How To Build a Curtain French Drain Around a House [Yard Drainage System For DIY] Home Improvement

How To Build a Curtain French Drain Around a Home. What do you do when you have a house that's built lower than the grade around it? If there's water left up against the house, against the foundation whether it's a basement or a crawl space it's only a matter of time before it becomes a problem.

We're installing a curtain drain and roof runoff system to keep water away from the foundation and out of the yard into a storm drain. DIYers can do the same by following these tips!

French Drain and Yard Drain Kit:

New! High Octane Armor Heavy Duty Solid Pipe:

High Octane 8 Slop Perforated Pipe:

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French Drain Man – Michigan’s Yard Water Drainage Experts. Masters in the art of constructing contained French drain systems & curtain drain systems that and fix your yard drainage problems for years to come. Over 30 years’ experience in solving yard water drainage problems in Oakland, Macomb, Lapeer, and St. Clair Counties.

French Drain Man / Sherwood Landscape Construction, LLC
P.O. Box 777
Almont, MI 48003
248-505-3065

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How To Build a Curtain French Drain Around a Home [Yard Drainage System For DIY] Home Improvement

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[soigne]

This was our house!! I was waiting to see when it would get posted! It was great to meet you Bob. Thanks to the entire FDM crew for their hard work getting this knocked out in one day. I only wish it would've rained harder afterwards so I could capture the system in action!

[gregz]

Robert - This would be a great case study during a heavy rain and to confirm how well this system holds up over the years. Thanks for this great content!

[TsugaPNW]

Hello Robert. Much appreciation for your videos. I have so far watched over 20, some of them 2 or 3 times. I am a homeowner from coast to coast who has experienced many water issues in my 60 years. My handyman hat has me working at a property in AZ - I have shared with my client their need to address the many drainage issues they have. I want to learn as much as I can and am taking notes before finalizing my proposal. You have 2 slotted pipes for increased void and therefore increase water flow. You have 1 solid pipe for the roof and downspouts system and you say never to join them and you state many great reasons. I notice at 1:17 to 1:25 you have all 3 pipes at end of back yard run - you are combining 1 slotted pipe and 1 solid pipe to a Y fitting which connects to appears a small culvert pipe, with 1 slotted pipe dangling. So it's ok to join the 2 different systems at the end? And does the single slotted pipe get capped? Thank you.

[orochikaiba]

Subscribed!!!! I found this channel the most informative, interesting and accurate. I first became interested in French Drains after an episode of "Hoarder House Flipping" and the home needed one of these to dry out the basement. I saw another channel and the guy made no sense why he disliked wrapping his French Drain, used PVC with holes, etc. I've been through a few of your videos and by comparison I feel like I know/understand more than he did lol. Best of luck to you and your crew

[deathvalley]

Such a professional work. Omg. Love to see this stuff. Thank you sir.

[chrisdesimone]

Big fan.... wish you were in NJ, we have the golden house prize for you to show on a video

[akinun]

Great information and very very helpful. Our house is surrounded on two sides by a nearby retaining wall and water drains from above neighbors into our backyard. The house also has a basement that suffers from humidity issues, but very hard and expensive to install external (positive) drainage because it'd have to be dug very deep. It would be great to see a video for a solution for a house with basement humidity, taking into account soil grading, the potential use of hard surfaces around the basement to push the rainwater away from the foundation, and groundwater issues including potential false water table.

[DoraChapa-ok]

Big fan FRENCH DRAIN MAN! Please come to TEXAS!!! We need help and I have not seen anyone here do french drains like you.

[dric]

love it Rob! very common design for homes in Florida communities..Thanks to French drainman's YouTube channel of drainage best practices combined with the baughman tile product, we solved our flooding/swamp issue in the back of the house. WORTH EVERY PENNY!! especially for our most valuable asset- our home. I installed my high octane around the house similar to this curtain drain but I have slab and no basement ( just 3-4 neighbors w/ sloped yards towards my property!)- 209feet with both drainage endpoints on the front street (one big horseshoe). Back trench was shallow-13inches with drainage ends around 16-18inches deep near discharge. Rob is correct that it takes sometime for the system to flush out the elements(dirt, debris) before optimal GPM(I'd say 1-2 months for optimal performance)..eventually the fabric does establish a soil-filter zone and once it does the drain just rips and roars. only regret I have (live and learn) is I could have upped the pipe size at both endpoints from 4inch to 6inch right where I "Y'd " or combined the FD and solid downspout drain(armor)- I live in Florida and we get crazy rains!...So, system works great and we can't be anymore happy (as well as our dogs and kids) to have our yard back!! Thanks to FDM!!

[Jcd]

I'd love a cost analysis breakdown on a project like this

[synaspora]

Question: Suppose I have a decorative rock bed with a catch basin (but not a French drain) and water tends to collect near the catch basin but doesn't flow very well to it. Is there a waterproof cloth I can use to guide the water to the drain before it percolates into the ground?

[travis]

I like how you reuse the slab of concrete
Would like to see how you level it 🤔

[jfortiv]

Nice video, very helpful. After installing the drain, did you also have to remediate the mold and mildew, or was removing the water problem enough to let it return to a good state?

[Blackacreage]

DIY’r here! What do you mean by don’t dig deep unless 4’ away from the house? I thought the point of a perimeter drain was to go right down to the footings to collect all the water right up against the house, no?

[kurolap]

1:35-2;00

Honest very confused about depth between Basement and crawl space.
I have to do this now and i have a full basement....
Do i go right beside the house and be shallow - or 4 feet away and deep?

[gregoryh]

How far off the foundation wall would you say to start the trench? Is it up against the block or a few inches away? I am going to put an open French drain against the back of my house as it holds water due to negative slop and gutters being over run in heavy rain. Your videos are great. Thank you

[dvsintention]

I wish you were in Australia, I’m having trouble getting help

[christhomas]

Looks beautiful! How do you ensure that 1% slope? Also, For a crawlspace where the majority of its height sits 1’ to 1.5’ below grade, what’s a reasonable depth for a curtain French drain w/ included roof runoff system? Trying to prevent some serious water intrusion as I live in a “hole” & all the neighborhood street drainage comes to my yard from both ways.

[sandywjo]

Great video sir! You clearly understand how this works, but I admit to knowing nothing about it. I have seen resources that say french drains need to be a minimum of 4 feet away from a foundation? Or maybe I misunderstood? My son only has a few feet in front of his house to have this done before his driveway starts so I am hoping this would still be an option without tearing up driveway.

[collinschiropractic]

This video pertains to my situation on the back side of my house (negative grade) where water collects up against the house. So my trench will have both the solid pipe and French drain pipe like this video. The solid pipe is going to have catch basins within the trench as well. Do you still drill holes in these catch basins? If so, how do prevent the dirt and shingle granules from contaminating the French drain pipe? Do you just take a piece of your fabric and wrap the whole catch basin underneath with fabric and pea stone? Thanks.