Draining, French Style

It rained for almost three weeks straight while we were moving in and beginning to settle. Though that made for soggy boxes, it turned out to be quite a blessing, because we learned early that we had a big problem.

We knew the basement had no flooring, and it looked like they had removed a carpet because of water problems. What we didn't realize until moving in (yes, this is definitely something to find out BEFORE signing anything... we're learning a lot!), was that it still had the water problems. The rain wasn't all staying outside. It was seeping into the basement. What to do?!

With a little research, I discovered a new minor hero: Tim of Ask the Builder. So far, I haven't dug into his site, but the reason I appreciate it, is because he had a simple, inexpensive solution to our problem: a French Drain. It pulls the water away from your house, so you don't have to dig up the basement or add a sump pump to solve your water problem! We decided to try it.

A day-and-a-half of work and about $50 later, we had this French Drain in our back yard. (We need to smooth it out a bit, still)

Of course, now that we have it, our forecast has been full of sunny days! Finally on Wednesday we had rain and snow. And it all stayed outside. So, we're waiting for one more downpour, just to be on the safe side, then we can fix things up in the basement.

I didn't take pictures along the way, but in case you're wondering, here's how we built our French Drain:


Step 1: Dig a 6-inch wide, 1-2 ft. deep ditch from on end of your house to the other. Keep it 10-15 feet away from the house, along the valley in your yard, and take it around at the end, so the water will run out of it harmlessly. (Watch for wires, plumbing, and other underground surprises.) It really doesn't take as long as you might think!

Step 2: Gravel! If you can use a pickup to bring in your own, it's surprisingly cheap! (Get that straight from a gravel supplier, though–not bagged up in a home improvement store). You'll want to line the bottom of your new ditch with about two inches of 1-inch or larger gravel.

Step 3: Lay your 4-inch perforated drain pipe. Make sure to get the kind with holes, and you won't need a pipe sock. The holes go down. Yes, it seems weird, but put them down. As the water rises, it will easily flow into the pipe.

Step 4: Take an old T-shirt and two rubber bands. You'll want to cut two pieces (8-inches or so square) to cover the ends of the pipe. Secure them with the rubber bands. This will keep rocks and dirt from getting in and clogging your pipe.

Step 5: More gravel! Fill it up to 1-2 inches below the surface line.

Step 6: Cover it all up with the dirt you took out. Then you can smooth it over with a metal rake (that's our plan, anyway–we haven't yet). And we're not sure if we need to plant grass in that area or if it will just grow back up, since the roots are still in the dirt we dug up. Let me know if you know, and I'll let you know when I find out!

Step 7: Wait for rain so that you can make sure it worked!