How I Built a French Drain to Improve Drainage on Clay Soil

Greetings and welcome to my channel, this video explains 6 steps I came up with for building a french drain to improve drainage over suburban clay soil.
Here in Austin Texas, new suburbs have dense clay soil brought in for building home foundations. In most cases developers plan for drainage, but in my case, there are some ongoing drainage issues. I've built this french drain to get rid of standing water in my backyard, and to remedy root rot issues for my backyard orchard's peach trees.
Improving the clay soil was an option here, but given the size of my backyard, I figured a french drain would be a better solution.
Video Chapter Timestamps -
0:00 The Problem
2:48 Step 1 - Identify Drainage Problems
5:02 Step 2 - Gather Building Materials
6:56 Step 3 - Dig Your Trench
7:46 Step 4 - Wrap The Pipe To Keep Out Mud
8:34 Step 5 - Line The Trench
9:28 Step 6 - Bury Pipe
12:06 Closing Thoughts
Thanks again for watching Austin Texas Gardening!
#AustinTexas​ #Gardening​ #Frenchdrain #Horticulture #Zone8B​ #suburbangardening​

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Another french drain update (16 months later) on drought conditions with the clay soil in my backyard: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZLcnaNvn9eaaJo

[@RobR99]

Just a nit picky correction but pipe with holes is actually called perforated pipe not corrugated pipe. What you have is corrugated AND perforated pipe. The corrugations are the ribs that improve flexibility.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Thanks for the correction, that makes sense!

[@KingBoxingandFitness]

I live in a apartment, but I’m bored and this is entertaining and interesting

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@panteliskaramanis8599]

hahahahah exactly my thought. I'm even thinking what I would probably do differently, although i've lived my whole life in a city apartment and not even dreaming of moving to a house w a backyard. :P

[@mbank3832]

treasure the time you live in an apartment. i used to enjoy my coffee in the rain too but now that i live in a house where there is flooding on yard / basement, i can not longer enjoy rainy days anymore...

[@timothystevenhoward]

man seeing those peach trees brings back the memories. I was growing one from a seedling very small like yours and when mine got around 6 feet tall I started getting trouble keeping them healthy. I was only 16 years old but it was a challenge growing a peach tree in the midwest!

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Very cool, mine haven’t grown much from last year, but I think we’re gonna get some exciting growth this season (because I fertilized)

[@ShortboyKennel]

I install French drains we do one inch drop every 8 feet, use schedule 40 corragated pipe 4 inch sometimes 6 inch with 3/4-1 1/2 inch gravel rock around it and all enclosed in geo textile 3 Oz fabric closed up like a burrito. I always give 20 year warranty on all my French and trench drains. Also we use 12 inch catch basins occasionally. Just some advice you did a good job!

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Great advice, thanks for the data!

[@CRWottrich]

This was such an amazing project and so effective! You did such a great job - it adds so much value to our backyard. 🌊

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Agreed! Now its time to build Eden's sandbox!

[@sanguineel]

I love your raised beds and fence. Notice to viewers: Call before you dig. It's the law in almost every state. You may save your life and others' as well as your financial livelihood.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Excellent advice, hitting a utility line isn’t like blowing out a tire, it’s like slashing every tire on your block and potentially frying yourself

[@NoirMorter]

In most cities you can get people out to mark anything buried underground that they're aware of. To keep it for future reference we took pictures of the markings ours left. Usually showing the markings and the house (usually two.) Most likely overkill, however if you want to be cautious its best to call and get them out.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Agreed, and it’s all fun and games until you hit a utility line

[@leoderadt596]

Thanks for sharing your work and results with us all. The leaf discoloration and curling is more likely a fungal infection than over-watering. They look really healthy in the follow-up video (excepting the poor casualty) so glad they were able to beat whatever troubled them

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Yes they are doing well, but this summer was really rough on them, we'll have to see how they are doing next spring

[@irizayo]

Thank you! I needed to get educated on this French Drain method!

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Thanks for watching, good luck with your project!

[@acwatercolors]

Excellent. I just did the same recently, as I am French and had the same issue in the garden.. good to know it works in UK too :)

[@kierankieran7507]

Thank you for sharing your experience!

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Of course, thank you for watching

[@mathieup.1786]

Many thanks for sharing this example !

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Of course, happy to help!

[@rafaelgomez928]

Tks. For your video , I had not heard of this . And I got My garden floaded all the time. Now I'm going to try this. TKS.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

It's a lot of work, but definitely worth it; good luck!

[@LetsDriftMedia]

Thanks for the video! Going to be attempting this project in my yard soon!

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Glad to hear it! Its a lot of work, but its worth it, good luck!

[@matthewleewillis]

This is great! I already wanted to do this! This gives me the motivation

[@AustinTexasGardening]

It took a while with the newborn and all, but I have no doubts you could do it, even with the kiddos needing your attention

[@shabaz1212]

Thanks to starlight for their wonderful grading! Dealing with the same issue also have a Galileo

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Howdy neighbor! Yeah starlight is a real piece of work. Some of the grading on the homes they're finishing right now looks crazy. It happens everywhere though, our last neighborhood was built by william lyons in 2019, they had much better quality before the 2021 shortages, but I still had a few neighbors with backyards that were perpetually underwater from grading issues. Homes that sold for 500k+ with swamps in the backyard, and tiny lots packed too tightly to implement a french drain without hitting power/gas/etc, a real nightmare.

[@MsAggie86]

wow i just randomly came accross you video while looking for roses. but i watched it anyway and it was very good. Great job! Bet youre much happier now :D🎉

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching! I’m considering putting in some rose bushes, what bushes do you prefer, and what zone are you in?

[@OurGiftedGarden]

Great job! That looks like a lot of work but it definitely paid off.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

I sure think so, appreciate you!

[@joepacheco7979]

Wow! Great explanations!

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Thanks for watching!

[@wickedbeardz]

2:04 You can see that a lot of the water coming to you is the guy next to you doesn't have a gutter on, so its just dumping water at the fence line.

[@chooper1122]

Just watching the roofs of neighbors, none of them had any gutters?

[@adb1950]

Cool video. You communicated the process and science behind it so well.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

I’m glad you enjoyed the video, thanks for your affirmation and support!

[@Bretde1]

Hi from east texas. Newish to the state still...Trying to figure out the best way to address the drainage issues in my back yard. This has been helpful

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Glad you found this video helpful, the project is a lot of work, but it's worth it

[@PorkyPKD]

I’m just a few miles east of you and my property is the same way.. I will definitely start working on a French drain..

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Glad you found my video, good luck with the clay soil! This type of project is a 3 day full body workout, but its certainly worthwhile, and worth considering enlisting the help of a few other trench diggers if your french drain is longer than 30 or 40 feet.

[@mickbrown815]

Both of my neighbors on both sides decided to do a half ass DYI….pavers job without making it it run off correctly. I am hoping installing the French drain system will some what bring back some the grass that is none existing right now. Thanks for the info and video!!! I’m running my to the street like my neighbor has done across the street.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Sounds like a great plan, I’m sure that will work!

[@JDarkAngeI]

DIY*...

[@mickbrown815]

@@JDarkAngeI with over $2500 worth of supplies, materials and $1500 for labor it was well worth it to have a professional do the job which turned out great. Now I have French strains on both sides hooked up to my gutters. It took them two days to complete Plus a one year warranty. I’m pretty happy with the results

[@warriorfortheway8693]

Nice work!

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Appreciate your support, thanks for watching

[@mianaomipost9885]

Great video! We dug about 220ft of trench to resolve our problem with the way our pool company left our grading! It actually helped our neighbors because we tied in the system to the main drain between our homes. These systems are a lot of sweat equity but so well worth it!

[@AustinTexasGardening]

220 feet wow, did you use a trench or did you do that all by hand?

[@mianaomipost9885]

@@AustinTexasGardening No trencher, we did it with a pick mattock and shovel! We did the first 100 ft and capped it. Then a couple of weeks later did the second part.😵‍💫😵‍💫

[@SlackerU]

Congrats on the success. I ended up using 6-inch b/c I don't have enough slope for corrugated. Six-inch pipe requires less slope to acquire a self-cleaning 3-feet-per-second. NDS has charts on their website. 4-inch corrugated moves the same amount of water as a 3-inch smooth-wall.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Great info, I could have probably fit 6" in my trench, my only regret is not owning a truck for these kind of projects

[@Bearbytez]

I never knew Roman had a side gig doing home improvent KZbin when he's not on Regular Car Reviews.

[@MonteX-ee1ll]

nice work!!!!

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Thanks for watching!

[@chivasporvida1997]

Wish it would rain like that here. We need it. Great details on your video. Appreciate it. Greetings from Houston.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Same. It’s been very dry this summer, looking forward to fall rain

[@rapidsk8]

Awesome!

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@dessertbooger9397]

Get a power auger and dig a shitload of vertical holes 12” in diameter and 2 to 4 feet deep. Line them with geo fabric and gravel. Also try using 50 gallon or larger fabric pots, cut open the bottom and plant your trees, etc up on top the ground.You’ll be amazed how much this will help. 35 years of construction contracting with 5 separate licenses along with a farming experience my whole life so I’m confident it’ll solve all your issues. Cheers

[@Games-dx2bx]

Please explain this to me, dig 4 foot holes that are 12 inches in diameter around the foundation if I have seeping. Line them with geo fabric, And fill them with gravel only? That’s it? What goes on top? How do I cover it ? Thank you

[@s1ubbe]

@@Games-dx2bx Yes fill with gravel only. Top it off with geo fabric and grass. The point is just to give water a fast track down

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Cool suggestion, so basically several mini cisterns full of gravel?

[@Kitsumari]

Odd question, could this lead to sinkholes?

[@donnagregory8272]

You guys always cut the homeowner off too much interrupt and in this one u said yeah a million times. I feel like you should let the homeowners talk more and have a longer tour. We’ll all love it a bit more. Thank you so much for this channel I really enjoy it.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

We'll you'd be surprised to hear I'm a one man show, that's the homeowner (me) interrupting the homeowner. This video took a long time to edit, so if I was recording audio in march/april, I may have been congested with allergies, which makes me sound a bit different

[@OneSmellyTaco]

Roots from all those trees will eventually take over your french drain. Make sure you keep up with clearing up your french drains. I know you mentioned it how it will work out in the future, but as I can see, some of those trees are really close.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

That's a good observation, and good advice. I'll likely do a "french drain maintenance and lessons learned" video in the future, but it might be another year or two before that's necessary

[@thomascrabtree]

This is massively over-engineered but you did a good job. You can turf over the drain just fine, most people do, and you don't need such fancy pipes or inlets / outlets. A lot of engineers build industrial culverts under runways and other essential infrastructure with the trench, a regular drainpipe with some holes drilled into it, and then the stones and finally dump the earth back ontop.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Agreed, over the 18 months that have followed installation, the soil has shifted, fissured, and swallowed some small pockets of granite. Also, the shifting granite has resulted in the intake cap being exposed by two or three inches. In the spring im planning to cut and tie off the intake cap, but im waiting to see how much things further change. At any rate, im glad the standing water and misquotes have been gone

[@brianpatrick6866]

Great video. I'm in the beginning stages of a similar project. Im about to plant a line of 4 Junipers and 4 eastern red cedars in a area along my fence that has standing water after rain. Im hoping the new soil and the trees will soak up water. If not, I will be doing a french drain. My one concern is tree roots making there way into to the corrugated pipe and running all my hard work. I have a bald cypress at the end of that tree run, so i know those roots will make there way to that standing water and help soak it up as well.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Very cool, depending on the amount of standing water you might want to build the drain in advance. Puddles are one thing, but if you have a half inch deep river/pond for days like I did after only about an inch of rain, your trees might get root rot

[@arindambanerjee515]

This is just incredible!!! Thanks for taking the time and effort to record and present it for everyone's benefit. Wanted to know what gravel you used? what size and things like that. Thanks in advance.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

It was a lot of fun making this video, I’m glad you appreciated it! I used mountain granite from Home Depot, the size of the granite pebbles is about .5 to 1.5cm each, but it doesn’t really matter what you use as long as its porous, and as long as it’s not something like decomposed granite, which is closer to sand. You want pebbles and small porous stones to increase the volume that water can fill

[@dani8shawn]

I have done a French drain before but I still have standing water after having professionals to level lawn and install btw sod. Their machines caused unlevel surfaces 🤦‍♀️. I had a French drain specialist quote me $6500 for 40 ft of drainage. I scoffed! I will be adding my own french drains before summer.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Those numbers are wack, but it is back breaking work, and with just a guess, it took me maybe 40 hours. At 50$/hr I think $2k would be fair, 6.5k is too much

[@qualitycontentchannel4443]

If you have enough grade, you could do catch basins in the areas that have significant standing water and drain through solid pipe to wherever you need it to go. Definitely don't pay that much for a Saturday or two worth of work!

[@Fields_Forks]

Trying to build a drainage system on a site meant for residential plots. It has 1 main road and 6 side roads. Drain has to flow from the back end of the site which has a closed boundary to the front side of the site...a length of 640 ft on the main road of the site. The six side roads are connected to this main road and will have drains too. Attaching site map for clarity. The site had an uneven level from the ground surface. The back side of the site was at a much lower level than the ground surface mainly starting from around 300 ft of the site starting from front 0 to 640 ft at the end. Which means a negative slope considering setting up of drainage system. To address this negative slope extensive land filling was done because of big slope and large area of the site. To build drainage over these roads we made a plan of a slope of ~ 2 inches for 100 ft length of drain. Now the situation is that the back side of the road has been elevated a lot for drain to set up over it with gradual slope downwards towards the front. And even with this the drain would go under the ground somewhere after 200 ft from the back side. Is this the right approach for setting up the drainage? Any suggestions?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

This is a huge project, I'll remind you that I've only done one project like this and it was only 40 feet. That being said, 2" per 100 feet is not very steep, my yard was landscaped with about 2" per 40 feet, obviously any grade will work and is better than nothing, but if you could do 4" per 100 feet by digging the drain deeper at the base, that might help. Also consider, if your residential lots aren't landscaped/developed yet, this could impact the way water flows through the site. If 3 of the lots drain through one yard, and the drain doesnt cut through the property, there could still be drainage issues. I would definitely solicit the services of a landscaping professional with a better portfolio than mine to help you.

[@SarahZunigaMusic]

This is an amazing video! Quick question, alternately, if you didn't want the top layer of gravel showing in your garden, could you also make a slightly thinner top layer of gravel and re put the dirt over it for grass to grow there?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Yes, absolutely

[@georgeyboy8186]

That's amazing well done mate. Where the ditch out front is, are you allowed to build a path leading to the street from your gate and install another french drain alongside it?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

I could’ve tried, and I agree the drain would’ve been better if I went closer to the street, but then I would’ve been getting really close to electrical wires and Internet fiber, so I stopped where I did

[@tanktexas]

You should continue the pipe to the street you need to move the water away from the house.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

I would agree that would be beneficial, but we dont have any standing water next to the house (or anywhere else for that matter). I feel the western fence was really the only poorly draining area

[@jamiepippin3892]

If it fixed the problem then digging to the street would be unnecessary

[@joeshmoe7789]

@@jamiepippin3892 It could've fixed the problem and caused a new problem elsewhere. Normally the water running down like that is all that's needed, but so much so close to the house might not be. Always best to get the water to a point where it can't ever hurt you.

[@elitecystuning]

Dig that sucker to the street lol I am rite now 🤣👍

[@jamiepippin3892]

It’s more of an environmental thing. Running it to the street will add pollution to the waterways. Letting it soak into the ground will recharge your ground water and filter pollutants. The French drain man on KZbin has mislead a lot of people.

[@mo_bra3340]

Super cool! I need to do something like this! Any updates from this year?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

most recent update: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZLcnaNvn9eaaJosi=THT7FKfERHGXk9AV

[@jack_irl]

have you considered using some transparent corrugated roofing and guttering to make a water catchment device? it wont block out as much sun to your garden, you can run vines up it and if you can catch some water you'll be able to use it to water your garden in the dry seasons and it'll stop so much water from contributing to the waterlogging.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Not a bad idea, im not planning on making many changes to our current landscaping/backyard setup, but rainwater collecting is something that some of my neighbors have done, and its been very effective

[@creativestudio4873]

Soil separator looks like tissue paper. The Pop up should be by the curb. It empties out just before the house and your foundation is going to get a lot more water then it did before. Could cause problems down the road.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

I agree, typically you would not want the pop up anywhere near the foundation, I could have done it with more materials and made the trench run farther out, but since I built the drain, water no longer pools in my backyard, and I’ve seen the water drain directly from the pop up to the shared drainage ditch between my house and my neighbors

[@mb-3faze]

I don't understand the pop-up placement either. I find it hard to believe that any water will come out of it since the top is above most of the pipe. Why not continue the drain under the fence to join the small gully between the houses? (Maybe you're worried about the hoa seeing you?)

[@AustinTexasGardening]

@@mb-3faze the gradient is steeper than it appears, at the end of the video I demonstrated all the water drained to the swale after we got an inch of rain

[@MrBill99]

Nice job. I think solid PVC will work better (water drains more efficiently), with no wrapper which will plug up in time. Bringing you gravel right to the surface is smart as it will reduce dirt infiltration.

[@annebritraaen2237]

Great job - I think you should consider building a small pond instead of leading it out in the street. Or maybe wait until there is some shade. Good luck with your garden, from an old hag in Norway.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Thanks for watching! A pond would be really cool, but I think ill save something like that for our next home where I can build it farther away from my foundation

[@annebritraaen2237]

@@AustinTexasGardening Does the drain help you in the current weather-condition? How is it to freeze in Texas?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

@@annebritraaen2237 Haha when we had 20cm of snow in Feb 2020, it was basically the apocalypse

[@_carlos_e_]

So you didn't have to run it all the way to the street? You only ran it to where the swale begins between the houses? I'm having the same issue (also in Austin). The swale between mine and my neighbor's house works as it should but I'm getting water run off pooling up against the fence because she waters so much :(

[@AustinTexasGardening]

The trench didn't need to be dug further because as you mentioned, the swale catches most of the water. When it rains a lot, some of the water goes through my yard, but I have no standing water within 5 feet of fruit trees, less standing water generally, and the standing water I do get clears up within about an hour, as opposed to standing water sitting for days to the point of mosquitoes breeding in it.

[@sambeaumont395]

Swale or not drainage to the street or alternative outlet will work much better than a buried pipe.

[@stephanies870]

I'm curious if a developer would be held responsible for this? Nice explanation and visuals. Thanks for sharing.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

The only thing the developer could be accountable for would be a cracked foundation, standing water typically doesnt get any real attention.

[@user-ohmy]

I love your fence, did you build it or did it come with the house? I would like to build a fence like that

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Came with the house, I’ve reinforced the post holes though, I plan on staining it soon

[@kjabber7245]

I think in your application, you don't really need the intake grate. Your french drain will capture the water, divert it into the pipe and send it down to the outlet. And the left over water will slowly drain into the ground...

[@AustinTexasGardening]

I agree with you, if it’s not at or slightly below ground level, I don’t really see the point either.

[@annabender300]

I am a bit late to seeing this video. Can you please put a link where you bought the corrugated perforated kit, please. Thank you

[@AustinTexasGardening]

It was a 100 foot corrugated pipe from home depot

[@MonkeyPunchZPoker]

I did a similair project in clay soil and I chose not to use fabric. I watched a lot of KZbin videos and am convinced that once the clay magrates it will just clog up the fabric. I now think that maybe I should have used it to line the trench as a way to seperate the rocks from the soil, but leaving it off the pipe and open at top I think is the rigth call. I've only done phase 1 so maybe that's what I'll do in phase 2.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Very cool, based on what I observed, it seemed like I could have gotten away with no pipe, no fabric, just granite gravel or river rock and a trench, and yep I think thats the purpose of the fabric, to keep the whole thing from sinking into the mud and refilling with soil over the years

[@sambeaumont395]

I had a similar problem with water pooling at the front and side of my house, worst I saw was about 11” deep. Used corrugated/drainage pipe without fabric, scoria on top, soil then grass cover on top of that has now been 10 years and had absolutely no pooling or sinkage. However it does have an outlet rather than just being a buried pipe.

[@patty109109]

I'm creating a small french drain now in very clay-heavy soil that refuses to drain. I only put some fabric on the bottom to help keep things clean while I backfill a bit, and around the sides. I will be leaving the top fully exposed with drainage rocks, but once things settle the bulk of the water will be clean and still. I do think fabric is overused in many of these videos and it absolutely does slow drainage.

[@MonkeyPunchZPoker]

With my drain as the water flows through it clay sedimient builds up around the rocks, and right now half the drian the rocks look muddy but half the drain you can't even tell there's a drain, there's so much clay it just blends in with the rest of the yard. My next idea is to place fabric on top with the intention of replacing the fabric every year as regular maintenence. For now I'm going to have to dig the rocks into a wheel barrel and pressure wash the clay off, or something like that, and put them back. I'll see how labor intensive that is. Maybe I'll just dig everything out and place fabric at the bottom while I'm at it.

[@traderjoe477]

I am thinking to use this method since i have a littler river running in my backyard when we get heavy rain. I could "catch" the water that comes from the neighbor and using the french drain all the way down with an exit to my lower neighbor.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

It should work, don’t forget to call utilities to mark power lines or check building plans before digging!

[@patty109109]

Yes this works, but you only need a french drain or catch basin where you catch it. The rest can be underground smooth pipe all the way down to carry the water. Absolutely no need to have a french drain the entire length.

[@guavicat6000]

I live in round rock ... I have the same clay mud... With the same flooding problem... I ended up just digging about 2 feet deep and mixing the clay with good quality dirt.. no more flooding

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Very cool, what did you use to dig?

[@guavicat6000]

@@AustinTexasGardening ..lol.. shovel ..that's all.. took a while.. but I had time

[@AustinTexasGardening]

@Guavi Cat well done! I’ve been considering improving the soil quality with compost, pearlite, and peat moss, but I haven’t pulled the trigger yet. It’s encouraging to hear you did all that without power tools, about how many sqft and how long did it take?

[@ningcaytube]

was extending close to the curb of the front of the house ever considered instead of just a pop-up inside the yard?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

I recently made a part two video where I explained that some of the utility lines were in the way

[@dustinbossmusic]

You should add a gutter after the end of the French drain so that it gets pushed out front faster.

[@paulli4938]

Just saw your post on reddit! Great stuff! I noticed that the peach tree experiencing the waterlogging issues had way smaller leaves, etc. I've got a peach tree sitting on top of very clay heavy soil and while it HAS leafed out, the leaves are really quite small (1/4 the size of the peaches next to them). Would you recommend digging a mini trench down a slope behind this tree to solve potential drainage issues?

[@SlackerU]

You want 10 inches of well-drained-soil so a trench or simply raise the tree where it sits on a mound. I did both & achieved 14 inches.

[@paulli4938]

@@SlackerU thank you so much! Would the "well draining soil" 10 inch+ layer be inclusive of the rootball? Or does the rootball needs to be sitting on that the layer of well draining soil to ensure good drainage?

[@SlackerU]

@@paulli4938 The roots will live in the 10-inches of well-drained soil-horizon(layer). Your local University Ag Extension office probably has the information on their website for small farmers. My native soil has a PH of 5.3 so all of my plants are mounded. I basically just don't dig a hole & place my purchased-potted trees on the ground to then surround them with a mound of proper-PH soil. The roots flair out like an umbrella over the mound.

[@paulli4938]

@@SlackerU again, thank you so much---this was extremely informative! I have terrible, terrible heavy clay soil under a thin 3 inch layer of topsoil developers put down (and mixed with small rocks below). Digging and amending (and the drainage issue) has been a PAIN. I am going to dig up my peach (it's still relatively newly planted) and try your method for hopefully better results!

[@AustinTexasGardening]

@@paulli4938 Yep, my main motivation with the french drain is that my backyard is too big to improve so much of it, even with the trench im thinking of mounding my large peach tree as well, just to give it a better chance

[@thebl4ckd0g]

we have similar issues down here in NC. lots of clay in the soil already (so builders aren't bring it in here). the ground is basically like 4-6" of actual dirt, then clay. and most likely granite beneath that, as there are a LOT of granite veins & deposits throughout the central NC.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

This kind of clay soil is very difficult to improve. Part of my motivation in building my raised bed was to have something plants could grow deeply in away from clay soil.

[@bizzhat]

nice project, well done...... buuuut, a word of advice from my amateur knowledge; the white soil separator you used might likely rot after 1-2 years, or let any roots through to the pipe. if you ever need to fix the drainage, rather use a strong(er), usually black, soil separator (like a car tarp). just my 2 cents :)

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Appreciate the advice! Its now been 18 months, so ill have to reassess things next summer

[@vzr9217]

Is that a Rausch Coleman home? If so what is up with them and grading issues

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Its a Starlight Home, KB has done all the neighborhoods to the west of us, many of which have similar drainage problems

[@Tsarkovsky]

So where does all this water go now? Does the pipe help to redistribute all that water along the length of trench or you have a sump at the end?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

The water pools at the bottom of the drain near the pop-up cap, when it overflows, it drains towards the street, through the alley between my house and my neighbors house

[@jcdm65]

Hi, congrats for the video. Where the water goes? It is not clear to me Where the pipe sends the water?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

The water pools at the bottom of the drain near the pop-up cap, when it overflows, it drains towards the street, through the alley between my house and my neighbors house

[@zachfife7907]

Any ideas on good videos for larger landscapes? Project on housebuilding got left halfway done, too many problems so had to let the guy go. Now wife and I don't trust anyone but ourselves to do it right. How can I learn the concepts or drainage and what to do for the property? W're on a very slight grade, with the house area being "leveled" already and its pooling up quite a bit

[@AustinTexasGardening]

I would honestly suggest looking for a professional with a large, highly rated portfolio. It will cost you, but for building a house, it needs to be done right. Of course, this video is just a 40' drain in the suburbs, for something bigger/longer there is a lot to consider. If you are not draining to a lower level than your home, flooding the foundation can cause some real problems. I would advise digging your drain deep, and with the drain exit being significantly lower (like 12") than your build site, and far (~100m) from your home

[@zachfife7907]

@@AustinTexasGardening Yeah that's definitely preferable. But being so far out in the country, a good reputation is hard to come by. So I wanna learn it all myself but that's not a clear cut process lol

[@blazezoolander7473]

Great video! I just noticed you said "corrugated" pipe had holes in it - Not true, unless you use "perforated" corrugated pipe.

[@donnasmith5598]

Thanks for correcting that, I was looking through the comments to see if anyone did. What he’s using is under drain pipe. If you use PVC under drain, the water bubbles up through the holes on the bottom in order for the water to clean the pipe as it goes

[@rileybeasley1844]

Great video! Do you know what the total cost of the project was? Sorry if this has been asked already.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

If memory serves it was $150 for pipe/soil-liner/saw, and 1 cu yd of granite which was about $250 because I bought it in bags at Home Depot

[@simondavies3666]

With that pop up emiter, I give it a year before it silts up. For the cap to rise the pipe has to be pull. It's basic science.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

I’ve got a 16 month update in the pinned comment

[@BaneSIlvermoon]

It would obviously give less drainage, but I have to wonder if this could be done with just a trench and the stones, without needing the pipe or soil guard at all. Would even think you could leave a slight gap at the top, cover it with some top soil and grow grass back over it. Just using the stone under the surface as added drainage. Of course you'd probably want to take that trench further out so it has somewhere to go.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Agreed, I think just a trench and river rock would work, of course without the pipe and nets, it will fill with sediment faster

[@BaneSIlvermoon]

@@AustinTexasGardening True. After a few years it might lose most of the drainage

[@mickysquire205]

So how are going to mow and deal with the grass against the fence ?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

So far, I've been just letting it grow out. Occasionally I edge.

[@conleybradford1611]

im confused. where did the french drain send the water. it didnt look like you connectred anywhere. it looked like you just dug one long trench and put an cap on it.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

The bottom of the trench is about 4” lower than the top, the water has always drained between my house and my neighbors 4:28, now more of it pools around the pop up cap, and drains into the alley. The drain would be better if I dug it to the alley or street, but as you’ve noticed from the before and after pictures, I’m pleased my hard isn’t flooded anymore

[@humblerawat]

Just keeping the drain on one site has been able to help the entire yard. That is a big yard

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Yes, about 4000sqft, the drain has made a big difference since installing it 18 months ago

[@josephj6521]

Good job. I’ve had experience with corrugated and PVC. I found PVC easier to maintain and do a better job. Any reason why you didn’t use PVC and drill holes at the bottom to work as a French drain? As others have said, continue it to the street. Preferably with PVC.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

PVC would have been better, but corrugated was easier to use, I didnt have to drill anything and my trench didnt have to be a completely straight line. I might try to bring the french drain closer to the street in the future, but right now, I dont see a need for it, as the water drains the way I want it to.

[@mandiegarrett1706]

I plan to use 6" pvc for a pipe. I saw some that already have holes drilled on one row. I am wondering if I should drill a bunch more holes like corrugated pipe so that standing water will drained thru those holes. I have very high clay soil and thinking of using commercial geotextile ONLY at the bottom layer as barrier between soil and rocks, then lay down the pipeon top rocks and cover pipe with more rocks ...done! Hope it works because I need to do 150ft long trench, farm application. Thanks.

[@darealturbo9749]

@@mandiegarrett1706 let us know how it goes? I am wondering.

[@mandiegarrett1706]

@@darealturbo9749 Well, due to heavy clay soi here in AR. and after chatting with some local rock seller, he recommend just do dry creek bed method with sand as bottom layer to help with drainage then a layer of rocks on top to keep everything together to direct water out to our pond. I think I am going to skip the sand and just use rocks of different sizes and landscape it like dry creek bed. If I first put down some big rocks right into our clay soil then follow with medium to small size rock to fill in the gap. I think doing this way without fabric, pipes, etc...should allow water flow freely to the pond. Don't know for sure if will work but will experiment with about 10 ft and see if that will work. Thank you.

[@Tokaisho1]

With a pop up drain you might find this could fill with clay, mud and silt deposits as water is expected to go up after many years, but could be wrong. The best method to discharge would be a fully open end, that doesn't have to climb at all

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Agreed, but for my project the decline was so slight, I figured my drain needed to be 2-3 times as long, or have the popup (which only works when it floods and basically functions as if there was no popup at all, I.e water pools at the base of the drain like a trench, but I suppose that’s better than flooding my yard)

[@silviom]

You mean perforated, not corrugated. Big difference.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

You’re right! Good catch

[@puseletsolizah332]

How can o find it and everything for the installations and staff

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Building materials are featured at 6:12 Everything was purchased at Home Depot, the pipe and cloth were maybe 100$ and the granite was ~200$ if memory serves, I think I used about one cubic yard, but you could find it cheaper from a soil yard

[@156aliciasy]

Hello, can this pipe go close to the house foundation?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

That is not advisable, your drainage should drain away/downhill from your house

[@QCumba]

How does digging a trench away from the problem away drain or away?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

It’s uphill of the problem area, near the source of water running through my yard

[@mattshomegymformuscles]

I’m thinking of doing myself. Do you mind sharing the total cost of materials?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Corrugated pipe was $60, the mesh wrap was $10, and if memory serves I needed a cubic yard of granite, which I could’ve sourced a better price from a soil yard, but I paid probably $250 buying it by the half cubic ft.³ bag for $5 a bag.

[@kyfarm]

I don't think I would have thrown away the dirt out of the trench. I think I would have used that in some of the lower spots in the yard, to even it out a little.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Not a bad idea, but I didn’t want to bury the turf in clay, or add to the already screwed up builder grading

[@johnraviella6561]

So I assume the ditch was dug with a shallower depth at the top??

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Yes a few inches, theres also about a 4" natural grade over 40 feet

[@chriswilliamson806]

Texas being as hot as it gets also is the problem. I lived in San Antonio for 13 years, and flooding was always an issue because of that.

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Yep, our seasons are winter, spring, winter, spring, winter, spring, monsoon, drought, monsoon, drought, fall, monsoon, winter

[@humblerawat]

Wondering how French drain helped with standing water. ? Standing water would mean you have low spots in yard

[@AustinTexasGardening]

The clay soil soaks up water, so when 1" of rain falls, without the drain, ~9" of rain run through my yard (from everyone elses yards) causing the soil to be maximally saturated, and the water to stand. With the french drain, when 1" of rain falls, the ground soaks up the rain, no water is standing, and the water from my neighbors yards drains elsewhere

[@maherbarsoum9831]

How many QF of granite needed for 50’ French drain?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

I used about 30 cubic feet of granite for this 40’ trench, so I’d bet you’ll need around 38-40 cubic feet for a 50’ trench (depending on depth and width of your trench, mine was about 12” wide and 12” deep)

[@nightmoves7989]

Corrugated pipe is pipe with ribs as opposed to smooth pvc pipe. Perforated pipe has holes, Perforated Corrugated pipe is what you are working with.

[@MarioLopez-ob5rv]

Have you tried weeping willow tree?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

No one really grows them around here, I don’t think they can take the heat

[@kgalacticstarseed5978]

What kind of fence do you have

[@AustinTexasGardening]

It’s a cheap pine fence that came with my house, I’ve had the post holes reinforced but it isn’t anything special

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Part 2 responding to frequently asked questions and a 10 month update: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHiwgqJ4jNR8i68

[@maisetas]

but how exactly water from 5-10meters away get into the trench?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

The source of the water is uphill towards my neighbors property

[@g5kj1987]

Would a French drain work if your yard is a a hill?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

It depends, the main thing you need is a downhill slope, so any standing water in a valley needs to drain to an area with a slightly lower elevation. You can do this by sloping your trench about 1" per 10 feet, but the steeper, the better.

[@gmoneygaming695]

FYI you dont need the gravel to be exposed to air, cover it with some sod. The water will penetrate the profile and itll look better

[@gmoneygaming695]

i would also recommend against the plastic, all its doing is keeping more water away from the pipe. a pipe like you have wont let in mud anyway, exspecialy with the liner you wrapped it in. And in case it ever gets clogged you already have a flushout. it seems like the outcome was good but it probably couldve been better. (ive been installing french drains of golf courses in clay for years)

[@AustinTexasGardening]

I've considered covering it with sod, might be something to do this spring

[@Argent_Adder]

between a french drain and a rain garden it should remedy the situation

[@ender2999]

Thanks for the vid--volume is super low though

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Of course, sorry for the volume

[@simonbrennan4823]

Wait. Are you tell me that the water on the opposite side of the garden drained because of the french drain on the other side of the garden?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Its the fact that the grading drains at least 8 backyards worth of standing water from the elevated west through my backyard. The house to the north (behind my backyard's back fence) is elevated, so almost all the water is coming from the west. I've found the french drain makes a pretty big difference, we have a lot of rain forecasted so I hope to make an update video.

[@simonbrennan4823]

@@AustinTexasGardening cool. Because of this video I plan on doing the same thing in a straight line down the middle of my garden from the back wall to the house. My garden is just clay soul with zero drainage. Cheers man

[@rogerwilco2]

Why not use the removed soil to raise some low spots of the garden?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

grass doesnt grow in dense clay soil very well, but that isnt a bad idea

[@jens8942]

I was going to do the effort, but hey, if it's raining i'm not in my yard anyways...

[@AustinTexasGardening]

It really is a lot of work, so you have to judge if the project is even worth it. If you’ve got standing water which is breeding misquotes I would consider it, otherwise, it’s 40+ hours of backbreaking labor and $100 for a small fix

[@Dougie085]

Perforated pipe is pipe with holes in it, corrugated is different. You can have corrugated perforated pipe though, which is what you used.

[@normanzurich2781]

Why is it called « french » drain ? What’s the relation with France 🇫🇷🤔?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

I guess the french invented the style of drain (or at least took credit for it, im sure they had something similar in Rome, and I suppose Egyptian aqueducts for irrigation are 'reverse french drains')

[@jessicasherratt6133]

It's named after a farmer named Henry French who first wrote about it to get water away from his house

[@ppsteiner]

Wouldn't you love to visit Wisconsin this summer and help me with an identical backyard? 😮

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Ha its a lot of hard work digging, I genuinely recommend using a trencher or hiring help if your drain is longer than 40 feet

[@mm-dz2pm]

So, did your fruit tree become healthier after this?

[@AustinTexasGardening]

Thats a great question, I actually addressed this in my most recent video. Most of the orchard's health remains to be seen because the trees are dormant, but I think the main peach tree has died. Between the root rot caused by the initial issue and the late summer's drought after I fixed the issue, im not sure the tree will make it. The other trees nearby are doing great though!