We Install & Repair French Drain Systems
Drainage is a huge problem for many property owners. If your property has poor drainage you’ve probably experienced water pooling up on your property where you don’t want it to. If your property is sloped, or has low-spots, then the water can collect and pool up in the low areas and cause damage to your property and in some cases a huge inconvenience. French drains are a centuries old way of dealing with excess surface water and when planned out and installed correctly, they are very effective.
Why Do You Need A French Drain Installed?
- Is water pooling up along your property line?
- Do you have water pooling in your yard?
- Tired of getting into your car in a big puddle of water?
- Is water leaking into your basement?
Prosperity Lawn & Landscape is a licensed and insured landscaping contractor based out of Centreville, Virginia. We specialize in the installation of french drains to help property owners solve their drainage and pooling water problems. We can walk your property with you to discuss your drainage problems and come up with a solution that will solve your problem.
So What Exactly Is A French Drain?
There are actually different types of french drains but for our purpose we’re going to talk about the french drain system that is used primarily for landscaping. The french drain is a drainage solution that is extremely effective at dealing with excess surface water or water pooling up on your property.
A french drain is a very simple trench usually 2′ deep with a gravel base and lightly sloped in the direction you’d like the water to flow. On top of the gravel lies a perforated drainage pipe for the water to easily enter and be channeled away from your problem area. The trench can be lined with landscape fabric over top of the pipe to prevent solids from entering and clogging up the drain. The trench is then back filled with drainage rock (gravel).
You can also build a french drain without the perforated pipe, just filling the trench with gravel and this is often referred to as a drainage swale. Either solution works to solve drainage problems but their use can depend on a variety of factors such as how much water you’re trying to redirect, what type of soil conditions you have, and how sloped your property is.
3 Things To Know About French Drains
- French drains can be back filled with various types of gravel or rock depending on how much water we’re dealing with and what type of aesthetic look you’d like to achieve. River rock and drainage are popular solutions and work great for dealing with lots of water. If your french drain is going to be covered up by lawn or garden then we can use regular gravel which is slightly less expensive then decorative river rock or drainage rock but still equally effective.
- We’ll need to consider where the water is going to go. While some of the water will seep into the ground along the length of the french drain, the majority of the water is going to be channeled through the drain and it must end up somewhere. In most cases it’s against municipal by-laws to tie a french drain into city storm drains. Instead we usually try and route the water somewhere that it won’t cause a problem or we route it into a man made swale or drainage pond.
- In order to make the best decision for your french drain it’s really good if we can see the property after a good rainfall when the problem is showing itself. If we can’t be there, photos or video are also very helpful in guiding us to design a french drain solution that is really going to solve your problem.
If you’d like to schedule a consultation to discuss the possibility of installing a french drain on your property we’d be happy to meet with you. Please call (703) 901-1301 or fill out our online form and we’ll get right back to you.
