French Drains Built Right - Yard Drainage - Drainage Systems

Build it right. When we build a drainage system we want it to last forever. In this video we show you how to build a French drain with a roof run off system that will need minimal maintenance, teach you why we use the materials we use and last multiple lifetimes.
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Our website: www.arrowgeneralservices.com

[@timkidd5219]

I’ve watched half a dozen or more french drain videos.. this is hands down the best one. Great job!

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

Thank you!

[@jessewhite7751]

So for a gutter run off you should use a solid line with no perforations?​@StormWaterDrainageSolutions

[@thefrijole15]

@@jessewhite7751 I believe so. Its so that the debris from the roof doesnt eventually clog up the pipes and stop working. The drain off the gutters is its own separate pipe from the french drain.

[@kenbiggs7976]

The main point to calling 811 is responsibility. If it's 10 feet off the mark the utility is responsible for the repair. If you don't call and hit something, you will find out the hard way why you call.

[@Smith553]

They're actually responsible if the mark is off beyond 2ft on either side

[@bobduffy7744]

I once called 811 out considering to dig soemthing. They only marked in the street. When I called the lady said yea maybe they don’t know where the lines are in your yard. But every video I watch ppl mark in the grass.?

[@shawnr8158]

Any excavator (including homeowner) is legally responsible to contact underground service alert (USA) 811 when digging. 811 member utilities don't mark privately installed/owned underground, meaning they won't mark after their meter. A private utility locator is hired if this can result in a conflict.

[@falim4972]

10 ft is insane. Where is that? In Wisconsin, it's 1.5 ft.

[@user-sh2lz8lc3o]

It’s important that the contractor call 811, not the homeowner. If the homeowner calls 811 on behalf of the contractor, and the contractor hits underground utility, the homeowner is responsible.

[@Hundo_Mo]

I have no intentions of installing a french drain. But, this video was a fun and educational listen. Great job!

[@89atubbert]

Much respect for the care to discuss utility protection in your video. I spent 3 years as a utility locator, when it comes to lines between the house and the utility boxes there are three factors that lead to that situation. Fiber lines being non conductive have no way to be located and the utility company usually only buries them an inch deep so just pull them up. Next no locator besides gas and electric will mark inactive lines if there is a telephone service or cable service that is inactive the contractor won't mark it. And finally ownership. Locators are paid by the utility owner and the utility owner does not want us to incur the risk of marking something they don't own since as you have seen sometimes the marks are off and if you dug through it after I marked it in a different location I am responsible.

[@Photogromer]

Outstanding work, thanks for taking the time to do it right!

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

💪

[@torahislife]

Best video I've seen on French drains. Very clear and to the point explaining how and why to do things. Good job thanks!

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

Thank you!

[@thereplacementfordisplacement]

I did a very similar system, I used 3/4" gravel because I felt it filled in around the pipe and compacted well while having plenty of void. I think 1-1.5" rock can damage pipe and relies on fabric to stretch into the air gap of fabric because dirt over time is going to try to push into the air voids near the fabric. The application you have probably won't see heavy traffic but my installation could. I also used 3M spray glue to seal cuts in fabric for utilities with small scrap to overlap cuts, seal to utility, and I spray glued the overlap on top. It is a million times faster than stitching and it will positively seal out the dirt from working its way in. I also would have ran your pipe to daylight, way better than an emitter that will not last as long as the rest of the system. My system runs to a drywell with pump to street because my whole property was lower than street but higher than my neighbors. My system is 10 years old, still clean as day I installed it and solved all my water issues as well as my neighbors issues. It would have saved me tons of research if this video was put out 8 years ago. I can attest that your theories will work and be reliable for the most part. Good work.

[@Rick-tb4so]

What keeps the dirt from clogging the fabric?

[@jefftee448]

@@Rick-tb4so Depends on the soil type. As long as its not clay, you should be good.

[@laurenneal8102]

​@jefftee448 what impact will having clay have? If the soil around the drain has been amended will that help?

[@thereplacementfordisplacement]

My soil is mostly clay, it doesn't affect my system, I made sure to put topsoil on top wherever I wanted dirt on top but in my river rock xeroscape areas I ran drain tile to surface fabric. I made sure to dig down as far as possible without getting below footer or foundation walls. I didn't find a end to clay but if I had the drain tile would pull any subsurface water away. Clay may eventually clog my fabric but I also live in a dry climate so it will be slow. If you live with lots of clay and lots of rain design it so you can replace it when it shows signs of issues. Running fabric to top with rock should be easier to replace.

[@MincedToeNails]

One of the best most detailed videos on this topic! Great info! Thanks!

[@matthewmontgomery1015]

Just wanted to say thank you! Thank you for using SDR35! I will never understand why more people don't use the proper materials.

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

💪

[@johnmcdonald5998]

1) Great job! 2) I need to watch this again!

[@menscream1107]

You are a "natural" teacher who clearly loves his subject & takes pride in his work, with respect for his students/viewers. Thank you for the information so capably and methodically imparted. I've watched over 80 French Drain offerings on KZbin, and yours rank for clarity and thoroughness. I was blown-away when I witnessed the stitching on your geo cloth - like a final consecration! Can you create a brief training video showing the stitching procedure, with the tools you use? You're an artist! Congratulations and thank you.

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

Thank you for the kind words! We are really hyped that our videos are helping people around the USA and hopefully the world! But I can’t take credit for the stitching of the geo textile fabric because I learned how to do it from Sam at Sam’s French Drains and Landscaping. Check out his channel, he does really good work. Thank you again for your support!💪

[@jmac9731]

@@StormWaterDrainageSolutionsy hoy se No h

[@stephenmore544]

The tool used is a "hog ring stapler"

[@alexpeguero38]

I’m in northeast in Ny state Orange County. Who do you recommend? I need this to protect ny home. I’d hire you if you be willing to do this kinda work. Loved your video

[@mustlovedogs272]

That is a first class job right there.

[@michaelm9621]

The way he built out this system, is the exact system I needed on my property. Great job

[@shaileshgarach7571]

Just had a new drainage system put in at my home. We did 2 pipe systems all the way to the street so one drain cannot clog the other at any point. Also a catch basin just below the last segment of pipe to the street. Learned this from my contractor who had an incident where they repaved a street and paved over a customer's french drain exits to the street

[@memurkamil]

First class operation. Thank you for making an educational video about it.

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

Absolutely, thank you for the positive comment! 🙏

[@emilce1981]

Thanks for all details provided, great job 👏

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

Thank you 🙏

[@letsdanceonhere]

Thanks French Drain "Young" Man

[@cayankeelord3730]

Very nicely done and well explained. Thanks for a great video.

[@JeffreyEutsey]

Pretty dope. About to buy my first house in Pittsburgh and drainage seems critical in most areas out there. The house I bid on in particular has two French drains so this video was awesome so see how the drain is employed correctly so that I can evaluate my own systems

[@robsmith6215]

Your a real natural instructor, the steps are very logical and informative, your application of from experience shows a smarter way of doing the job right. Mahalo, outstanding!

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

Thank you for the support and kind words!

[@locosmuevenmundo]

excelent video and thanks for the effort and shearing your knoledge

[@erock801]

great video, wish you worked in palm beach county. whoever i hire to run a couple drains will watch this to make sure they’re doing it right.

[@finley624]

You do a very thorough job, great video.

[@cuplover26]

Definitely want to do it right! Rigid PVC is for downspouts and yard drains, corrugated is for French drains! I can't believe how many people just bury the black corrugated for downspout drains and call it a day. I used 3" PVC for the downspout lines and 4" for the main line on my system.

[@evancombs5159]

Be careful with such strict rules. This can be dependent on where you live. In Florida where the ground never freezes rigid PVC works. In colder climates that may or may not be the case.

[@margofitzgerald5395]

Finally found a great video on drainage. 😮

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

Thank you 🙏 We got plenty more on the way

[@potraf26]

Nice and thorough install. Great job.

[@dannymcelroy]

That was an incredible explanation!!!

[@Dee-ye2dk]

I’m just here because I enjoy videos like this

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

We will keep em coming!

[@MrDee001]

Very informative. I'm looking forward to giving this a shot.

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

💪

[@ccsmooth55]

What an awesome video! Very informative! Thanks!

[@gabeschweizer6815]

Just an idea for you that I’ve done before. When splicing the fabric together you can use a propane torch and give the fabric a quick and light shot of heat and push the fabric together it actually works pretty well. As long as the pieces of fabric are overlapping each other.

[@juliancornwall156]

Excellent job! Best descriptive video!

[@nimira]

Thank you so much!

[@klg642002]

Great explanations, TY!

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

Not a problem!

[@ProjectSimusFlorida]

👍great job good information.

[@juhs]

Amazing video and info, thanks!

[@Jason-pq5mq]

One of the best drain installations I’ve seen on KZbin. I see a few people using basins in their systems for large amounts of water, what do you recommend about them?

[@Pr3lude9]

Whoa whoa back up. How tf did you stitch the fabric? Staples?

[@ozricus]

Thanks for documenting this! Question, why didn't you want to continue the french drain further to the end of the house?

[@MH55YT]

Great video, thanks.

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

💪

[@carltoncopp3032]

Well done. Very informative video. You mentioned stitching fabric up a few times. It would have been very useful to demonstrate that. My guess is that you used hog ring pliers with stainless steel hog rings.

[@tedmihalca]

damn dude you hit the motherload of pipes/wires! Great video!

[@8.3leader15]

Bro, best videos on drains

[@Keifsanderson]

Nice job in such a confined area. Not worried about the open junction between the channel drain and drain pipe inlet?

[@ThrivingEarthFarm]

Lots of great details in here. Love the attention to Y fittings instead of T. Also love that you're using good piping material and that your gutter drains and French drain are separate. Thats so key and so many people miss that! Only thing I disagree with is fabric. It gets plugged up with clay and organic matter and slows infiltration down considerably. Often the water ponds on top of the system and creates a water problem before it can percolate through the textile and into the system. The tiny pores of fabric clog up way quicker than the rock. Just been my experience!

[@odomn]

How to keep dirt from clogging up the rocks then?

[@yoder-kb1kb]

Man, I lived in Florida for 10 years and seeing the sandy soil gives me PTSD haha Just another reason I'm glad I returned to the Midwest.

[@ryancook5063]

Why use a perforated pipe at the beginning of the run?

[@dougsweldingfabrication953]

Primo job !!! Dang, that's the way to do it right

[@rosegold7975]

Amazing job! great video

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

Thank you we appreciate the support!

[@ot-xalepa]

Дякую, дуже гарно показали французький дренаж.

[@steveolsted6378]

Wow! Excellent! Thank you! so much. just one thing. I think those band clamps will rust away over time. I doubt they are all SS. Maybe Zip ties and silicone adhesive instead?

[@Garrett_Builds]

Nice work on the job and the video! Was there any consideration on having grade go up beyond the brick near the back of the house? How was that handled?

[@stephanieray6587]

This is amazingly helpful. Thank you so much. New subscriber here. Happy to become a patron if you go that way!

[@geneotrexler8246]

Good & informative video 👍

[@skny77]

Im glad i ran across this video. I have been trying to learn a good way of doing this, and this is one of the cleanest and best explained videos. I garden and wondered if there is a way to use this runoff to feed my plants, trees, etc. Can it be tied to an irrigation system or something of the sort? Water is expensive in VA....lol. thanks!

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

Downspout system could be piped into rain barrels to collect water for plants. Google water collection systems.

[@benklitzkie9232]

Add debris filter where downspout meets pvc and lose the pop up.

[@nicholasmasse]

Nice work

[@roroneto]

Great job!!

[@phillipdardon972]

Great videos

[@carterjohnson25]

At a quick glance I thought your thumbnail said Bud light in front of the picture with gutters suggesting flushing it. I was like this man is right on

[@mikesutton748]

SDR has its pluses and minuses depending on the climate year round. You are referencing many of the French Drain Man tips / tricks and overall practices. Curious why you didn’t use the armour pipe for solid pipe AND why did you use a boot to connect SDR to corrugated and not the HDPE fitting for PVC to corrugated ?

[@mikewhite3293]

nice job

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

Thank you 🙏

[@AllAccessConstruction]

Good Job ..All the connectors we use are sweep t's and elbows.

[@watchrepairtutorials]

Hey man, love your videos. I’m in NC and have a serious drainage problem on my property. I’ve got to add Gutters to the house and then run probably 200 foot of hard pipe to a ditch behind behind our house. I’m also considering adding a French drain grid in our backyard to try to take some pressure off our septic system when we get heavy rains. Is this something that you’ve had to deal with before?

[@oforirichard2268]

Good work Masther 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🌙🌙🌙🤝

[@prjndigo]

Some snakes can be forced to go in the direction you want by rotation on their axis but that takes some skill. If you hire a company like Rooter they have training to make the turn but its important to know that wyes are self-cleaning whereas T's are self-barricading.

[@trumpwon8231]

We find it most effective long term to just rock to the top and never dirt or grass on top

[@mikepowell9341]

Doing it right is key. Do you have anyone in the Ft. Myers area you could recommend that would do this properly, like you showed? My neighbor and I have sitting water between our houses and could us the help.

[@MaxBechdel]

Gooooood water.

[@wayneblanchard4347]

How did your manual trenching not sever the cable in the trench? They must have a really sensitive touch when digging. (3:04)

[@kotyator]

Great video. Thank you! But I didn't understand. If you recommend putting the pipe on the tranch's bottom without any gravel underneath, doesn't that mean that roots CAN grow into the pipe from the bottom (even through geofabric)? Because there is no air space under the pipe in this case. Thanks.

[@TomB-fl9oh]

Excellent Video! My trench will be about same size as yours. How do I calculate how much Gravel to use per 20 feet of French Drain? My drain is 100 feet so I can figure the amount of Gravel to buy. Thx

[@nxespo]

what brand filter fabric do u like best?

[@rjthomasindyusa]

Curious... Why didn't you use cleanouts for debris at the bottom of the downspouts?

[@benhaze1010]

Definitely one of the best, if not the best, drainage system video. Question: what type of hard pipe would you recommend for a cold climate having to deal with a deep frost line? Thanks!

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

Thank you! 🙏 And a good pure HDPE drainage pipe. If you’re in the north I would stay away from PVC because it will crack from the freezing.

[@rmjones15]

how high of a chance is it that the corrugated pipe will collapse? How much weight can these french drains generally hold?

[@shenoyglobal]

I have a 12 feet of gap between the structure wall and the compound wall (concrete) do i need 2 system of these lines discharging water or is 1 system of 2 pipes as shown here is good enough?

[@Rick-tb4so]

What keeps the fabric from clogging up with dirt? There are so many opinions on this it's confusing..

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

Good question, this will help you understand it more: www.mainlinematerials.com/blogs/m

[@Rick-tb4so]

@@StormWaterDrainageSolutions Page not found

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

@@Rick-tb4so www.mainlinematerials.com/blogs/mainline-materials-blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-geotextiles

[@blackbeardlawncare7811]

What is that staple gun you use for closing the fabric?

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

Hog ring staples

[@shenoyglobal]

would you be able to install this in vero beach/melbourne beach area near sebastian inlet

[@besttechgamer]

What did you use to stitch that fabric together

[@jessewhite7751]

So for gutter run off you should use a solid line?

[@sp63team92]

Quick question how deep do you normally go and does it make a difference from a hot to cold climate?

[@rrvootla]

I can’t drain surface water with a Zoeller m-267. A 5 inch rain is hard to handle. Do you have any recommendations?

[@spencerjohnson5474]

How does the pop-up emitter work? From what I have seen on french drain man's website, it has an open bottom for a sump? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of having a pop-up by letting the water flow down into the ground? Would the pop-up only actually actuate once the water holding capacity of the soil below is at maximum? Any explanation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[@davekrieger7172]

The french drain in this case should have been a perforated solid pipe, since it is just a straight run.

[@CBLUHM12]

Novice question here, what determines when and where you use a solid PVC vs perforated pipe?

[@edcollier2526]

Question:Why do you use 360 degree perforations in the french drain pipe, instead of ONLY perforations 180 deg (top of pipe)? Would that not allow for better flow of water? Great video and I appreciate your attention to details on this install!

[@user-fk7uq4mo7k]

Great job! How much does it cost to install a french drain for 80 feet length connecting two down sprouts. How can I find a good contractor near my area in Maryland, DC, Virginia. Thanks.

[@tbarbuto2345]

How do you keep the dirt from clogging up the fabric?

[@SeboloDeacon]

good video, i'm not fluent in english and i do not understand where the water goes?

[@greb3212]

Those wires aren't buried, they're darn near at the surface. How is that even allowed??? I would be calling the utilities out to redo those!

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

It’s like that everywhere in FL. Lol

[@aktashuseyin]

sorry but ı didnt see the final discharge place. Did you move the water to mutual street water discharge? (sorry for not finding exact words for things because ım not native speaker :) )

[@12s]

Any rain footage to prove the system works?

[@treyleon8112]

Never installed one of these but I think it would make more sense to install a few more pop ups so the homeowner could do maintenance with a snake instead of calling someone out

[@mattsilv]

Very helpful video. I am going to try to replicate this in an area of my backyard that floods, I only have to trench about 20 ft. What is the proper way to ensure the trench grades downward as you are digging? Just a level, or some other specific method or trick? Thank you!

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

You can use a laser level, a string line or the tried and true method of running some water in the trench, skimming the bottom with your shovel and making sure the water is going in the direction you want it to go.

[@yabadabeedoo]

I can't believe the internet or utility companies laid the cable directly underground without installing it within a heavy-duty conduit.

[@arniecummings983]

What are you using to stitch the geofabric cuts for passthrough wires or sprinkler pipes etc?

[@tombarth82]

Appears to be galvanized hog rings

[@arniecummings983]

@@tombarth82 By golly, I think you’re correct. Good catch!!!

[@bubblechaser5369]

Possibly; although, it would be nice to hear it from the horses mouth

[@alonschwartz8780]

Where is the Pop-Up Emitter connected to at the end? where will the water go?

[@direct998]

One guy says fabric another guy says no fabric. One guy says pea stone another guy says no pea stone . All this for a simple drain . Imagine building a house? It would be like a 3 stooges episode. 😂

[@StormWaterDrainageSolutions]

This had me lmao. The correct type of geo fabric is a must, large stone for the French drain and pea stone is ok for any situation where the water will just be leaching slowly into the ground like under catch basins or percolation tees. I’ll do a video helping to clarify all of this. 💪