Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Building a French Drain for a Gutter Downspout


Long shot of downspout and house drain on the left behind the chainlink fence.
From In the Garden
Houston! We have a problem. Whenever I have a problem I think of those five words because problems are never a good thing. This past weekend I have been moving and dividing hydrangeas. The area under my wisteria arbor was not really a good area for the hydrangeas because each summer the area got so dry I just knew the hydrangeas would die. Since one of my two rhododendrons did die from last summer's drought I thought I might rework this small garden near my northwest downspout. Enter one hydrangea that I made into three by splitting the root ball and I'm all ready to plant-right? Well, that's what I thought but then I remember what the evil dog Lady had done to this garden.
Another angle of the two drain areas prior to digging the downspout trench.
From In the Garden
It really wasn't entirely Lady's fault but her digging up two drains in this garden did not help the situation. You see, one drain led from under the house (visible on the outside of the fence just around the turn of the house from the gutter) and the other drain was from the downspout. Both drains had been installed a long time before we bought the home nearly ten years ago. Both drains were clogged up from silt and dirt and one drain even drained INTO the crawl space under the house! It was a mess and a big problem that had to be fixed before any new planting could take place. I knew about this problem last fall but had been putting it off. Well, the day came.
Long shot of house drain in foreground, Coral Bark J. maple, then the new drainpipe for the gutter in the background.
From In the Garden
Here we see both drains laid out and ready for work. I started with the house drain simply because that was the major issue and the harder one to deal with. When Lady dug up the drain I could clearly see it was sloped toward the house. Not a good way to have a drain sloped at all. In the crawl space of our house where the drain emptied there was a huge pile of dirt. It was all from drainage washing back into the house. I knew the drain was there and that it had an issue but simply had not worked it prior to now so I can only blame myself for the big pile of dirt. After scooping all of the dirt out of the crawlspace I tried to clear the drain. It seems the drain was inserted into the foundation to drain away excess water in case water built up under the house. We've never had an issue with this and I honestly can't find any information on house drains. Very weird, but since the builder had installed the drain we felt it should be installed properly and functional. I cleared the square hole (the drain is round) and found a lot of mud in the foundation. I cleared all of that mud down to the footings and removed the old drain. This drain was not only broken due to Lady's digging but it was a corrugated pipe with drain holes. That explained all of the silt in the pipe. Since this drain is to drain water away from and under the house and would hopefully be used infrequently we decided to put in a solid corrugated pipe. It is the pipe closest to you in the picture above.
Outside shot of house drain.
From In the Garden
Here is where the drain exited from under the house. Did I tell you the two gardens affected by these drainage issues house my very tall and beautiful camellia, a large old PG hydrangea, and my coral bark Japanese maple? Scary times for me but the benefit of being a homeowner and a do it yourselfer is you can take care to consider all plants and other extenuating factors. I don't think any plants were harmed but a very large PG hydrangea had a few roots cuts. PGs are very hardy and tough hydrangeas though so it should be okay.
House drain secured in place with concrete vinyl patcher.
From In the Garden
I cleaned the muck and the mess out of the drain hole and from under the house so that any water under the house would drain from the hole. Mr. Fix-it and I then installed the solid corrugated pipe by cementing it into place using concrete vinyl patcher. Concrete vinyl patcher has no stones in it and is smooth. I also used a concrete bonding agent and waterproofed the foundation in the spot as an extra precaution. I think the concrete will work much better for this drain than mud. On the inside we took a different route. The foundation is about one foot wide so the drain goes all the way through and into the crawlspace. On the inside we used 'Great Stuff' crack sealer. This stuff is water resistant and not  waterproof but in my experience it holds up well. If it deteriorates we will be able to fix the situation as necessary. 


The drain was dug to have a pitch of about 1" per ten feet. The water drained well through the trench because I tested it with my hose on full blast when I was cleaning the mud from the foundation. All that was left for this drain was to fill it in with soil once the concrete cured. Oh, if things were so simple.
Trench from downspout with 1/2 gravel fill and landscape wrap.
From In the Garden
Our chain link fence was the next issue we had to deal with. When we moved here nearly ten years ago we had a chainlink fence installed. I use the term loosely because the installers did a crappy job of installing the fence. The posts next to the house were set too close to the house and hit the footings. Therefore the installers did not sink and cement the corner posts properly. This particular fence post has always been an issue because not only was it not set properly but due to the seepage of the gutter water the cement deteriorated to nothing. We could easily pull the fence post out and the dogs were able to get out if they were so inclined. Mr. Fix-it moved the fence post over a few inches, sunk the post and re-poured the concrete to set the pole properly. Now we could turn our attention to the gutter downspout.
Pipe from downspout with gravel, landscape wrap cocooning the trench and gravel.
From In the Garden
Mr. Fix-it dug a positively drained trench away from the down spout to about 20 feet away while I took the truck and trailer to the quarry. If you have a large amount of drainage rock to buy it is always more economical to buy it in bulk from a quarry. The price at my local quarry is $22 a ton. That is a lot of rock. You'd pay about $3 for one fifty pound bag in your local hardware store. By the time I came home with the gravel it was raining so yet another day was wasted. Finally! Yesterday was the day. I woke early and laid out the landscape fabric in the trench. The landscape fabric is to keep soil and silt from mixing in with the drainage rock and the pipe. For the gutter downspout we used a solid pipe close to the house then transitioned to a perforated corrugated pipe further down. The perforated pipe will allow the water to sink into the ground as well as spilling it out into my garden; which is lower than the house at the bottom of the drain.
Competed project. Don't mind the corrugated pipe-it is extra. Hydrangeas, hostas, brunnera, and ginger are all replanted and the garden bed was lightly mulched with pine straw.
From In the Garden
My job was to fill the trench with the drainage gravel, install the pipe (with a sock already on it to ensure double protection against silt and sand clogging the pipe), backfill on top of the pipe with more drainage gravel then cover the whole trench like wrapping a baby in landscape fabric. Once all was sealed up I was able to fill in the trench with the removed soil and sod. 

Mr. Fix-it came home for lunch and used his come-a-long  to pull the chainlink over to the now stabilized pole. We are ever so happy to have that problem worked out since the evil dog Lady likes to escape the backyard so often. Mr. Fix-it would be heartbroken if that dog ran away so he fixed the fence while I backfilled both trenches and dressed up the garden. 


I added the castle rock with cap in order to raise up that side of the garden and to make a water stop. The drainage ditch with the pipe for the gutter is immediately to the right of the castle rock wall. This is basically how the garden was set up prior to the rework but with no castle rock. This area to the crawlspace door must be kept open or I'd have a garden all the way to the deck; which is on the far right of the picture.


Once everything was backfilled and smoothed out I planted my three hydrangeas around the coral bark Japanese maple and replanted a few other perennials I had in this garden; including brunnera and ginger. I also had a ligularia, pulmonaria and a HUGE hosta in the garden. I'm sad to say not all would fit back into the garden. I managed to squeeze in the hosta and ligularia but not the pulomonaria. It kind of makes me laugh because it reminds me of my husband putting together a machine and having leftover parts. Well-I was the one with leftovers this time. 


We are due a huge thunderstorm with some severe weather on Thursday. I can't wait to see how my new drains work....


in the garden....


Have you ever buried a downspout? And if so please share your experiences!

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

21 comments:

  1. What a project! You and Mr. F seem to have it under control - hope everything works for your next storm. When I first moved in there was standing water every time it rained in the corner of my L shaped house. I ran a perforated drain away from the gutter and around the rose garden to the driveway. Lazily, I've just let vegetation cover it over the years, and it seems to work.

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  2. Wow, Tina. That was a lot of work. I can't wait to see the area after the plants come out this summer. Carla

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  3. I have! Although not to the extent of yours. Our house used to have a downspout that poured at the corner of the house. It couldn't go west because that was the driveway. It couldn't go north because that was a sidewalk to our front door. Well, we knew we would change the garage roof line one day and just move the downspout to the end of the new roof line but in the mean time, we dug out the little concrete sidewalk, buried a large PVC pipe which extends out under the salvia along the driveway and built the limestone walkway over the pipe. We had an opening for the downspout to drain into. Since we've moved the downspout, we capped the opening in the pipe. It is still down there but not used anymore. That downspout made the corner of our basement wet. I can't believe someone thought that was a good idea.
    You did a great job. I hope it all flows like you want with the next rain and that your plants are happy with the shuffling.

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  4. Tina, You and Mr. Fixit are so incredibly handy--I'm impressed. Carolyn

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  5. A lot of work went into that repair! I sure hope I never have to deal with a similar issue - our drain is a couple feet below grade and that would make for a ton of work!

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  6. Wow, Tina--this looks like quite a project to tackle! It looks like you did a great job, though, of improving upon the original drainage. I have a couple downspouts that could use some work, too--I think I'll show this post to Mr. Procrastinator.

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  7. Cyndy, Don't those drains work great? I just suggested the same to a friend of mine. I hope they do it because as your experience shows they really work.

    Carla, What a weekend! Yesterday was rough though. I spent the whole day out there moving gravel and still don't have it all complete. So glad I could take a break and come and see you all! I have my post scheduled for Freitag! A good German word for John and Catie;)

    GSS, You were most smart! and with that PVC pipe there if you ever wanted to run wires or irrigation you are set! What a great idea and very responsible. Water drainage by the house is not good.

    Carolyn, Thanks. It was a huge job. Now I have to do the other side of the house. Urgh! That will be worse because we have some other pipes to run.

    Dave, It is a rough thing dealing with these drains. So you have one under the house too? I wonder what they are really there for? I'll email you offline.

    Rose, The job only took about two full days so not so bad. It's such a good feeling having it done and away from the house now. It might motivate Mr. P!

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  8. I hope it works great. Especially after all that digging! We had to do a similiar trench in our front yard as well. It works and no more flooding in our basement.

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  9. That sounds like a lot of work! But whatever it takes to have harmony with the fur babies, fences and water drainage. Funny, when I have an issue at home, I call the Saint at work and say, “Houston, we have a problem” I have done that for years!

    We don’t have a drainage problem with our downspouts because we don’t have gutters and downspouts! That did not seem to be a standard thing on houses down here in the era our house was built. Newly constructed houses have gutters. We have talked about installing gutters for years but have yet to tackle that project. I keep waiting for the roof to be replaced thinking we can knock both projects out at the same time.

    Another funny, When the Saint works on our cars, he always ends up with extra parts too. I say that some day we will be driving down the street and we will loose our engine due to left over bolts and the such! LOL

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  10. You all are amazing! What a job! Good for you, we had a French Drain put in by the builder while the house was under construction. Great asset to keep the house dry.

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  11. Whew!!!! I am all tuckered out from just reading this post. I am not surprised by that huge project as you have always been such a hard worker.

    The liner around the pipe was a good idea and you said landscape frabic. Was it the real frabic or the plastic? Nana had both in her flower garden (where my veggie garden now is) and I can tell you after all these years, 24 years since she gardened, I am still pulling pieces of it out of the ground. The plastic kind is in much bigger pieces. It just does not break down. She must be looking down with horror as when it came to recycling and saving the land she was way ahead of most other people. I can remember her recycling what she could back in the late 40's and it was pretty much unheard of back then. In fact I do not even remember the word "recycling" back then. However, looking back on things, that is exacty what she did. I try to do what I can for our good world but I guess what I am saying is that if you used the plastic, it will do the job forever. Even if I would NEVER, EVER use plastic for a garden, I would have used it for that job. Man, I do know how to ramble!!!

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  12. Oh my. All this work, I mean improvement. It makes me think of the two feet of snow outside which deters me from thinking about any yard projects. :)

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  13. Oh I feel your pain! We haven't buried a downspout, but we have put in a french drain--plus we have all kinds of drainage problems. When we know it is going to rain, we have to hook up extra down spouts in the back to direct the overflow out to the french drain. What a mess!! Good luck with your job...ugh...such hard work!

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  14. Hello all. Tina that was some job. I've had that done at the old place & it does work. I hope this upcoming rain will let you see just how nice it will do. I think I need to do the same thing here. There were no gutters here when we moved in but later they were added. Then some of the neighbors added them to their homes. Almost like follow the leader. lol

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  15. I know that was a lot of work, but you'll be so glad you did it! Ever since we built the French drain around the top of my garden, it hasn't flooded-- no erosion this winter! :-)

    Most of our downspouts on the front of the house are buried and are routed to the dry stream bed to channel the water. We buried the ones on the east side and those run UNDER the patio that we built and off to the other side. Never have had a problem with that.

    At our previous home, we were in a neighborhood where buried downspouts were required and had pop-ups on the end that dispersed the water. We saw how it was done by seeing what our landscaper did!

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  16. Rosey, So glad your trench works. I hope mine will too.

    Skeeter, I think that saying might be an iconic saying for our generation. Trying to remember where it came from. I remember you showing me you had no gutters. I really like mine and hate it if they overflow-therein lies the rub, you must clean them. Urgh. More work. Guys! Always leftover parts.

    Janet, Smart thinking when building your house. They sure seem to help alot.

    Mom, Yup, I sure remember Nana sending me out back to dump her coffee grounds and other organic wastes. She was a super good gardener and I can only now appreciate it as her gardens were really BIG. The 'fabric is a weak vinyl like fabric that breathes. Commonly landscape fabrics are fiber mesh or this vinyl and all allow water to seep through. Not like days gone by when it was straight plastic. And yes, the landscapers fabric lasts forever. What a mess if you ever have to pull it up like you know. I only use it in hardscape situations or like in this case with the trench. Never in gardens. Brian and I pulled one too many shrubs that were embedded in it and all the mulch to make me ever think of using it.

    troutbirder, I almost think I'd enjoy those two feet of snow-it means relax and garden shows for me! You enjoy it as soon spring will be here.

    Linda, I remember you installing the new drain last year when that tree came down. Drainage is an awful thing. I hope your drain is working well. It sounds like it is.

    Lola, That's great everyone began installing gutters. Any improvement to my neighbor's house is an improvement to my house I think. Gutters directed away from the house and not on a neighbor's house are the way to go.

    Cameron, Those French drains really do work well. It's amazing to watch the water disappear into one. I have seen those upspouts but didn't use one here, though I might add one later. I have both drains draining into a garden edge where all will flow downhill. I hope it works well and doesn't beat up the garden too much. We'll see tomorrow.

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  17. Great project Tina. I read it with interest because my neighbor has been talking about installing one of these between our homes. They have a big problem with flooding (during the few rain storms we get each year) and I had no idea how it was done. It looks very labor intensive but certainly worth it in the end. It's wonderful you and your hubby are so industrious and handy. Hope you never have to worry about fence or water problems again!

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  18. What a big task and a great post you wrote on it. I was curious about the term "French drain", not being familiar with it, and looked it up to find it was named after an American named Henry French who wrote a book on farm drainage - i.e. it has nothing to do with France. Good luck weathering that first storm as a test. Your hydrangeas will be ever-grateful. Barbara

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  19. Big important project Tina. I'm sure the drains work great and I'm sure your PG hydrangea will be fine too. They are hardy in my zone 3 garden :)

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  20. Tina, the saying is from the Space missions at NASA space centers, When they called back from space with issues. Houston, we have a problem.....

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  21. You two are hard workers! I know if going in crawl spaces is no fun, especially if you're trying to get mud out. We need to do some work on our downspouts. We found out they go underground to nowhere, basically just empty next to our house.

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