French drains are underground water management and drainage systems developed by the ancient Romans but popularized by Henry French, a Concord, Massachusetts judge and farmer, who wrote about them in his 1859 book, Farm Drainage.
Generally, French drains are installed at grade level to redirect surface water. Good drainage is important to ensure that a home, particularly a basement, stays dry and free of mold. A wet basement and the associated groundwater accumulation can affect the structural integrity of a home, dramatically reduce the home’s value, and cause a number of health-related problems.
For cases involving hydrostatic pressure (water pressure from things such as underground springs, rivers, ground water, etc.) and a fluctuating high water table (a build-up of ground water that lies close to the surface of the earth) an interior French drain is needed.
Shallow curtain drains to divert surface water
French drains built into a retaining wall to eliminate pressure build-up on the wall
Interior French drain to stop water where it enters the home
A shallow curtain drain can be used to eliminate problem areas on your property where water build-up can occur, such as a low spot on the lawn or a continually washed out landscaped bed. It can also be used to divert water around your house. This fairly shallow drain extends horizontally across your property, uphill of the area you want to dry out and redirects the water to either side.
A curtain drain usually consists of a trench, often lined with landscaping textiles that prevent clogging from dirt or roots and one or two perforated pipes surrounded by gravel, (depending upon sizing and redundancy requirements and always placed perforated side down), and covered with sand for further filtration of sediment.
In addition to their primary function of directing water away from your home, exterior French drains are also environmentally proactive as they can lead to a dry well, a structure that returns excess water to the supply of groundwater, or to a rain garden, an environmentally friendly invention that uses wetland plants to absorb excess water and return it to the atmosphere through transpiration.
Any retaining wall that is built into a hillside should incorporate a French drain so that the wall footings don’t give out from the water pressure that can easily build up behind the wall on the downslope.
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