How to Install a French Drain that Actually Works! DIY Project

Рік тому

Installing a French Drain system around your home will not only keep your yard dry, but also extend the life of your foundation and help to prevent flooring. In this video I show you how to install a dual pipe french drain system to collect all the eater from your roof and also ground water from your yard.
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КОМЕНТАРІ: 643

@seanhannam8872 18 днів тому

For anyone being overly critical in the comments or claiming to be a pro… why are you watching this in the first place? Good video man

@OGJEEP89 10 днів тому

I like the fact that you also did a decorative & practical rock and gravel in the dry creek you drained everything into

@kd2239 Рік тому

I'm a civil engineer, you did a great job. Attention to detail is everything when it comes to this kind of job.

@StrayFire 11 місяців тому

I'm an actual civil engineer from Germany and this man just spend way too much time and money to achieve something that could have been done way easier and cheaper with less maintenance over the years. And all of that, because he hates it when it rains once a month in his area. Gotta catch that UKposts money I guess.

@kd2239 11 місяців тому

@@ailmlvr5905 - Yes, all french drains are built using perforated pipes. You will sometimes find a similar design along the edge of motorways and other roads too. How do you think the groundwater will find its way into the pipe if it is not perforated?

@allwoundup3574 11 місяців тому

lmao @ the 2 dorks having a pissing contest in the comments

@kd2239 11 місяців тому

@@allwoundup3574 - Hahaha!

@CP-nf9my 4 місяці тому

@@StrayFire Please enlighten us. I have a real problem.

@mikekernan5388 Рік тому

Your supervisor sure was keeping a close eye on you while you were working on your downspout. Thanks for another interesting and informative video. Mike

@KomarProject Рік тому

Haha ya I noticed that when I was editing lol. She is always on the job

@letimetcalfe4494 Рік тому

Thank you! My front and back screened in Porch flood badly. The previous owners neglected to tell us that when we bought the home so imagine my surprise when at the first storm water flooded both areas to almost 5 inches. We do have a French Drain but it's not doing it job. I called several companies with promises of helping me with this situation and no shows. So I'm going to have to do this project myself. Thank you for your helpful advice. Hope to get this problem fixed soon.

@uptone12111 Рік тому

This is a great video-I installed mine this way over 20 years ago around my house and its still works today

@kingtut5923 Рік тому

Did the guy use duct tape?

@justadbeer Рік тому

Nice job. I like how you added the non perf pipe to carry away the downspout water. I had this same issue and did this back breaking job last summer. Only difference is I added a few more catch basins to move the above ground water quicker as my septic field slopes toward the back of my house .

@f1mikeyboy Рік тому

Thanks for the video. I will be doing this in the late spring, once things dry up, and your video will be a good source of information. Luckily when I moved into my house last year, I bought a tractor with a backhoe, knowing all the land work I will have to do.

@kevinhertelt7116 Рік тому

It was what I was looking for. Very easy to follow the steps. It works!

@nateiowa3359 Рік тому

Thank you so much for this video. We just built on raw land over the winter and this is our first spring here. We just had a heavy rain and noticed a SERIOUS drainage issue. I have a lot of work to do but this gave me the confidence I needed.

@patty109109 11 місяців тому

Spring is brutal. Every spring I have a couple spots that are always standing water. Only in last couple days are they starting to dry out, and one I’ll be unable to mow for another two weeks-only then does the spring rain start to dissipate.

@robertbragg9364 Рік тому

Great job. 👍🏽 very good how to video. I'm using this video for a friend's yard. It's exactly what he needs to do at his home.

@roywoods2824 Рік тому

Great job describing the installation of this system!! Thank you!

@chipnegron950 4 місяці тому

This was amazing and great to see step by step.. it's encouraging to know that it can be done.. thank you for taking the time to instruct..

@pauldersch6936 Рік тому

GREAT video, easy for the layman to understand.. .

@JohnFrieden Рік тому

Great installation, most people don't understand that you need to use a solid line for your down spouts. The only thing I would add is that I would use rigid PVC drain pipe or SDR-35 storm drain pipe. You have a fair amount of mature trees on your property, their roots will seek water. The roots have the potential of clogging your french drain line. If that happens to the corrugated pipe you will have to dig it up and replace it. If you use rigid pipe you can call a rooter company and have them snake the line and you're back in business again.

@tracygresham4869 Рік тому

Thumbs up on the rigid pipe. also help maintain the slope.

@Wakeywhodat 8 місяців тому

I'm leaning that way now. Using storm drain pipe means I don't need to use gravel or cloth, right?

@demolay8 7 місяців тому

@@WakeywhodatI'm no expert but I think you may still want gravel at the very least, because it will create a path-of-least-resistance and guide the water to the pipe. The sheet may still be handy to keep sediment out

@StonyAcresEstate Рік тому

At 9:12, it looks like you are connecting your downspout to the french drain (pipe with slits in it).

@waynepowell567 Рік тому

Excellent. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. Stay safe.

@moth.monster Рік тому

there's a french drain in our yard and the sound of it draining in heavy rain is always fun!

@chrish.6934 2 місяці тому

Very awesome video. Currently under contract with a home me & my better half are trying to finance. Hope all goes well & if so, a French drain will probably be the route that I take. Just one of many projects for the future

@BairBuilt Рік тому

Great project! Lots of awesome pointers. Thank you. Only thing I might recommend would be grates at the end of your lines. To keep animals from nesting in your pipe.

@jonathannoel3534 Рік тому

Want to do something similar with a dry creek as well! Thanks for this. Hope you have a vid on the dry creek too!

@user-dn3ww3pd5k 4 місяці тому

This was incredibly informative and helpful. Thank you.

@Mastery7045 4 місяці тому

Great video ....crazy informative and concise all without being boring!!..nice work

@shaniaa9287 Рік тому

That's a ton of water 😲😳 great video, and thanks for taking the time to create and educate us. I'm so pleased with the result 👍 love the dry creekbed. Great look ❣️❤

@aychkaykay88 4 місяці тому

great content. i learned so much about my own project. thank you for your time and education!

@ronaldgensler7290 Рік тому

really enjoyed the video, yard looks good im ready to do mne i think . THANK YOU

@seen48 Рік тому

Great job. So much work but definitely had to be done for your years.

@wango556 Рік тому

Great job. I did learn from doing my drainage dry creek bed not to use the small gravel on the bottom because it just washes away or ends up at the end of the trench clogging the culvert. I ended up just using the big rock I put on the sides of the the dry creek bed for all of it.

@joanies6778 10 місяців тому

Another how to video shows that pea gravel can solidify over time, too. They recommended the larger round river rock.

@saimuddin5312 4 місяці тому

Just want to start by say Happy new year and a massive thank you for sharing you project/ ideas and all the advice, needed this video, we are currently a full wraparound extension, it has not stopped raining, starting to see damp patches on new walls, the garden is full of clay under the soil. So you can imagine how bad the drainage is around the house, need to sort it ASAP, have been soo stressed with it all. Thanks man ❤🤛

@GregoryWingham 11 місяців тому

Very nice job! Thanks for the detailed description.

@mohcinkarim955 4 місяці тому

very good work. I loved working with this team

@sparkysmalarkey Рік тому

We bought an old house in western Oklahoma to be our forever home. It was sitting on rock hard clay. Shredded mulch, seed and worm castings spread thin over the yard will get the job done. We only had to do it once too. It's been about ten years since then and my yard is like walking on pillows. Except a race track that our dogs have packed down running their route around the house. It pretty much does the same job as a french drain, because our basement has not flooded since our second year. I like the way you overbuild though, mad props. Thanks for the content.

@KomarProject Рік тому

Thanks brother! Keep those gods running lol

@Fingolfin3423 11 місяців тому

Big project. Well done!

@jeffcole1914 5 місяців тому

Very informative thanks for sharing your diy projects 😊

@spencerhansen8374 11 місяців тому

Landscape fabric stakes work well to hold it open during filling and for wrap\closure as well. I've done two so far, one for the lakes on my gravel driveway by the house and one for the gravel road leading to my house. Nonwoven Geo fabric is great stuff.

@melissalynn7608 Місяць тому

Are you able to walk on top of the drain?

@junxu973 11 місяців тому

So patient for such a big project!

@jewdd1989 Рік тому

My sister had water leaking into her garage and back porch because the way the soil was graded. Thankfully she sold her house but anyways so glad you demonstrated this! Always enjoy your videos

@KomarProject Рік тому

Ya water can be a pain in the butt. Thanks so much for checking out the videos JewDd!! Is much appreciated !!!

@jewdd1989 Рік тому

@@KomarProject thank you for creating! You put a lot of hard work into your content and it shows 🤘🏽

@BA-ui9cg Місяць тому

Not certain how I feel about the downspout drainage with all that water making contact with the wood on your house...that said this was an OUTSTANDING video. Very clear and informative! I learned a lot! Thank you!

@richardgshields Рік тому

thats a nice video, thanks for the info, those roof drain catch-all thingys are the bomb! that's what I need!

@SchysCraftCo. Рік тому

Bart great job. Glad it's working out very well. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work my friend. Keep making. God bless.

@KomarProject Рік тому

Thanks Jared. It’s one of those things that I’m glad is working better then I expected

@SchysCraftCo. Рік тому

@@KomarProject yes most definitely.

@SeasideReef Рік тому

Wonderful job. In Alaska now on my raw land looking at the snowmelt/standing/runoff water now and I’ve got a big solo job ahead of me at this remote location.

@browill9 6 місяців тому

Awesome job guys. This is just what I needed. Thanks for sharing. GBU

@Lou.B 11 місяців тому

Excellent lesson! Thank You!

@robertmccully2792 Рік тому

Henry Flagg French (1813-1885) of Concord, Massachusetts, a lawyer and Assistant U.S. Treasury Secretary described and popularized them[3] in Farm Drainage (1859).[4] French's own drains were made of sections of ordinary roofing tile that were laid with a 1⁄8 in (0.32 cm) gap in between the sections to admit water.

@blakeg1984 11 місяців тому

Oh wow.... Bet that would work great!... Could be a cool use for discontinued roofing tiles

@moonwolf3378 11 місяців тому

That’s good to know…i have been talking about installing a French drain to my guy workers…they don’t know much but if I show them, they get to work and do what i ask…so they speak Spanish and I’ve been telling them Drenaje Frances…like the country French, haha… the correct literal term in Spanish would be agricultural drainage or drenaje Agricola - nothing French about this. From Massy too and have been to Concord…

@thechawangtv Рік тому

Wow great work sir..Well done...impressive

@johntzeimet Рік тому

👏👏wow, quite the project and great job !!

@scud69er Рік тому

Awesome work! A really nice job.

@JJ_DaJenius Рік тому

Great work I’m a landscaper and a lot of customers request these.

@baltimorejoker 4 місяці тому

Really awesome job! Excellent video

@jmg6153 Рік тому

Very informative. I found this very helpful and appreciate you breaking down the steps. I also found the info about the freeze-proof sump pump connector extremely valuable as I had mine freeze up last year...now I know how to fix it! Looks like your Pennington Ironite helped. I just bought some of the Pennington coated Super Seed lawn seed...will let you know in a couple weeks how it works! Thank you Komar Project for all this info!

@ASSOL3 Рік тому

How's the Super Seed doing?

@AndrewDonovan-uw1wg Рік тому

Led me to think

@joesullivan8861 9 днів тому

Excellent work done yourself.....awesome

@Stephen_Strange 6 місяців тому

Seasonal rain streams, love it !

@jorgepalafoxvazquez5275 Рік тому

Dayuuuuuuuum beautiful video my friend. Am going to do this to mine. Before my basement gets flooded.

@salimrezende6975 10 місяців тому

Very nice video and explanation, it's the most helpfull video I have wathcing. Thank very much!

@peterstevens6555 Рік тому

That perforated drainage pipe we here in New Zealand have a sock that goes around the whole pipe, so all you do is full the trench up with gravel from the bottom and both sides and top and you're done! 👍👍👍

@mikeinjapan2004 Рік тому

Thanks for the tip! How would I make sure slope is downward? I don't want to dig too much on the other end...

@otofoto Рік тому

@@mikeinjapan2004 String and bubble.

@mikeinjapan2004 Рік тому

@@otofoto can you explain 'bubble' please?

@otofoto Рік тому

@@mikeinjapan2004 Bubble level.

@johnnance1414 2 місяці тому

The only problem with that type of pipe is that your gravel will eventually get silted in and stop water infiltration.

@donnya205 9 місяців тому

Wow, great job , every house should have this system in place when a house is built.

@BrianKrahmer 8 місяців тому

whether it's needed at all entirely depends upon a lot of factors. i have no gutters and no water issues at all at the house i built at 9000' in the CO mountains. semi-arid climate. i will, however, be using a system like this for an upcoming house i will build in north Idaho

@hhectorlector Рік тому

great footage, explanation, and documenting

@_momosumomo 10 місяців тому

Thank you for the idea about putting two pipes in the trench. Seems obvious in retrospect but this will really help me out.

@KomarProject 10 місяців тому

You are very welcome. We have had it in for over a year now and it’s worked beautifully. Our yard is dry

@alfredomedina5835 6 місяців тому

Excellent. Thanks for sharing!

@joesimonetti Рік тому

This was the absolute correct installation...no shortcuts here.

@jameskeough4620 5 місяців тому

Well-done and informative video! Thx.

@mrchad97z49 Рік тому

3:40 actually, 1% slope is closer to 1" per every 8', rather than 9' or 10'. because there are 96" in 8 feet. And there are 120 inches in 10 feet. So if you dropped 1" per 10 feet, then you only dropped 1"/120" , aka 0.83% which is less than 1%

@5ch4cht3l7 11 місяців тому

lmao these units

@1992jamo 11 місяців тому

@@5ch4cht3l7 Meanwhile if want a 1% slope in metric, then you just drop 1cm every meter. In imperial you'd need to drop 1 13/64" each 10 foot lol

@colbybrand5326 11 місяців тому

You actually want 2 % for drainage, but sometimes you just don’t have it. But people always forget that you do have 4” in the pipe.

@Andrew-ut1yv 24 дні тому

This guy Maths!

@mrcodeguy1 23 дні тому

As a commercial inspector for a local gov't , I wish every contractor could perform that function. Good job.

@thedajate45 11 місяців тому

Awesome video great job good technique and information.

@myRatchets 10 місяців тому

1% slope is not 1” for every 10 feet. To get your slope get the total distance in inches than times by .01 for 1% . So 10ft x 12= 120 inches x .01 = 1.2” not a big deal for short distances but you need to do the math for longer distances and get it right. GL

@tobiasknowles5555 10 місяців тому

it's almost like they need to generage a numerical system to improve this.

@joefletcher5859 9 місяців тому

It’s 1” for every 8.3 feet. That’s the math. but yes over large distances it’s easy to use phone and punch in numbers

@pmurnion 9 місяців тому

@@tobiasknowles5555Lol! Yes, on a base 10 ...

@jazz1tup 8 місяців тому

@@tobiasknowles5555 Or they could invent a new bad ass name for something not even remotely straight forward. Since they already have names for measuring things in feet, thumbs and what not, how about measuring angles in butts? 1 butt may be a quite reasonable angle of 67.5478223 degrees, which is an angle of an average butt in a missionary position.

@Gruuvin1 7 місяців тому

Close enough. Was it really worth the criticism?

@swervomatic Рік тому

Big job. Well done

@bch5513 Рік тому

Love that catch basin

@jibguy2003 8 місяців тому

Awesome job. You may have thought about water tight sealing your joints and connections.

@StrengthToStand Рік тому

This was awesome to watch.

@redamohamed4759 8 місяців тому

Thanks a lot for your informative video. I have a muddy back garden from the rain and thinking to put the French duct drain and my question is where it will be finally drained please ? Thanks

@jackspade2576 Рік тому

I am a pro plumber and people always ask me to clear their storm system. 99% of the time there is no access and nothing I can do besides dig it up. Good job planning ahead!

@TheJarheadEntrepreneur Рік тому

Great video..We just closed on our 5 acre homestead and one of the issues we are gonna need to tackle is drainage..It actually rained during our walk thru and also when the inspector was out so he noted areas that needed to be addressed, one of which was where the pool pump is located as water is draining down to it so this will fix that issue an we can cut a trench down to the pond.. Keep Crushing It!! Stay HUMBLE, Stay HUNGRY, Stay FOCUSED...~The Jarhead Entrepreneur

@KC-ic7vi Рік тому

shut up

@hotmetalslugs 7 місяців тому

Homestead?

@BrickyardPowerMan 11 місяців тому

I like your approach. What I would do different is to rent a sod cutter to set a consistent and thick sod piece to the side. Once the trench is filled with rock and fabric, I can add soil, level it with a garden rake then place the sod on top. Just need to keep the sod moistened. Nothing wrong with your approach IMHO, just sharing what I've done in the past and how I like to do this kind of project. I haven't had good luck with standard gray duct tape once exposed to dirt and water. Thought the first tape you used at the beginning looked better. That looked like a gorilla exterior grade tape that was 4-5" wide. That is some incredible tape.

@SMoore-zw7nk 2 місяці тому

Amazing video! 👏 just wish there was more information out there on where or how to drain the water in the city. Can't always tie into the storm drain.

@user-yl9sn7sn3p 2 місяці тому

Thank you 😊 You are a smart man.

@towboat101 4 дні тому

Amazing video.. great job

@borntwice4724 Рік тому

Great video brother, unfortunately I live in California so I don’t have to worry about a lot of rainfall each year, very informative and well done.

@jerryg957 Рік тому

Ya , never rains in southern Cal

@bc-guy852 8 місяців тому

Nice job on this project and congratulations on 1 million subscribers. I just became another new one now. Continued success - although I'd much rather see a 'zeroscape' feature where your 'lawn' is... takes a tiny fraction of the water and is good for the environment.

@lehmejoun Рік тому

Awesome work, I recently started working in farming, we have a clay soil, we were recommended to plant winter rye as a cover crop, keep it short like grass and eventually the roots reach so deep that it will drain through clay. We haven't planted them yet but we are planning to this year.

@brad3378 Рік тому

Very clever idea

@joeshmoe7789 Рік тому

If graded properly, water will run over the tight roots of grass. This is why they recommend to plant grass right up to the house. Shrub and flower beds allow water to drain into the ground and to the foundation.

@lehmejoun Рік тому

@@joeshmoe7789 So if I understand you correctly, grass roots doesn't allow water drainage?

@joeshmoe7789 Рік тому

@@lehmejoun A full, thick lawn will slow water from penetrating into the ground compared to just plain dirt, rocks, sand, gravel, etc. If you have low areas that pool up, the water will go down but slower thru grass. If the ground has fall or a downward pitch, a good amount of water will run over it before it has time to penetrate. If your roof water downspout empties into a flower bed that's relatively flat, the water often drains into the soft top soil and runs underground to the foundation. Extending the downspout out past the open dirt can make a big difference as long as the lawn is graded away from the house. The best is to have grass right up to the house, but cosmetically, it's not always pretty, especially in the front. All properties are different, but I can assure you that if you can eliminate roof water dumping on to flower beds and running over a somewhat thick lawn away from a house, you might not need underground pipes. And just as important, keep gutters and leaders clean. Overflowing gutters send water almost straight down against the house. Hope this helps.

@lehmejoun Рік тому

@@joeshmoe7789 That was good advise and educative, thank you.

@viajandomundo421 23 дні тому

Thanks for this great video.

@tylersowa9601 Місяць тому

Couple tips from a landscaper… - use the excavator to tamp the soil - use flashing tape if using tape as a second added layer of connection - install a “ Y “ clean out valve by the bottom of downspout - use a small butane torch to cut the tarp instead of a box knife - use a separation fabric the line the bottom of the trench. Use a geotextile tarp to “burrito” wrap the drains to allow water to pass

@Seasheasells 15 днів тому

Doesn’t the separation fabric under the stone restrict the ground water from coming up into the perforated pipe? Im asking because im planning my project and there is a lot of debate about fabric vs no fabric. Id like to use fabric because I think over time the clay will migrate upwards and suck up the gravel. Id like to protect the gravel but I also want to maximize water flow to the perf drainpipe. Thanks in advance for any tips.

@dadlife8289 Рік тому

I like the video so far. For getting the slope you didn't mention the classic stake and string

@CantonGregory 11 місяців тому

I love the dog appearing in the window at 7:25

@danburland7190 2 місяці тому

On thing I did on the same type of project was to use 4X4 plastic sheets so I did not kill my grass with the extra dirt. When I was done you could hardly tell any excavation had been done.

@gusmariscal5971 Рік тому

I like to put cloth fabric on the catch basin to help keep the system clean

@johnrodricks169 27 днів тому

thanks so much .Very helpful

@lisacraig1894 3 місяці тому

Thanks, really helpful!

@reesaw6575 2 місяці тому

What a great job! I wish someone could help me with this project.

@georgemaragos2378 Рік тому

Hi, very informative. With the part where you use the bobcat for the gravel, i had similar issues over 3 days of shoveling, on the last day my neighbor came over and advised to use a metal garden rake and simply prop on top and drag back towards me, the gravel will follow the rake and fall into the trench. I wish he told me at the beginning of the job :) Regards George

@bpdp379 Рік тому

I’m picturing him looking out his kitchen window with a sly grin, sipping a cup of coffee and thinking, “Tomorrow. I’ll tell him tomorrow….”

@ericsmith2454 5 днів тому

Outstanding!

@carlosgomez7135 9 місяців тому

Great job

@JustinDeane1979 11 місяців тому

Learned a lot from this video.

@willcat636 25 днів тому

Awesome tutorial thanks!

@tommorales2371 8 місяців тому

Great video, I love the Exevador hypnotized me, like a Dinosaur 😲

@bunnywarren 10 місяців тому

When you're ready to put the soil back on top, take some photos of the whole run because it'll help find it later if needed. Should you sell the house it will also help the new owners with finding where the run goes.

@josephj6521 5 місяців тому

… so they can replace it with PVC.