French drains...Need some advice...
 

..

If you are doing what I think you are, and I may be guessing wrong, You probably should use a landscape fabric, permeable, over the perforated pipe before you lay the gravel over the pipe to keep sediment and such from going into the pipe and clogging it over time.

yeah sure...

i have worked ranches and farms all over the usa so i know a little about allot of farm related stuff...

i was almost killed inside a stand up culvert in fact
when the total ASS up the road built a stupid earthen damn
that felt apart sending a tsunami's worth of water down to our
place completely washing out our tar driveway
and i got jammed up in there with debris in minutes
trying to unclog it
and almost drowned... man did i want to kill that jerk.

anyways i assume your roof run off is eroding your yard
and now you want to channel it somewhere to minimize the damage ...

technically a french drain is this huge round hole in the ground full of
big ole rocks and its aproximately 6 feet deep

sometimes the newer ones are concrete but thats where the term originated..

generally you have topsoil thats loam and then below that its called decomposed granite or DG

DG drains almost as good as sand....so your french drain needs to empty into dg and not into loam or you'll end up with a mudfest.

the grass will grow three feet tall there and look awful

so consider digging the hole....you got a grub hoe?

you use a grub hoe and pick to loosen, take a break then the other guy shovels or vice versa
(if alone)
or you rest and pick up the other tool again....

after the hole is dug throw in the biggest stuff then smaller and
smaller rock untill you end up with a large gravel top layer.

I've got to do something similar to stop the mote that forms around my house as well. Your picture looks great, but I agree with the landscape fabric suggestion, it'll let the water thru and keep the sediment out.

oh i see
 

you want to build a huge system

i thought you were looking to

go the inexpensive route...

======================
for that you just dig a swale

to channel the water away
from the house...

cost $0.

They sell sleeves that are made specifically to go over the drainage pipe. I want to say that an 8' peoice of pipe with sleeve will run you about $8.....pretty inexpensive.

I need to replace my dry well this year.....kind of the same thought process only a barrel filled with Crushed Stone.

They also sell these systems you bury in the ground that are used for attaching downspouts to, that works on the Dry well principle.....they had them at Homey's for about $60

ahhh
 

okay...

most people would dig a swale when it's not raining...

thats their biggest mistake...

you put on full rain gear and do it while its pouring

that way the water tells you where to dig...not you

depending on how much water you want to move
of course...

i have to dig one too but it's beside the green house
where it has to go... and i'll burry one section of
a perforated pipe and put gravel on top

I'd make sure your problem approach is tuned to the actual problem...for instance if it's surface water you may not need a deep drain, but if it's ground water you need to tame then it could be worth it to build something more substantial.

A simple black 4" perf'd pipe with a nylon sleeve will do a pretty effective job at removing the runoff from your downspouts. It doesn't need to be buried deep or covered in rock...just give it enough angle so it drains well.

-spence

this company is cool
 

i plan to buy one of these green tanks
to hide in my bushes for roof water
on the street level...

and then i''ll run a 1 inch black poly hose

down to my lower field for good water pressure

http://www.ntotank.com/175gawata.html

sure man
 

no problem there...

this is a topic thats really difficult to figure out
without either pictures or simply standing there
seeing the terrain...


i have an area thats always wet so i'm killing off an oak
that shades it
all year so the sun will get in there and dry things up..

the oak is growing over a lower leaching field anyways
so i dont want it taking over the whole backyard...either

i already have a few gigantic oaks to pick up after as it is..

Do you have a slope to work with? How much water do you think you need to drain?

Where is it going to go?

-spence

Mark I had a french drain in my old house, perimeter of the foundation was sawn and crushed stone with perf pipe was installed and plumbed to the sump pumps. Looking at your patio it has a negative grade towards the house, I'd start there. Your piping needs to be well below the frost line or you will have problems. I would perimeter drain the back at the bottom of the foundation and drain it into a drywell on each side then re-do the patio with a 1/2 in 12 slope minimum. Let the ground do the work for you.

I agree, unless you fix that slope you're still going to have problems with heavy rain backing up along the house.

-spence

yeah that sucks
 

the water is seeking it's lowest point
around foundation leaking right into the bulked- bummer

hopefully that sucker isn't rusted out...already

but, theres a company that makes pond liners ok

they last like twenty five years and are very thick
rubber...

you could pull all those pavers ,lay in the rubber mat
then re grade with inexpensive sand
and send the water away and even if it tried to leak back
in and around the bulked ...you can cut and trim the rubberized material
so that it goes up the sides of the bulked just enough to shed
water no matter how hard it rains... of course that means
attaching it to the metal somehow..

sounds kooky i'm sure... but once mold starts growing in an always wet basement
health problems begin and in some cases the
home becomes unlivable and hazardous...

Judging by the snow I'd say that is the north or shady side. 1 remove all pavers.2regrade away from house .3 pitch at least 2" in ten because of shady side of house.(ice) 4after grading, lay down heavy plastic sheeting tight to house.5 O ya the downspout piping should come out off the house and make there right angle bend after they clear the new patio.6follow the pitch down hill about where the snowline is.7use pure sand on top of the plastic to keep from making a hole. install new paver

Its actually called a 'freedom drain'

Wait for the dry season and put the house up for sale and move. Make it another guys problem. Bad drainage can be a nightmare. Just move to a new home that is buit correctly. Your wife will love the new house, it won't leak and you will have more time to go fishing.

If there is a storm drain in front of your house you can pipe the sump pump and gutters right into that, along with changing the slope around your foundation it could take care of your problem.

I would go from point A to point B open ended.I don't like blind drains or perforated pipe,they are temporary.Blind drains inevitably get overwhelmed with debris and stop percolating.Perforated pipe is prone to root infiltration.And please use scheldule 40 ,that thin stuff crumbles under a riding lawn mower.

That's illegal in my town actually, I'd check your local regs first.

-spence

Spence,are you sure? I've worked on several in your area, unless they are grandfathered. Tatoo Bob's way will require the least amount of maintenance and is what I would do if possible.

Spence is right. Absolutely illegal to pipe water into town drain unless permission in some form is given. Most towns do not allow it under any circumstances. Because the next thing you know gray water starts flowing into it as the septic system gets older and can't handle the washing machine water. NOT THAT YOU WOULD DO IT AND I MEAN THAT, BUT YOU'D BE AMAZED AT HOW MANY PEOPLE DO.

If your town is easy on it go for it. It is a great way to do exactly what your trying to do.

sand or stone dust against the plastic to prevent holes in the plastic. after a thin layer use what you want.

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...g?t=1207316828
Carry on.

Strike King, How'd you make out. I do this sort of thing on a golf course quite often PM me if you need any more info.

Tony