French Drains: How they're installed

A French drain is a surefire way to keep your basement dry, clean and mold-free. It keeps water away from your furniture and belongings and removes it from your basement in an efficient and tidy manner. The type of French drain you use and the proper installation process will strongly impact how well your basement will be protected from flooding and moisture.

Without a quality drainage system, groundwater will collect in your basement and cause mold and rot. Drain tile and French drain were originally designed by Henry French in the 1920s. It was first made with clay tile, but can now be found made of round plastic piping.

HGTV writes that the best way to install a French drain is to use perforated drainage pipes to allow water to enter or exit through openings along the pipe. They add that slotted pipes are better to use than pipes with small round holes because they can reduce the amount of fine soil particles that get into the pipe.

For a typical drain tile installation, you would need a drain pipe, rocks and a shovel. Dig a ditch around the perimeter of the basement from the point where water will enter the drain to the point where water will flow out. If your starting point slopes upward, you will need to dig the trench deeper. The trench should be about a food wide to hold the drain pipe.

You may have to break up the concrete floor, in which case you will need a jackhammer to complete the job.

Next, lay 2 inches of rock in the trench and then lay down perforated pipe. Cover the pipe with a layer of about 2 inches of rocks. The French drain should be installed on a downward slope so that it can use gravity to its advantage and guide the water out of the basement.

Repair-home.com writes that many interior French drain units lead to a sump pump, so you may want to have one installed so that it can pump the water out of the basement and away from your foundation outside.

Regular maintenance can help keep your French drain working properly. You can get a pressure cleaner and do this yourself every year or so.

However, with the cost of getting the materials and machinery, as well as the difficulty of getting this job done and maintaining it, it may be a better idea to get some help to install the French drain system. Professional, high-quality basement contractors can complete this job for you quickly and efficiently.