French Drain Pipes
Yard Flooding? French Pipes Can Fix Landscaping Plumbing Problems!
Your yard keeps flooding, and it’s a real problem that needs to be addressed. Having giant puddles of water sitting in your yard is an embarrassing yet common issue. For some yards even a little bit of rain can turn a beautiful space into a swamp. For homes with basements, the threat of leaking is even worse. Installing proper drainage is a critical part of maintaining your home. For that reason, knowing what French drain pipes are and how they can improve your yard’s drainage is important.
If the drainage system in your lawn is failing, it not only puts a damper on the yard’s use but may also affect the quality of your home life. Pet owners find they can no longer let their dogs out for a quick run in the yard without dealing with muddy feet. Parents of kids may keep their children indoors to avoid them getting soaked and ruining their clothes. Basic maintenance tasks like mowing and weed-eating become a significant hassle. And most critically, your foundation might be in trouble due to this
French Drain Installation Cost
The good news is you don’t have to put up with drainage problems. French drain installation is an effective solution for channeling water away from vulnerable parts of your yard. The cost of installing French drain pipes is incredibly reasonable and can vastly improve the health of your landscaping.
The first step in the process is assessing the source of the flooding. Perhaps the neighbor’s lawn next door is adding to the water buildup. Check to see how high the elevation of their lawn is in comparison to yours. If the lawn next door is higher than yours, that confirms this is a major cause.
Alternatively, it could be that the soil in your yard is lying in an uneven pattern that prevents proper drainage, although healthy soil should absorb rainfall and other water. When soil is compacted, it will resemble clay and prevent water from going anywhere.
If your soil is unhealthy and the neighbor’s lawn is higher, then you have a significant drainage problem in need of immediate attention. For either (or both) of these problems, a French drain can provide relief.
The Best Way to Install a French Drain
If you’ve determined that installing a French drain is your solution, it’s time to identify the best way to go about it: hire someone or do it yourself? The install itself isn’t overly complex, yet it is a lengthy process that will require committed energy. A contractor like Joe the Plumber would be happy to send an expert to do the grunt work on your behalf and install the French drain pipes for a low cost. If you’re a homeowner who prefers to tackle home improvement projects yourself first, even when facing tougher plumbing-related issues like this one, there are a few key preparatory steps.
First, you’ll want to talk to the neighbors and let them know the drain is going to be close to their side of the land. Second, it’s strongly recommended you contact your energy and cable providers to mark where the lines are underground. Hitting them accidentally with your digging equipment could be dangerous and detrimental to the service.
How Much Water Can a French Drain Handle?
Once you’ve prepared, you can begin to dig and install the piping for the French drain. To make sure your new French drain functions properly, check the slope of your yard to make sure it’s a “regular” slope. As you dig a trench to hold the pipes, you want them to be angled slightly downward. Don’t forget to place a layer of gravel below and above the drainage pipes, too.
The hardest part of installing a French drain in the yard is knowing exactly where to place it. Some experts will create a hole in the curb so the water drains directly to the street. If this isn’t possible, simply make sure the pipe runs to an area that can support drainage, like an unused section of your yard. Once complete, you can kick back and look forward to the next heavy downpour, enjoying the solution you just installed.
If you don’t have the time or energy to install a French drain, contact a licensed professional like Joe the Plumber to quickly solve your problem of poor yard drainage. Call us today to learn more about the cost of installing french drains.
