Newly completed backyard drainage project in action and newly discovered bugs and plans to address

[@appledrains]

Hi Mike! that was a lot of work! Nice job!

[@LichaelMewis]

Thanks Chuck, I learned about 1/3 of it from your videos. Appreciate it!

[@jordanvilleneuve1153]

Man! That's some serious drainage you have up here... Nice system, I'm trying to imagine the mess your backyard would be without all this drainage... Very nice video.

[@LichaelMewis]

Appreciate it. It was a lot of work but worth every bit of it. Without that system there would be standing water for days. And the back yard would be difficult to completely dry out...

[@tnt666tnt]

Crazy man. I could watch this all day. very good job.

[@LichaelMewis]

Appreciate that, yeah me too, watching the water drain is somewhat relaxing and interesting too.

[@FRENCHDRAINMAN]

With the amount of water your moving in that system you'll never need those clean outs I understand its insurance and gives a peace of mind. I'm jealous we don't get the kind of rain you do all the time its just once in a great while that we see those Several inches per rain event. Well done and hard core! I don't know why NDS designs those basins like that either Mike. We're doing some testing in the up-and-coming week and I'm gonna put some videos up that's going to be an eye opener.

[@LichaelMewis]

I love when it rains so I can go out there and see the hard work in action. It's a beautiful thing to see it all working and moving all that water! I'll be sure and make one during the next tropical depression, storm, or hurricane that we get this season. Hurricane season starts in less than 2 weeks!!!

[@prelude9878201]

Awesome video, for the down spouts install another elbow so that it points downward. Again great job.

[@LichaelMewis]

Thanks I re-did the downspout that was overflowing on another video if you want to check it out. Now the issue is gone. I'm hoping to make a new video soon next time we get a good rain event which in spring we usually do.

[@Paradoxical124]

Please do more drainage videos! You seem to have the best system. People who show drainage systems in action are very rare.

[@LichaelMewis]

Thank you. Will do. I was going to try and film some drainage during hurricane Ida last week but unfortunately it came at night. We may be getting some rain next week during this tropical disturbance down in the bay of Campeche. If we are getting some good rain while I'm home I'll try and make some more videos and post them.

[@mrollivetti]

AWSOME, Mike, super professional, really kickass... A little bit of additional Work, und it's perfect. Greetings from Germany! [Please show us your changes in future, too and the working system under the next heavy rain conditions...]

[@LichaelMewis]

Hi and welcome from Louisiana! Check out some of my newer videos, they show the tweeks of the system. And yes, I'll post some new videos when we get some good downpours. Thanks for watching!

[@leemullican2060]

Nice work! Going to be doing a similar project once it warms up here in Jersey. Planning to run 6" perforated with 1.5" round rock, then burrito wrapped and decorative stone on top to match my existing landscape. I have good pitch to my storm sewer, so I am lucky there, but low elevation of my property has me catching all my neighbors water runoff. I watch all the @Frenchdrainman and @Appledrains videos, as well as others and decided this was the best plan. Good luck with the system and maybe post an updated video on how it is working for you after almost 2 years.

[@Jon-e7w]

How did your system go in NJ?

[@nberardi103]

This video sums up what is wanted for every other drainage video out there. Watching the work is meh. The outcome is priceless.

[@LichaelMewis]

Yeah all drainage project build videos should have a follow-up showing how they actually perform in a heavy rain.

[@Goodvibes-Adventures]

Great system 👍. I know you probably fixed that gutter catch basin by now 🙂. But it looked like that line coming into the sump basin was getting chocked off by the water rising and water in the pit was going back into the inlet ...I would have put a elbow and turned it sideways or adjust it so the pit when it fills doesn't go into that gutter inlet ... Maybe you could get a larger basin. They have basins that are around 4' deep and the water would fill that. Then have a outlet going into sump pit ... otherwords. Replace the smaller pit next to the sump pump pit with a larger basin bigger is better in catching water at that level. Just a thought..I'd love to see how the water was exiting at the street. Great Vid 👍

[@LichaelMewis]

Here's why that catch basin was backing up. That catch basin doesn't directly tie into the plumbing feeding those two sump basins. I basically let it drain underground into the French drain but on the outside of the fabric. I did that for maintenance purposes to keep things from clogging but knowing what I know now, and how well the system moved water, that was completely unnecessary. I should have tied it directly into the plumbing of that French drain. What I did to rectify was place a T near the discharge into the French drain feed, and on top of the T I placed a pop-up. So any time we get a heavy rain and the underground water can't keep up it just relieves itself over the top and ultimately finds its way to the back sump pits to be discharged to the street. One day I will dig up that section and plumb it directly. Also my Liberty pump is acting up and shutting off after 4 minutes or so of run time. I need to get that sorted out. As far as discharge if you look at some of my other videos I do have a video that shows the street discharge. Thanks for watching.

[@Goodvibes-Adventures]

@@LichaelMewis Thanks for your response ✨. That's alot of water for that pump... Could be a bad switch... Liberty Pumps just happens to be a company in my area ...I was a little confused about how the two pits were connected feeding each other... Maybe in the corner where you have a clean out you can put a bigger collection box that would collect more water and slow down water going to the sump basin ...Not sure what size pump it is. But maybe put a bigger one in ..But I loved watching it in action then you can see how to tweak it...I guess bigger catch basins wouldn't hurt ...My friend used empty 5gal buckets around his yard as catch basins to slow down the flow to the sump basin...He drilled holes in the buckets and placed them in the corners ..I have a acre and most of my issue is surface water drainage from field next door...But I'm working on some fixes related to what you did. I will be watching your vids 👍. Thanks again for responding...

[@chivasporvida1997]

Hey just watched your video..hope you and your family are ok from the recent hurricane..have the same setup with downspout draining into a catch basin and with the same problem of too much water..my system was recently installed..solved with by going with a 12 in basin and 6in pipe..so far so good..know all about the rain(Houston Texas)

[@LichaelMewis]

Yes, we made out fine, thank you. I bet you guys were nervous over there in Houston waiting to see if Laura was actually going to turn north! We are in SE Louisiana and Laura hit SW Louisiana. Although we did get about 2 inches of rain from the entire event from the extreme tail end of the system. But that was easily handled by my system. That's one thing I wish I did different with my system is run 6" pipe for the main runs. And I wish I did 3" discharge rather than 2".

[@chivasporvida1997]

We were nervous for a while but you’d figure after living here all life you’d think we’d be used to it..either way great job on your system..and also for the “French Drain Man” and Apple Drains” to give you a shout out, then that means you did a great job..take care

[@LichaelMewis]

@@chivasporvida1997 appreciate it!

[@alanostner]

Great project and great video

[@ARCSSelfDefense]

So I'm curious why you chose to use catch basins instead of tying a couple of your downspouts straight into your drainage pipe? On the patio I understand, but I'd think on the corner of the house you could go straight into pipe and avoid the overflowing catch basin. Is that downspout catch basin tied to your curtain drain? If so, is it just too much water coming down the downspout added to the curtain drain for the buried drainage pipe handle?

[@LichaelMewis]

I did it for aesthetics purposes to match everything else. The issue is the plumbing of that drain pipe doesn't flow direcly into the pipe that heads to the sump basins. Rather it flows on the outside of the fabric under the ground in the drain field. That was a mistake. I will redo it eventually to plub directly in. For now I put a pop up to relieve itself about 15 feet from the house. Now the catch basin no longer over flows. If you check some of my other videos I believe I show that.

[@ThatOneExoRailfan]

hey nice system i like how the catch basin was inside the patio and i saw the pop up emitter in the gravel neat the patio does ur map have holes so the water goes in the gravel into the pipe? this is gravel french drain and i like the sump pump thats a super big system! this thing can work in a hurricane and thunderstorm and heavy rain i like the system!

[@LichaelMewis]

Thanks. What looks like a pop-up emmiter in the gravel that borders the patio is actually a termite bait station. That entire section of gravel is an open french drain. It is a trench with perforated pipe sitting at the bottom with holes pointing down. Then any water that enters those rocks will fill the bottom of that pipe and carry it to the sump pump where it will be discharged. Yes this system was designed for hurricanes in mind. I will admit though, recently we had over 7 inches of rain in just a few hours and the system was temporarily overwhelmed. But once the rain slacked off the system quickly caught up. I believe I have a video on this as well.

[@ThatOneExoRailfan]

where does ur line discharge? a curb hole a pop up or a small pipe pointing out of the grass??

[@LichaelMewis]

Curb hole. Check some of my other newer videos and you will see it.

[@markreyman7738]

Nice work! Love the French drains. Question: What was your rationale for using catch basins for the collection point for your downspouts instead of burying them?

[@LichaelMewis]

Thanks it was a lot of work. But worth it. I put a catch basin in my patio so I could spray off my shoes and other items that needed cleaning, and I also used it as a collection point for that gutter downspout. I liked the way it looked so I decided to roll that out for the rest of the downspouts on the house. So to answer your question, they are like that mostly for aesthetics as I personally don't like how the gutter downspouts directly tied into pvc look.

[@markreyman7738]

Mike Lewis SELA gotcha. Thanks for your reply. Really nice work. You guys get some serious rain. Looks like the system is working well.

[@raftdweller]

Could you list the model pump you are using as well and the catch basin a you purchased? You system is awesome and I am about to do the same exact project at my house. I am wanting to do a system similar to yours, level the yard, and then resod with zoysia. Great great video

[@LichaelMewis]

Thank you. Much appreciated. Was a lot of work but well worth it and very satisfying to see it all in action in the end and to see it solve the water problems I had. Here is the pump: www.supplyhouse.com/Liberty-Pumps-LE102A2-1-HP-Auto-Submersible-Pump-w-Wide-Angle-Piggyback-Float-Switch-208-230v-10-ft-Cord-2-Discharge?gclid=Cj0KCQjwrsGCBhD1ARIsALILBYomEPVddmaoUttJ1EMh41q0vufkIAIfz56eCE3d8iXwX2VKUnWFQw4aAnVDEALw_wcB Here are the sump basins: www.lowes.com/pd/ADS-HDPE-Basin/3514716?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-plb-_-google-_-lia-_-207-_-tanksandwatersupplypumps-_-3514716-_-0&placeholder=null&ds_rl=1286981&gclid=Cj0KCQjwrsGCBhD1ARIsALILBYqolvRXZKJ5p8_Onzv13NEfUjvXeaWAnIpFUmZu1U9iQeeFZwn4EXcaAtNuEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds I recommend you run 3" discharge if you have a lot of water to deal with. Liberty makes a kit to convert the it from 2" to 3".

[@raftdweller]

@@LichaelMewis Perfect, this helps out a lot. I am close to houston on the gulf as well so we do get some crazy rains several times a year. I was definitely run the 3" line. I like having some headroom for the tropical storm rains.

[@LichaelMewis]

@@raftdweller good, let me know how it turns out.

[@s70006]

Main issue is the fabric raped around is totally slowing the water

[@yeehaw398]

Where is your outflow?

[@LichaelMewis]

Front street via 240v pump and 140ft

[@s70006]

Don't put popup. Pull the pipe directly to the pit. It's wrong to make the water run in the ground and then go in a gravel bed. Why that. Pull the pipe directly to the pit

[@LichaelMewis]

I did run it directly to the pipe but on the outside of the fabric into a gravel bed. Additionally, I put a T facing vertically with a pop-up so that during heavy rain it will relieve itself.

[@jake7156]

What type of basin did you use for the sump pump?

[@LichaelMewis]

I used two of these: www.lowes.com/pd/ADS-HDPE-Basin/3514716?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-rpe-_-google-_-lia-_-207-_-tanksandwatersupplypumps-_-3514716-_-0&store_code=1698&placeholder=null&gclid=CjwKCAjwvZv0BRA8EiwAD9T2VcAotA0_myLXIcxzPp21iCbOCAt4TypEsFXalPB5ehr0cAqCsdZAUxoCx7UQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds and here are the covers: www.lowes.com/pd/ADS-HDPE-Well-Pump-Cover/1000045907

[@DirtyDirtbath]

Why did you put the down spout over a catch basin.....? Why not bury the downspout line and run it to discharge...? All that water that is missing the catch basin.. This entire video made me cringe so hard.. the BEST channel for any drainage project is @thefrenchdrainman

[@LichaelMewis]

For maintenance purposes. Since this video I've adjusted the downspout so a lot less water is lost. You can cringe all you want but I challenge you to find anyone who's running a 240 volt pump and getting the kind of flowrates both in-charge and discharge that I'm getting.

[@DirtyDirtbath]

@@LichaelMewis lol like I said before - @frenchdrainman... they use 1/2 hp for their sumps with PROPER drainage in systems that move thousands of gallons of water... I couldn't imagine spending all that time to do a job and just put a downspout over a catch basin instead of running a buried line with inline clean outs.....

[@LichaelMewis]

@@DirtyDirtbath you have no clue what you're talking about. I had a 1/2 hp pump before that would always get overloaded and swamped. It also could only pass a 1/2" solid. So I upgraded to a 1HP 240V pump in a double barrel pit which drastically improved performance. This pump also passes a 2" solid. Robert (French drain man) featured my videos in his DIY system of the month series for bad ass performance.

[@DirtyDirtbath]

@@LichaelMewis something tells me he featured your video on "what to not do" and I don't know what I'm talking about says the guy who put a downspout over a catch basin instead of burrying the line and installing clean outs.... LOL Also Robert specifically made a video of NOT to put downspouts over a catch basin and why it's not a good move. But for real, besides the downspout/catch basin the system seems to work good and that's what matters

[@justRome1]

what city/State do you live in? Does this freeze?

[@LichaelMewis]

This is South East Louisiana. We rarely get hard freezes.

[@MadbencoFS]

Someone show this guy how to hold a camera.

[@LichaelMewis]

Yeah looking back at it, it's pretty bad. I'll have to remember to keep the phone in portait.

[@chinov9445]

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