A poor or no drain a yard can cause problems like pooling or flooding the yard or damaging the house which is surrounded by excess water. There are many solutions to avoid this problem; one of them is to install French Drain Santa Barbara.  

What is a French drain? 

It is an assembly of a perforated pipe and gravel in a trench which allows the water to drain naturally from the pipe into the ground. This is one of the easiest ways of eliminating excess water. You can go for the French drains installation it yourself by purchasing a few pipes and equipment. Below is a list of equipment and tools which are needed for this task:

  1. Corrugated (Perforated) pipes
  2. Fittings (according to pipe size)
  3. Drain Grates
  4. Landscape Fabric 
  5. The bulk (stones or gravel)
  6. Electric Edgers
  7. Shovels

Before starting the task, you need to figure out where the water is retained more & where you want the excess water to go.  When you are looking for water outlets check for the retention ponds or existing drainages but never opt for drains into a neighbor’s property. When you locate a perfect place for the drains; mark it with spray paints or with flags to be aware of the length of the trench. For an uninterrupted drainage flow, the pipe system should be drained from high elevation to a low spot. 

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Steps to Installing French Drains

The first task to do is to dig a trench in the place which you have chosen. Be cautious about the underground lines or wires. A trench should be at least 18 inches deep and 12 inches wide. This trench should have a natural slope so that gravity works with the drains flow. The second task is to lay a filter fabric in the trench; this is to keep the drains free of dirt, tree roots & silt. While laying the filter fabric see to it that at least 10 inches of fabric are covered at the sides of the trench. The third task is to pour the gravel and compact it at least by 3 inches in the trench. This acts as bedding for the drains pipe. The fourth task is to install an inlet grate at a location where water pools the most. Make secure connections and fittings to fix the inlet pipe and the outlet well in place. If you want to curve the drain you can use flexible hoses. Task 5 is to fix the pipe drains in the trench. The pipe should be laid on the gravel bed and care should be taken that the drainage holes of the pipe are at the downside of the trench. Give it a workflow test by pouring water in the inlet grate and check if it’s fine or not. The sixth task is to cover the pipe with stones and gravel for another 3 inches. The gravel should not exceed the lawn level. After this, wrap it with the filter fabric which will act as another level of the filter. The seventh step is to fill the trench with topsoil & then compact the French Drain Santa Barbara with the required tools. For this entire duration of working with gravel and soil, it’s better to cover the inlet grate with a covering. The last task here is optional i.e. to grow plants on this setup or cover it with stones any which way it will look beautiful. Maintain it well by inspecting on the inlet grate and outlet pipe. In the worst-case scenario, if the French drains are broken or clogged, the entire setup has to be dug up. A French drain covered with stones is preferred than the one which is covered with grass.

There are in total of seven steps described above to install a drain

To reduce a few steps here we have something called a gravel free drainage pipe system. If you choose this pipe, too much of manual work is not required; you just have to dig a trench place the pipe without any gravel and fill the trench with soil. The new drains will get runoff water under control and protect your basement from water leakage. All the tools and equipment required for the task can be found e-stores.

Here are our tips of irrigation system installation: https://greenapplesgarden.com/2020/07/15/hydrating-nourishing-soil-by-installing-irrigation-system-diy/.