We have surface water from uphill which collects in a 40 foot long
puddle ten feet uphill from our house during large storms.

After it saturates the soil, water comes into our basement at a depth of
eight feet.

We have lived here 35 years and the pattern is quite clear - with
flooding only two times in that period, and so I hope we might use a
shallow French drain to move the water sideways to an open slope.

(I know that the ideal French drain goes all the way to the bottom of
the problem, but that would cost many thousands of dollars in our case.)

I would start at a depth of one foot and run 100 feet to a two foot
depth at the exit.

I would use rock and landscaping fabric around the pipe.

Your opinions about this approach?

Can I get away with a 1/8" per foot slope?

Should I use 2, 3, or 4 inch drain pipe?

Should I use landscaping fabric aroound the rock as well?

Thank you for your ideas.

Sincerely,

Dwight Gibb

Dwight wrote:
We have surface water from uphill which collects in a 40 foot long
puddle ten feet uphill from our house during large storms.

After it saturates the soil, water comes into our basement at a depth of
eight feet.

We have lived here 35 years and the pattern is quite clear - with
flooding only two times in that period, and so I hope we might use a
shallow French drain to move the water sideways to an open slope.

(I know that the ideal French drain goes all the way to the bottom of
the problem, but that would cost many thousands of dollars in our case.)

I would start at a depth of one foot and run 100 feet to a two foot
depth at the exit.

I would use rock and landscaping fabric around the pipe.

Your opinions about this approach?

Can I get away with a 1/8" per foot slope?

Should I use 2, 3, or 4 inch drain pipe?

Should I use landscaping fabric aroound the rock as well?

Thank you for your ideas.

Sincerely,

Dwight Gibb


1/8" slope will work OK, esp since you won't
be dealing with any solids.

Use 4" pipe (you can use the thinwall sch 35).

Not sure about the fabric, but we'll bump
your mssg to the top for more replies. g

Jim

On Dec 17, 4:43�pm, Speedy Jim wrote:
Dwight wrote:
We have surface water from uphill which collects in a 40 foot long
puddle ten feet uphill from our house during large storms.

After it saturates the soil, water comes into our basement at a depth of
eight feet.

We have lived here 35 years and the pattern is quite clear - with
flooding only two times in that period, and so I hope we might use a
shallow French drain to move the water sideways to an open slope.

(I know that the ideal French drain goes all the way to the bottom of
the problem, but that would cost many thousands of dollars in our case.)

I would start at a depth of one foot and run 100 feet to a two foot
depth at the exit.

I would use rock and landscaping fabric around the pipe.

Your opinions about this approach?

Can I get away with a 1/8" per foot slope?

Should I use 2, 3, or 4 inch drain pipe?

Should I use landscaping fabric aroound the rock as well?

Thank you for your ideas.

Sincerely,

Dwight Gibb

1/8" slope will work OK, esp since you won't
be dealing with any solids.

Use 4" pipe (you can use the thinwall sch 35).

Not sure about the fabric, but we'll bump
your mssg to the top for more replies. g

Jim- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

definetely use the fabric.

no doubt everyone wants to do stuff at minimum cost.

realize though the investment you are protecting is likely the mst
valuable thing you will ever own....

maybe you should do it right

On Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:40:09 -0800, "SteveB"
wrote:


"Dwight" wrote in message
...
We have surface water from uphill which collects in a 40 foot long puddle
ten feet uphill from our house during large storms.

After it saturates the soil, water comes into our basement at a depth of
eight feet.

We have lived here 35 years and the pattern is quite clear - with flooding
only two times in that period, and so I hope we might use a shallow French
drain to move the water sideways to an open slope.

(I know that the ideal French drain goes all the way to the bottom of the
problem, but that would cost many thousands of dollars in our case.)

I would start at a depth of one foot and run 100 feet to a two foot depth
at the exit.

I would use rock and landscaping fabric around the pipe.

Your opinions about this approach?

Can I get away with a 1/8" per foot slope?

Should I use 2, 3, or 4 inch drain pipe?

Should I use landscaping fabric aroound the rock as well?

Thank you for your ideas.

Sincerely,

Dwight Gibb

French drains aren't rocket science, and one as simple as a foot deep can
give relief to a very large area if it is sloped correctly. Be sure to
include a clean out so that if the pipe does become obstructed with silt or
sand, you can send a hose down there and clean it out. I am contemplating
one, too, and think I may just go with a 4" perforated pipe, but wrap it
with landscape cloth so the water can get through, and encase it in gravel.
We have a lot of sand here, thus, the cleanout.

Steve


Forget where I saw it. They lined the bottom and sides (U shape) of
the trench with fabric before rock and pipe. Then a layer of fabric on
top before cover up. This kept the soil away from the rock and pipe.

I've never built such a drain, but think the cloth is better on the
outer edges, than just wrapped around the pipe.

On Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:05:47 -0800, Oren wrote:

Like this, but fabric the bottom and sides....

http://www.ideal-inspect.com/include...ch%20drain.jpg


On Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:40:09 -0800, "SteveB"
wrote:


"Dwight" wrote in message
...
We have surface water from uphill which collects in a 40 foot long puddle
ten feet uphill from our house during large storms.

After it saturates the soil, water comes into our basement at a depth of
eight feet.

We have lived here 35 years and the pattern is quite clear - with flooding
only two times in that period, and so I hope we might use a shallow French
drain to move the water sideways to an open slope.

(I know that the ideal French drain goes all the way to the bottom of the
problem, but that would cost many thousands of dollars in our case.)

I would start at a depth of one foot and run 100 feet to a two foot depth
at the exit.

I would use rock and landscaping fabric around the pipe.

Your opinions about this approach?

Can I get away with a 1/8" per foot slope?

Should I use 2, 3, or 4 inch drain pipe?

Should I use landscaping fabric aroound the rock as well?

Thank you for your ideas.

Sincerely,

Dwight Gibb

French drains aren't rocket science, and one as simple as a foot deep can
give relief to a very large area if it is sloped correctly. Be sure to
include a clean out so that if the pipe does become obstructed with silt or
sand, you can send a hose down there and clean it out. I am contemplating
one, too, and think I may just go with a 4" perforated pipe, but wrap it
with landscape cloth so the water can get through, and encase it in gravel.
We have a lot of sand here, thus, the cleanout.

Steve


Forget where I saw it. They lined the bottom and sides (U shape) of
the trench with fabric before rock and pipe. Then a layer of fabric on
top before cover up. This kept the soil away from the rock and pipe.

I've never built such a drain, but think the cloth is better on the
outer edges, than just wrapped around the pipe.

"Dwight" wrote in message
...
We have surface water from uphill which collects in a 40 foot long puddle
ten feet uphill from our house during large storms.

After it saturates the soil, water comes into our basement at a depth of
eight feet.

We have lived here 35 years and the pattern is quite clear - with flooding
only two times in that period, and so I hope we might use a shallow French
drain to move the water sideways to an open slope.

(I know that the ideal French drain goes all the way to the bottom of the
problem, but that would cost many thousands of dollars in our case.)

I would start at a depth of one foot and run 100 feet to a two foot depth
at the exit.

I would use rock and landscaping fabric around the pipe.

Your opinions about this approach?

Can I get away with a 1/8" per foot slope?

Should I use 2, 3, or 4 inch drain pipe?

Should I use landscaping fabric aroound the rock as well?

Thank you for your ideas.

Sincerely,

Dwight Gibb

French drains aren't rocket science, and one as simple as a foot deep can
give relief to a very large area if it is sloped correctly. Be sure to
include a clean out so that if the pipe does become obstructed with silt or
sand, you can send a hose down there and clean it out. I am contemplating
one, too, and think I may just go with a 4" perforated pipe, but wrap it
with landscape cloth so the water can get through, and encase it in gravel.
We have a lot of sand here, thus, the cleanout.

Steve

I would fabric the top and sides and forget the bottom. I think the
bulk of the silt will come from the top as the ground settles etc.

On Dec 17, 8:19 pm, Oren wrote:
On Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:05:47 -0800, Oren wrote:

Like this, but fabric the bottom and sides....

http://www.ideal-inspect.com/include...ch%20drain.jpg

On Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:40:09 -0800, "SteveB"
wrote:

"Dwight" wrote in message
...
We have surface water from uphill which collects in a 40 foot long puddle
ten feet uphill from our house during large storms.

After it saturates the soil, water comes into our basement at a depth of
eight feet.

We have lived here 35 years and the pattern is quite clear - with flooding
only two times in that period, and so I hope we might use a shallow French
drain to move the water sideways to an open slope.

(I know that the ideal French drain goes all the way to the bottom of the
problem, but that would cost many thousands of dollars in our case.)

I would start at a depth of one foot and run 100 feet to a two foot depth
at the exit.

I would use rock and landscaping fabric around the pipe.

Your opinions about this approach?

Can I get away with a 1/8" per foot slope?

Should I use 2, 3, or 4 inch drain pipe?

Should I use landscaping fabric aroound the rock as well?

Thank you for your ideas.

Sincerely,

Dwight Gibb

French drains aren't rocket science, and one as simple as a foot deep can
give relief to a very large area if it is sloped correctly. Be sure to
include a clean out so that if the pipe does become obstructed with silt or
sand, you can send a hose down there and clean it out. I am contemplating
one, too, and think I may just go with a 4" perforated pipe, but wrap it
with landscape cloth so the water can get through, and encase it in gravel.
We have a lot of sand here, thus, the cleanout.

Steve

Forget where I saw it. They lined the bottom and sides (U shape) of
the trench with fabric before rock and pipe. Then a layer of fabric on
top before cover up. This kept the soil away from the rock and pipe.

I've never built such a drain, but think the cloth is better on the
outer edges, than just wrapped around the pipe.

On Dec 18, 1:13�am, wrote:
I would fabric the top and sides and forget the bottom. �I think the
bulk of the silt will come from the top as the ground settles etc.

On Dec 17, 8:19 pm, Oren wrote:



On Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:05:47 -0800, Oren wrote:

Like this, but fabric the bottom and sides....

http://www.ideal-inspect.com/include...ch%20drain.jpg

On Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:40:09 -0800, "SteveB"
wrote:

"Dwight" wrote in message
...
We have surface water from uphill which collects in a 40 foot long puddle
ten feet uphill from our house during large storms.

After it saturates the soil, water comes into our basement at a depth of
eight feet.

We have lived here 35 years and the pattern is quite clear - with flooding
only two times in that period, and so I hope we might use a shallow French
drain to move the water sideways to an open slope.

(I know that the ideal French drain goes all the way to the bottom of the
problem, but that would cost many thousands of dollars in our case.)

I would start at a depth of one foot and run 100 feet to a two foot depth
at the exit.

I would use rock and landscaping fabric around the pipe.

Your opinions about this approach?

Can I get away with a 1/8" per foot slope?

Should I use 2, 3, or 4 inch drain pipe?

Should I use landscaping fabric aroound the rock as well?

Thank you for your ideas.

Sincerely,

Dwight Gibb

French drains aren't rocket science, and one as simple as a foot deep can
give relief to a very large area if it is sloped correctly. �Be sure to
include a clean out so that if the pipe does become obstructed with silt or
sand, you can send a hose down there and clean it out. �I am contemplating
one, too, and think I may just go with a 4" perforated pipe, but wrap it
with landscape cloth so the water can get through, and encase it in gravel.
We have a lot of sand here, thus, the cleanout.

Steve

Forget where I saw it. They lined the bottom and sides (U shape) of
the trench with fabric before rock and pipe. Then a layer of fabric on
top before cover up. This kept the soil away from the rock and pipe.

I've never built �such a drain, but think the cloth is better on the
outer edges, than just wrapped around the pipe.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

well such lines do clog, I dug one up to install one and was surprised
to find it there, totally jammed with dirt.

perforated flexible pipe is dirt cheap why not install 2? costs
little, will extend useful life........

can you just reslope the lawn to create natural drainage path? no pipe
needed

"Dwight" wrote in message
...
We have surface water from uphill which collects in a 40 foot long puddle
ten feet uphill from our house during large storms.

After it saturates the soil, water comes into our basement at a depth of
eight feet.

We have lived here 35 years and the pattern is quite clear - with flooding
only two times in that period, and so I hope we might use a shallow French
drain to move the water sideways to an open slope.

(I know that the ideal French drain goes all the way to the bottom of the
problem, but that would cost many thousands of dollars in our case.)

I would start at a depth of one foot and run 100 feet to a two foot depth
at the exit.

I would use rock and landscaping fabric around the pipe.

Your opinions about this approach?

Can I get away with a 1/8" per foot slope?

Should I use 2, 3, or 4 inch drain pipe?

Should I use landscaping fabric aroound the rock as well?

Thank you for your ideas.

Sincerely,

Dwight Gibb

In normal soils, percolation is straight down until the water hits a dense
barrier. Then it travels laterally. Unless that pond is very narrow, some,
or much of the ponded water may bypass your drain. It would seem better to
do minor regrading of the pond area and construct an inlet and a pipe to a
suitable outlet where the ground is lower. On such a pipe, the gravel and
mesh won't be needed and cleanout, if needed, should be relatively easy for
a straight run.

I don't know your exact situation but ,if that is a long hillside slope
above your house, after a storm there may be significant seepage flow from
the hillside at several feet of depth which would underpass the drain and
limit the value of either solution.

SJF

On Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:40:09 -0800, "SteveB"
wrote:

I may just go with a 4" perforated pipe, but wrap it
with landscape cloth so the water can get through, and encase it in gravel.
We have a lot of sand here, thus, the cleanout.

Steve,

Today I saw a French drain being put around a basement ( Hendersen,
NV).

They used a product, just a fabric sleeve slide over the pipe. It came
in a 100' role. I thought is was a nice job....

CHRISTY’S. ™. DRAIN-EEZ. ™. PERFORATED PIPE SLEEVING SOCK - 3.1 oz.
Drain-Eez. ™. encases drain pipe and pre-. vents small particle/ soil
drain system ...

Oren wrote:
On Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:40:09 -0800, "SteveB"
wrote:


I may just go with a 4" perforated pipe, but wrap it
with landscape cloth so the water can get through, and encase it in gravel.
We have a lot of sand here, thus, the cleanout.


Steve,

Today I saw a French drain being put around a basement ( Hendersen,
NV).

They used a product, just a fabric sleeve slide over the pipe. It came
in a 100' role. I thought is was a nice job....

CHRISTY’S. ™. DRAIN-EEZ. ™. PERFORATED PIPE SLEEVING SOCK - 3.1 oz.
Drain-Eez. ™. encases drain pipe and pre-. vents small particle/ soil
drain system ...


Nice one.

Here's the link to the .pdf catalog:
http://www.tchristy.com/catalog/2005...rksCatalog.pdf

On Wed, 19 Dec 2007 23:42:20 GMT, Speedy Jim
wrote:

Oren wrote:
On Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:40:09 -0800, "SteveB"
wrote:


I may just go with a 4" perforated pipe, but wrap it
with landscape cloth so the water can get through, and encase it in gravel.
We have a lot of sand here, thus, the cleanout.


Steve,

Today I saw a French drain being put around a basement ( Hendersen,
NV).

They used a product, just a fabric sleeve slide over the pipe. It came
in a 100' role. I thought is was a nice job....

CHRISTY’S. ™. DRAIN-EEZ. ™. PERFORATED PIPE SLEEVING SOCK - 3.1 oz.
Drain-Eez. ™. encases drain pipe and pre-. vents small particle/ soil
drain system ...


Nice one.

Here's the link to the .pdf catalog:

These are crude pics today of the sleeve. Inspector was happy..more
gravel later.

A full basement with three bedrooms, etc... Funny this house in the
desert and code did not require it I guess. The owner wanted it.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...19_0002jpg.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...19_0001jpg.jpg

http://www.tchristy.com/catalog/2005...rksCatalog.pdf