??

Whats the name for the french drains that need a geotextile membrane wrapped around

My question is mainly about the Geo fabric. Some people will wrap that around the whole pipe. I’ve seen it done both ways. I’m wondering why it wasn’t done this way. Looks like the system works pretty well without the fabric. It may be they’re not using fabric because they are using bigger rock.

Holes point sideways

Inspiration amazing how gravity works. Einstein got nothing on this bloke. One clever guy 👦😉

So you want a gravel bed before installing pipe?

It goes more outside of the pipe than inside of the pipe That system it’s complicated to Make it work right

Thank you

Does this work for huge fields? Let's say for a Music Festival??

Cool Ty

If I have a french drain can i drain my sump pump just to the side of the house? The builders left a short pipe off the house about 3 feet up on the foundation, so it drops the water right near the house. Is this because the french drain is sufficient to move that water away?

👍🏻

I thought french drains just had rocks in a hole and the water drained into the soil.

If you respond to comments but what's the purpose of a french drain? is it simply to move water from a place where it might leak often to a random spot? Or is it meant to be used for irrigation purposes, I've seen people use the gravel that cleans water to gets rid of particulate matter to clean their water before they drink it. Their water is flint water but its almost as bad. The houses in the neighborhood right next to the natural gas plant can light their water on fire its pretty funny. Fucked up but funny.

The enemys gate is down

Ah so this is a drain designed to help speed up the de-saturation of soil or ground elements?

why not have holes all the way around?

❤️🙏🏽

Not the best of examples. Water was running under the pipe before through it. I assume this is not an accurate install

Channel drain well better

No filter cloth. FAIL!

aplez drious! @Tim Bastin

This was a super helpful video, considering doing this ourselves. I would have thought holes up but now I see why that wouldn’t work! Great video thanks!

Ohh I watched many videos of French drains now and was so confused how the water ended up inside the pipe I thought it was some kind of magic no one ever mentioned the holes they just lay non descript pipe in a gravel trench

Until this video I didn't understand why there was a pipe in the ground in a French Drain. Once you explained the holes in the bottom it became clear.

Thanks for providing a solution to my yard problem. It rains cats and dogs here in Florida and this is the perfect solution. Now I can install the privacy fence and not worry about runoff water eroding and exposing the cement potentially damaging the structure.

Love the short and simple explanation! Wish there were more like you!!

thanks for posting this video. Helpful.

This video is super helpful but I have a question. I have a small low area in my yard that gets very boggy. Everything drains that direction. Very small maybe 5 ft by 2 ft shaped like a rectangle. I'm going to dig all of the dirt out of there and replace it with gravel I'd like to put in a French drain but I don't necessarily have anywhere for the water to go I just need to stop it from being absorbed by the soil. I have a concrete pad next to it so if it overflows a little under the concrete it's not a big deal. Would this work?

I was wondering if you dig the trench on a slant or a fall so the water runs downhill out the drain?

Wow, great explanation. THANK. YOU SO MUCH!!!

Very good. What about the flexible pipe with perforations all the way around? The slots on that stuff aren't too big. But that's what you have to buy.

The house I currently live in had a 20 foot section where 2 inches of water would sit after a good rainstorm in the backyard. I installed a french drain, and laid the pipe exactly as shown in this video. The drain I installed was around a lawn, and snaked around the house to the street. At each corner, I also installed clean outs just in case there is a blockage in the future. I also used a line level, and made sure there was enough fall in the pipe to keep the water moving that was inside the pipe. Since installing the french drain, there has been no water in that section after severe rain storms. Also, when I did the drain, another drain was installed at the same time to catch and divert the water that drains from the gutter downspouts.

Great lesson and video.! First time viewer, but I subscribed for more :-)

but that example pipe had holes everywhere, even on its sides. what's all that about?

So simple, but might not be that obvious for the inexperienced french drainer! Thanks for making it so clear!

Folks the French Drain man is a joke !!!!! This guy is the best I know I have been doing this for 35 Years and I know good work when I see it. Keep up the good work Apple.

The pipe in the video you were using as an example had holes at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions as well and the water was still not draining. It's likely that pipe had holes all the way around it but was just full of dirt and sediment due to the shortcuts taken during installation.

Why not just dig a trench and fill it with gravel?

I am backfilling a semi inground pool. Should a french drain be installed at the bottom of the 40" excavation (pool on hillside) and wrap around to downhill side, or just put it at the top foot or so of backfill?

Love your information AND inspiration! 😍

Can u do holes on both....top AND bottom ????? is there an issue with that ?

A great explanation that anyone can understand!

This was very clear and easy to understand. Thank you !

Your videos are very helpful, I have a steep driveway that I was going to install 18 inch deep french drains in on both sides of the driveway. I have the black 4 inch flexible drain pipe with the sock already around the pipe. Would this pipe be strong enough to withstand the pressure of vehicles driving above it or would I need to use the schedule 30 drain pipe?

Can also wrap the pipe in filter fabric to prevent fines from building up inside the pipe and clogging it and always keep the pitch of the pipe in mind

Will this get rid of rising damp on an old property which has risen above blue engineering bricks ?

In a rectangular tank of 6 ft × 5ft ×4 ft Where should be the drainage hole in backcorner bottom or centre of tank , for water to drain out tge fastest . And which size should be tge drainage hole.

Good explanation video.....

Great video man I appreciate the information. Hell I wouldn’t have even thought about the placement of the holes until I watched this. I was just gonna drill holes all over the pipe and hope for the best haha but I’m gonna scratch that idea now since it drains so much better with them down 😎👍

Thank you so much for this very informational video!! I thought rain comes down so holes up, man am I glad I saw this, thinking of doing myself this year & you saved me so much aggravation. I want to use the polystyrene however, I DO cover with topsoil and seed right?

Correct me if I am wrong. But, aren't the holes on the side?!

Awesome video!!! Thanks a bunch!!!

Great video, thanks!

Wow Good Stuff Thanks