How to deal with poor drainage with a French drain
It is important to deal with water pooling or bad drainage in a garden as soon as possible, as left unattended this can lead to serious problems such as damage to building foundations.
While water that pools for several hours after a rain is not a drainage problem, where water stands for two days or more after a rain could definitely be a problem. An easy DIY options that solves bad drainage in a garden in installing agricultural pipe or putting in a French drain.
Where a garden slopes, not only can this cause flooding, but also soil erosion. Once again, agricultural pipes or a French drain will drain away or re-direct any water away from a property to prevent future problems.
A French Drain is a channel that is dug to allow water to drain to a pre-determined spot under controlled conditions. A French drain can be as simple as a trench of about 30cm deep that is filled with gravel. The most effective French drain system is a 3-stage drain that incorporates a perforated or agricultural pipe placed in a trench that is then covered with landscape fabric to prevent blockage.
smg.photobucket.com
A simple drainage system using a 3-stage drain is fairly affordable and easy to install in a weekend. Most of the work involved will be to dig out the trench for laying the drain system that direct water away from a property to eventually flow into a stormwater drain.
2024 - Considering that stormwater drains are no longer maintained, re-directing excess water away from a property is no longer a simple matter. Excess water must be re-directed in such a way as to not interfere with any other properties in the vicinity and for this you need to factor in the lay of the land. Take notice of how the water from rains flow from your property and take this into consideration.
A French drain can re-direct pooling water from one side of a property to another, to allow for drainage off the property. Another solution, and one that I have used on my own property, is to dig a deep hole that is not too close to the foundations - where excess water can drain into the soil. The hole in my garden is 3 metres in depth and 600mm square. The hole is covered by decking and for the past 15 years has served its purpose beyond my expectations, even with extreme storms in the region.
absolutelybushedlandscaping.blogspot.com
Using a French drain system can drain soggy, wet and saturated soil. The standard drainage system uses porous piping surrounded by gravel to carry water downhill or to a suitable location for discharge. A trench is dug through the area where the water is collecting and a perforated plastic pipe is placed in the trench. Gravel is then poured around the piping material to backfill the trench. Excess water then fills the spaces around the gravel and then moves into the drainage pipe to be carried away.
The length of a French drain is obviously going to be determined by the amount of water you want to re-direct or remove. One side of my property is sectioned off from the other and I installed a French drain along the entire edge of the blocked in section to re-direct water to the hole over which decking was installed. I have found that the drain is deep enough that the majority of excess water collected by the French drain simply percolates into the soil. After digging a trench for the length of perforated pipe, cover the pipe with landscape fabric and then fill in around the trench with gravel before covering with the original material, such as soil and grass.
Mark Walters
06 March 2013 07:26 PM
Serious error in French Drain article
Hi
I read your article and want to bring your attention to Cape Town, and I suspect most places,
that it is illegal to connect such installations to the sewerage system as it
can overwhelm the processing plants, or in less severe cases, create
unnecessary burden on the plants (which will increase running costs
and have other consequences).