French Drain

[HatDaddy]

I need to put in a french drain in the south side of the house. The neighbors house sits slightly above ours and his runoff creates a pool of water along the south side.
I sort of have an idea of what to do, but tips, suggestions from you guys are always more helpful than what I know.
Gracias in advance.

 

[BigWill]

1) dig a trench.
2) install a small layer of gravel.
3) Install a perforated pipe.
4) Install more gravel on top.
5) Put drainage cloth on top of the gravel.
6) Reinstall dirt and grass.
7) profit???

Seriously, are you sure that you need a "french drain", which is a subterreainian drain (sp) or would a simple surface drain or regrade would do?

If water is ponding on the surface, then you need to regrade to get the water out out to the street. If the conditions don't permit that, then install a catch basin connected to a pipe which runs to a suitable area for drainage.

French drains are used more for groundwater situations, not surface water.

EDIT: The most common location for a french drain would be against a retaining wall, to avoid the buildup of hydrostatic pressure on the wall.

the vertical line is a retaining wall

ll
ll
ll
ll
ll
ll____________ ground level
ll
xxxxxx.............
xxxxxx.............
xxxxxx....OO....
xxxxxx....OO....
xxxxxx.............

ok, the "x" above would be the concrete footing

The ... indicate a gravel bed

the OOOO indicate the perforated pipe. What isn't shown is the water-permeable cloth around the gravel bed.

That's a classic french drain.

I've also seen guys do a "burrito" drain, where the pipe and gravel are rolled up in the drainage cloth, and then buried.

 

[NickDanger]

What BW said.

 

[7Titles]

I will throw out the obligatory "freedom drain"

I am guessing you are not actually talking about a true french drain.

I have a simlar situaltion, I did a pipe below the ground maybe 6 minches with a couple drains attached and did some light grading so the pooling areas flowed into the drains. In our situation having a gravel trench wasnt ideal. The pipe I used is that plastic corrugated stuff you can find anyways, about a 6 inch diameter.

 

[HatDaddy]

that is what the inspector recommended before we bought the house.
Yeah, it is mostly just surface water that pools up on that side of the house. Just need some way to divert it out to the street.

 

[BigWill]

you need to check the grade of the low spot beside the house, and check the grade of the street. If there is adequate fall to the street (1/8 inch fall per foot of distance is minimal) then just do grading. water, like ****, runs downhill.

The easiest/cheapest way to check the grade is to use a water level. A clear hose filled with water stretched to each location. Measure down from the water line to the surface to check the grade.