French Drains: Are They Right for Your Yard?
A French drain grate in a low-lying spot in a backyard.
If you are concerned about yard drainage or driveway drainage, you’re not alone.
If ponding water occurs near your home’s foundation, you may even experience flooding in your home. But even ponding in your driveway that doesn’t get near the house can cause damage to your pavement. And standing water in your yard can ruin your landscaping and makes walking across the yard a huge challenge on rainy days.
It’s no fun when everyone in the family has to slosh through several inches of dirty water and mud to get to the house. And then, it has a way of ending up all over your floors.
Another downside of lots of standing water around your home in South Carolina? It’s a mosquito breeding ground. These days, you don’t have to just worry about mosquitoes being annoying, they can also carry diseases like West Nile virus, and more.
And if you want to sell your home one day, having water damage or standing water are not appealing issues for potential buyers.
French drains (and variations of this concept) can be a great solution to these drainage woes.
Let’s answer all your burning questions about French drain systems.
In this post, we’ll tackle questions about French drain systems like:
What is a French drain?
How does a French drain work?
Why install a French drain? Pros and cons.
What’s involved with a French drain installation?
Where can a French drain be used?
What is involved with cleaning a French drain?
What is a good French drain alternative?
What are 4 common French drain mistakes to avoid?
How much do French drains cost?
Who installs French drains?
Looking for French drain installers near you in Columbia, SC? We can help.
If your yard or driveway has a lot of ponding or is prone to flooding in low areas, installing a French drain or yard drainage system may take care of your problem.
Ready to install a French drain but don’t want to attempt the DIY route? No worries! We cover Lexington and Richland Counties in South Carolina and are experienced with French drain installation.
Let us give you a FREE quote. Just call us today at 803-521-4978 or email us at bootsonenterprises@gmail.com.
A French drain man assembles piping to bury under the ground for a yard drainage pipe.
What is a French drain?
What are French drains, you ask? They are a great way to direct rainwater away from your home or low spots in your yard so the water will head toward a better place that won’t wreak havoc.
French drains generally have 3 main parts.
A drain grate that is generally at a low point in the pavement or the yard.
An underground ditch/French trench filled with gravel/stone
Perforated piping wrapped with landscaping fabric to collect water.
It’s extremely important that the water have somewhere to go where it won’t cause harm on your property or someone else’s. The trench needs to slope downward toward an appropriate place where the water can drain or collect.
Optional components of a French drainage system may include:
A catch basin, cistern/dry well.
A sump pump.
A rain garden.
A water feature/pond.
A tree that needs a lot of water like a weeping willow.
A connection to the municipal storm sewer pipe.
Types of French drains
There are several main types of French drains.
Curtain drains/shallow drains - great for standing water in the yard.
Footing drains/deep drains - follows along the entire external walls of the home and great for stopping water from seeping into the basement.
Interior French drains/weeping tile/perimeter drain - installed in the basement inside the home or in the crawlspace.
Other names for French drains include trench drains, rock drains, filter drain, or drain tile.
Why are they called French drains?
It may surprise you to find out, they aren’t French and have nothing to do with the country of France.
This drainage idea came from a man whose name was Henry French in Concord, Massachusetts who had a farm. In 1859, he included the idea of this type of drain to help with farm drainage in his book, “Farm Drainage.”
A storm drainage drain downspout pipe installing into French drain with drainage stones outside a building.
How does a French drain work?
A French drain grate sits at a low point right below the surface level of your yard or pavement. The water goes into the grate or filters through the gravel into the French drain pipe, flowing away from your home and yard to somewhere more desirable.
Because of the perforations in the piping, water can enter into the system at any point. This allows the drain to help with both runoff and groundwater.
The trench usually needs a slope of at least one inch for every eight feet of length. And, generally, the trench should be at least one foot in width.
Why does the French drain need gravel?
Gravel helps to move water quickly into the perforated piping and away from your yard or driveway so that there is no ponding. It also prevents the area from getting muddy or from sinking down.
What kind of French drain piping should be used?
There are three main options for a French drain pipe:
PVC piping that is hard and inflexible and has predrilled holes.
Flexible drain piping with slits cut into it.
Pipeless.
PVC does last a long time but is more expensive and more difficult to work with. The flexible drainage piping is usually an installer’s preference.
A freshly dug French drain trench running parallel to the side fence in the backyard — work by Boots On Enterprises.
Why install a French drain? Pros and Cons.
For yards where rainwater pools on the lawn or on pavement, or where it collects behind a retaining wall, or the home’s foundation, a French drain can be a really great solution.
Every drainage system has its advantages and disadvantages. Let’s go over some of the pros and cons of installing a French drain.
7 pros of French drains
Help control ponding and standing water issues.
Can control groundwater and some runoff and are great for wide areas and near your home.
Long-lasting.
Cost-effective.
Beautiful, adding a lot of charm.
Protect your home and property from water damage, keeping your home value up.
Prevent erosion.
8 cons of French drains
May not be able to handle large amounts of stormwater on their own and may require a catch basin or other collection area, in addition.
May require regular maintenance.
Care must be taken not to hit utility lines when digging for installation.
Installing them may involve digging up your yard or even pavement.
If the pipe gets clogged, it can be difficult to find and fix the problem area on your own.
Roots can create problems.
May need to be installed below the frost line in your area (or may need a pipe heater in colder climates).
May not work well for all property locations — like at the very bottom of a hill.
For more about whether this type of yard drainage system is right for you, check with your local French drain man.
Boots On Enterprises is installing a yard drainage system with piping and gravel to help this driveway and yard drain properly.
What’s involved with French drain installation?
First, French drain installers will dig a long, downward sloping trench from the low spot on your property toward a place where you want the water to drain with a trench digger machine. Then, they’ll wrap landscape fabric around the pipe to prevent dirt, weeds, or roots from getting into the drainage system.
The trench will be filled with gravel or stone. And generally, installers will test the drainage then cover it with dirt and sod.
You’ll have extra dirt after this. You may want to use some of it to fill low places in your yard. Or you may want to have it hauled away.
A few more issues you may want to consider with installation…
What is a French drain catch basin?
A French drain system can use another type of drainage solution, called a catch basin, to help handle heavy rainfall by providing a place for large amounts of water to immediately collect.
A catch basin is a large plastic or concrete box set underground with a grate on top for water to pour into that has a drainage pipe leading downhill for the water to flow away.
Why use a catch basin drainage system?
A catch basin is wonderful at trapping dirt, sediment, and debris at the bottom of the box. This prevents your drain pipe from getting clogged and makes a drainage system work better. It also assists with very heavy downpours and large quantities of storm water.
What is a pipeless French drain?
A pipeless French drain involves a sloped trench, a lining of landscape fabric, and then it is filled with gravel or stone. It can be a landscaping feature that looks like a dry riverbed or creekbed.
Does a French drain need a sump pump?
A French drain sump pump can be necessary in certain situations when you can’t slope the trench to the drainage destination and water needs to go uphill. Like in a basement, for example. Or if the water collection area is below where you want the water to be directed to.
A close-up view of a driveway drain grate in a concrete driveway.
Where can a French drain system be used?
There are many places where a French drain system can be used. A French drain in the yard (French yard drain), on the patio, in the driveway, on a pool deck, or in a basement.
They can also be used in combination with other drainage systems like trench drains, drainage basins, etc...
What is involved with cleaning a French drain?
Before cleaning the French drain, test it to be sure it is draining properly and see what happens when there is excess water. Try pouring water into the grate with a garden hose. If the water pools and doesn’t drain, you may have a blockage.
A pressure washer can be a good way to clean out a French drain. With some clogs, you may need a heavy-duty snake to remove the clog.
If you don’t want to clean the drain yourself, ask for a quote from a professional French drain company near you.
A drainage ditch/swale in a grassy lawn directs stormwater downhill toward a creek.
What is a good French drain alternative?
Some alternatives to using a French drain would include drainage solutions like:
Bog garden/rain garden
A bog garden is perfect for a landscaping option in a low-lying area that is difficult to drain in your yard. It naturally helps to purify and filter stormwater runoff. And helps to prevent flooding in other areas of your yard.
One difficulty is that if you plant special water-loving plants for this area, and then you have a drought, the plants will still need a lot of water. Some homeowners like to set up a rain-water barrel to store extra rain during wetter seasons with a pipe that flows to the bog garden to supplement rainfall in drier seasons.
Drainage ditches/swales/valleys
In South Carolina, many neighborhoods have uncovered drainage ditches near the side of the road to direct rainwater runoff. (See the image above.)
These shallow ditches don’t have pipes. Often, they are just covered with grass. But in some areas, they may have gravel or stone. For larger runoff needs near an interstate, you may even see them lined with concrete to form an open-air drainage canal.
Dry well
A dry well or cistern can allow a storage place for stormwater. Then you can even use the water for irrigation, if you’d like. But this can be a pricey option.
Retention pond/detention pond
Another option, if you have the space and ability, is to build a pond area to permanently hold storm runoff in a beautiful way. Then you can release it slowly, if you’d like, later. Or create a waterfall feature with a pump in the pond. The options are truly endless. For some neighborhoods, the builder creates a neighborhood retention pond for the whole area.
The tricky thing is that water levels will vary with a retention pond. So you may want to surround the pond with decorative stones so it will still look attractive even when there is less rain for a time. And you’ll need to have a plan for very heavy rains to handle greater drainage needs.
There can be some challenges with stagnant water or mosquitos. So it’s important to consider all the pros and cons of any drainage option you choose.
Terracing the yard
Creating terraces down the slope can help prevent water from all ponding at the bottom of the hill, preventing erosion and flooding. Another similar option is to have stone stairs for the water to flow down to prevent soil erosion.
A dry French drain pipe surrounded with large stones on a hillside.
What are some common French drain mistakes to avoid?
Four common French drain mistakes include things like:
Not having enough of a slope for the water to flow downhill.
Not using landscaping fabric/drainage fabric or the right kind to line the trench.
Using rock that is too small in diameter for gravel.
Allowing a gutter to drain directly into the French drain rather than a catch basin.
Having low spots in the drain trench that cause pooling.
If you have a French drain installed, it’s important to have it done professionally to avoid creating even worse flooding issues in your yard or near/in the foundation of your home.
How much do French drains cost?
Across the country, the average French drain costs about $5000 for installation. This depends on the length of the drain, they soil type, whether you need a sump pump, how much landscaping repair you need, and any extra services that are desired.
In the Lexington, SC area, the average cost for a French drain system installation was about $3500 in 2022. The minimum cost was about $900 and the maximum was over $6000.
Who installs French drains?
Many landscaping companies can properly install a French drain system. These are experts who know how to grade a yard and do hardscaping.
Paving companies or plumbers may also be able to help with this project.
Boots on Enterprises installing a French drain system in a yard in Columbia, SC.
Looking for French drain installation in Columbia, SC?
At Boots On Enterprises, we can help with your drainage problems. Whether you need a French drain, a catch basin, a drainage ditch, or another drainage method, we can help you determine what the best option would be for your yard and home.
We handle paving, hardscaping, landscaping, and drainage solutions. And we are happy to give you a FREE estimate for your drainage project.
Just call us today at 803-521-4978 or email us at bootsonenterprises@gmail.com.
Let us make your yard look beautiful, take care of standing water, and protect your investments and property from water damage.
