Pros and Cons to Installing a French Drain for Your Home
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French Drain
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A French drain goes by many different names and styles — drain tile, rock drain, trench drain — just to name a few. No matter the configuration, the basic components of this drainage system remain the same. It channels water away from your house, acting like a gutter system for your yard.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about a French drain and determine whether this system is right for your yard.
The French Drain, Defined
Contrary to popular perception, the French drain was not actually created in France. It was invented by a man from Massachusetts named Henry Flagg French. French authored a book entitled Farm Drainage, and he went on to pioneer many practices that are still used today in agriculture and civil engineering to provide effective drainage.
A true French drain is very simple. It consists of a trench that is filled with gravel and then surrounded by some sort of landscaping fabric.
Most modern homes use a slightly variant form of the French drain called a curtain drain. This version consists of a perforated pipe that sits inside the gravel-filled trench. The curtain drain can be covered with soil, grass, landscaping, etc. Installed correctly, it is a subtle form of drainage that will blend right into your yard.
When Is a French Drain Necessary?
A French drain is used to channel groundwater and rainwater away from the foundation of your house, preventing expensive leaks and damage. Here are a few ways you can recognize that you need a French drain:
You have a lot of standing water in your yard on a regular basis.
Your yard sits lower than your neighbors’ yards.
You live in a rainy climate or a swampy area.
You live close to a water source such as a lake, river, pond, or ocean.
Benefits and Drawbacks of a French Drain
Installing a French drain can create better drainage in your yard by keeping water away from your house and foundation. It can also help to prevent standing water, drain puddles that damage your grass and plants, and stop leaks from infiltrating your basement or washroom.
These simple systems are often effective and can be a long-lasting solution. However, this drainage system is not without its problems. Depending on the layout of your yard, installing a French drain may require you to dig up your landscaping, and it might even require the removal of parts of your sidewalk, driveway, backyard deck, patio, etc. Naturally, this can get expensive. And if you live in a cold climate, you will likely need to bury the drain deep into the ground, which can add to the cost.
Another factor is the cost and difficulty of servicing the drain. If the pipe in the French drain gets clogged, it is time-consuming to locate the part of the pipe that is causing the problem. This can be expensive and require another round of removal or replacement. The pipe is also at risk of being damaged due to root intrusion from nearby trees.
French Drain Alternatives
Many of the common problems associated with an exterior French drain — such as cost, disruption, and repair difficulties — can be solved by installing the system indoors.
An interior French drain consists of a pipe that is installed beneath a basement floor. You will have to dig a trench all the way around the wall line and surround the pipe with gravel, just like an exterior pipe.
Taking Care of Your French Drain in the Winter
Many homeowners— rightfully so— wonder if their French drain will continue to work properly in the winter. Will water freeze inside the pipes? Should you wrap the pipes with insulation? These are all valid concerns. It is possible for a French drain to freeze or malfunction in the winter if it is improperly installed or neglected.
Here are some ways to ensure that your drain continues to perform well in cold weather.
Install below the frost line
A good contractor will make sure to install your drain beneath the frost line. There are various tools online, such as this one from Hammerpedia, that can help you find the average frost line in your area. You can also check with your local county, municipality, or building code.
Keep in mind that finding the frost line is not an exact science, because there are always variations where the frost line is located every winter.
Don’t insulate your pipes
Although you may want to protect your pipes with a layer of insulation, resist that urge. Insulation will block water from accessing the pipe and so your French drain will be useless. Instead, if you’re unable to lay the pipes far enough down in the ground to avoid freezing, consider investing in a pipe heater.
Maintain your gutters
You can prevent the drain from becoming overworked by keeping your gutters clean. When your gutters are clogged with leaves, sticks, and debris, they can’t redirect water away from your home, and this leads to a higher concentration of water in the drain.
Make sure your gutters are directed far enough away from the house. It might be tempting to have them just empty into your French drain, but this is not a good idea in the long run.
Installing a French Drain
Whether you choose to install the drain outside or inside, you can save on costs by laying the pipe yourself. However, in most cases you should hire a company or contractor to dig your trench, as the drain must be laid at an exact slope in order to function properly.
Consider using the displaced dirt from the trench for another project, such as a garden. You can also put a container at the end of the pipe to catch the water and recycle it to water your plants.
Installing a French drain has a wealth of advantages. When properly installed, it can go a long way toward improving the drainage in your yard and preventing costly and disruptive damage to your home’s foundation.
Brandon Hubbard, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C
