French Drain Installation and Home Foundations

French Drain Installation and How They Work

A French drain takes advantage of gravity and aids in helping ground water seek lower levels away from your home’s foundation.

A French drain is basically a network of crushed stone and plastic piping that encircles the home or home addition and channels water away from the foundation.

After the home’s footing and foundation walls have been constructed and sealed, several inches of crushed stone should be poured around the outside of the foundation wall near the base of the footings. The crushed stone should be poured such that a natural swale is created towards the lowest expected finished grade around the foundation and abutting yard. This will help aid in the direction of water away from the home.

Installing a French Drain

A small trench should then be extended out into the yard, from this lowest finished grade location at the foundation so that water will continue to drain away from the foundation. The trench should be approximately 1 foot wide and should extend deep enough to enable water to continue to drain from the foundation. The trench should extended outward from this point in the foundation to a distance that the installed French drain reaches the natural ground surface. This will enable the ground water around the foundation water to be effectively channeled out to the surface some extended distance away from the home.  

With the French drain piping installed, the pipe should be covered with an additional 1-2 feet of crushed stone, less as you work your way out towards the end of the trench.

The foundation can then be backfilled, and 2-4 inches of topsoil can then be installed on top for growing grass.

French drain installations are also common for channeling water from other locations in a yard. Typically they are used in applications where water coming off of a hill would normally drain into a back or side yard. By installing a French drain, the water can be “short circuited” from entering the back or side yard.