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We put one of these in a few years ago. Every time it rained or we washed off our patio the water would cover most of our patio and leave dirt and debris behind when it dried. We were going to use the plastic liner that was used in this video but when we got about two feet down we discovered a layer of sand. Maybe we're on top of an ancient riverbed. Regardless, it looked to us that the sand would provide such good drainage the we didn't need the plastic liner. We dug down about another foot, put in the cloth and then filled the hole with gravel. It worked great. We had some of the heaviest rain we've ever had this year. The water rose just to the edge of our patio and then receded almost immediately after the rain stopped. The alternative was to install a long drain pipe around our house to the street. To say the least this way was massively cheaper and we are doing our part to recharge the groundwater :).
A tip i leared on filling in trenches is to use a garden hose as you fill back. we try fill about 1/3 of the trench then fill it with water and use spades to break up clods, work them up and down like you are getting out air bubbles in concrete, fill another third repeat and then top it off with last bit of dirt, spasde it again. you are basically making mud. then when using the spades up and down you are compacting it, then lay they sod on top and press in with rake and then tamp down. once tapped down and water has drained off clean the dirt off the grass with a spray nozzel, a few days later you cant even tell you were there. Love the video, always good to learn something new
This is exactly what I was looking for. I needed a way to drain from the house...where my house didn't have much grade, and there was no other drainage system to pipe into - thanks.
Same here! The drainage age system I’m working with was an old gravel filled gravity drain but after 25 years the Notorious red clay from up here has made it’s home in the gravel bed so my original thought was the contractor that built this home never installed any drain, a flow test of the gutter nearest the flooding area had the test water bubbling up other side of the retainer wall under ground apparently the erosion pushed right over the exit pipe and Buried it many years ago. Client just put in a $35k drive way that cuts me off from the street drain and much like this site in the video the water will flow back and with the clay water just sits there so I’ve done the same except I also dug my French tench 35” deep and laid the material gravel and drain up high this doe two thing it gives me the ability to manipulate my grade since it’s flat and or running back to the house this also (and most importantly imo) gives me another “holding tank” for the water to fill since to 40 gal one does not seem sufficiently sized to me plus I believe it will give the water more Time to leach into the water table and or soil. I’m no expert we do fencing and handyman services but the client asked. Oh I also put a Chanel drain in the cement patio where it’s start the flooding. I hope this all was correct thought or suggestions anyone?
Can't wait to see a follow up video. Tip - throw in a little rubber duckie or random floating toy so you can easily see the water level in the dry well during your next big rain!
I've done two drywells at my house. I used two 5 gallon buckets spliced together and filled with pea gravel. I have a popup that releases excess water during heavy rain storms.
I have the flat yard, and a spring under ground. I just bought this home. It was built in 1953 and the one's that built it {lol} lived there until this past November.
Scott, this comment is not related to this video. I just wanted to say thank you for making the video using SPAX screws. I recently completed a home improvement project and I decided to give the SPAX screws a try. Totally awesome screws!! I did not have to predrill holes into wood and the screws did not strip. I used Milwaukee shockwave impact duty square #1 bit along with the SPAX screws and not one screw stripped. Again, thank you for all your videos!!
yes mounding the sod after you fill in the trench is very good tip, I have seen many low spots that cross entire fields because it will sink over time as it compacts back down. On one note it is easy to identify your irrigation or drainage, on another note it is an eye sore. very good tips
Former civil engineer here. That drywell at roughly 50 gallons (6.8 CF) capacity will only be able to hold about 40 SF of roof area assuming a 2" rainfall. That's obviously way less than the roof section you're trying to capture but your ultimate goal is to get the runoff water away from the foundation, so as long as the drywell has a way for the additional flow to escape, you're accomplishing your goal. Edit: I'll add, I am in an area that has some stringent runoff capture and recharge requirements due to the impact excessive runoff has on bacteria levels in our local waterways. When I was doing site design work or reviews for local home development projects, you would typically see drywells on the order of 8' to 20' diameter at 10, 20 or more feet deep to properly capture runoff and contain it on the property.
Thanks Steve, yeah I wanted to keep some of the water on the lawn for the surrounding trees but you are right the overflow will start pretty quickly after a significant rain as the soil also does not have good percolation. Will be interested to monitor over the next few rains but I am confident the water should flow away from the house.
Your right on the money. Dry wells are usually a joke. They have to be so large that they are usually not a reasonable solution on a residential property. A well made and designed sump pump basin is they right way to go.
@@u2mister17 If there is enough slope to drain the pipe with gravity, then correct: there is no reason to use a sump pump basin (and especially not a dry well since they are impractical or impossible in most situations to begin with). But in a situation where there isn't a desirable amount of slope available, a horizontal sump pump basin 4 feet or longer is the way to go.
That depends on the soil type. Flo-well's website has a calculator. If the soil itself is not good at drainage such as clay soil, then the flo-well system will not work.
Honestly it is pretty tough anywhere to find a contractor that will do a good job helping you with drainage. If your lawn has a nice slope it isn't bad but if you have a flat lawn such as this there is some planning involved which is were finding good help really becomes tough.
First check if the street is lower than the down spout, if it is lower then add soil around the foundation run two 6-inch side by side with a splitter that connects to a scheduled 40 directed to the road, may have go under OR place a drainage in the sidewalk with a plastic or stainless steel that you can step on as you walk or roll across the sidewalk the drainage that allows drainage to the street. On a heavy down pour one 6 inch drain pipe on gravity flow will NOT handle the water. You must reshape the front yard then re-seed the front yard. This will resolve this issue forever. One thing put a check valve at the end or one foot in from the end to prevent rodents from building a nest and wash out your line every spring.
a major drawback of using this type of non perforated corrugated drain pipe is that when it clogs (as it invariably will at some time) it can not be rodded out without damage to the pipe. Although slightly more expensive it is better to use the white smooth wall non-corrugated perforated drain pipe (perforations down). Generally both types of perforated pipe are bedded in gravel so that the pipe also acts to diffuse the water for absorption into the ground. Sometimes a nylon sock with gravel surrounding the pipe is used.
Thanks a lot, you cover every little step, Very important like living the grass an inch higher. Every video is well informed, I’m a maintenance engineer an I like every little tile detail you cover on every one of your videos, once again thank you very much
Good to see there are so many legitimate solutions to poor drainage & ponding water problems. Had a friend that encountered this problem due to uphill neighbor unpermitted ill-concieved 'improvements' that ended up dumping the water in his backyard and flooding out the foundation. After being denied insurance claims & corrective measures from local code enforcement, he tried to sue neighbor, did not prevail in any MEANINGFUL way then spiraled out of control and took his own life. Sad situation. Needless to say it is/would be a better expenditure of resources to have built a drainage system than to WASTE all the time and money on attorneys and court costs, not to mention the enmity and endless harassment by city gubmint officials due to friendly connections & preferential relations to the uphill neighbor. Bottom line: drainage systems WORK, the legal system DOESN'T!!
Thanks for the series! We're in the middle of closing on my first house and noticed the downspouts just unleash right by the foundation. Unfortunately there is a concrete driveway just a foot or two directly beside it. Looking at digging a trench parallel to the driveway to the backyard where there's a steep slope and let it drain that way. As a non handy-man person, these videos are making me feel comfortable in knowing what to do when I get started!
Sounds like a good idea..hope it worked. Had something similar in my home. Ran 6 in pvc pipe along with 4 12in catch basins connected with 2 downspouts to drain towards the curb. With all the summer rain we get here in southwest Texas, it helps.
look how neat your work is. plastic under soil, carefully removed patches of the lawn. wow. I wish my sprinkler contractors did the same. but instead half year later I still have hobbit trails across my yard 😀
I guess success will depend on the permeability of the soil, and the volume of water. I have a drywell, and it gets overwhelmed pretty easily in a big rain, and it's a lot bigger than this one featured, but it serves my entire roof. Ultimately my solution was to create overflows with pop ups out at the sidewalk. In a severe rain, they pop open and GUSH water because the entire system is full, but at least it isn't going under my house.
in construction we called it a rock pile and dug them 6 feet long 3 to 4 feet wide, 4 ft deep filled them with gravel and ran the drain tile into the middle did it on swampy lots to run even drain tile in the yard to the pit depends on how much water you have to deal with
Home builder for 41 years the black corrugated pipe always ends up with leaves and twigs and get stopped up and it will be useless very soon use schedule 40 PVC not the cheap thin stuff any traffic in the yard will crush the thin stuff and you're saving very little money your dry well is definitely too small all you going to do is move you wet spot somewhere else adding dirt to the foundation raises the level next to the foundation makes termites situation worse
40 PVC is a huge pain to deal with compared to the green, thinner pvc intended for lawns. I did a run with it a few years ago and it was a waste of money and time; requires a much more perfect trench because it doesn’t flex, for one thing. Welding 4” is less forgiving as well. Properly packed into the trench the green stuff is fine because it cannot compress without also pushing soil outwards. Agree on smooth wall!
Just rent a mini ex and dig a large trench behind the dry well you installed. Install infiltrator sewer chambers. Maybe 10 feet. Pour gravel all around and over it. Run a 4 inch pipe from your existing dry well over to the infiltrators in new trench (which are a little lower grade). Your just boosting it with more capacity and drain ability with what I'm suggesting. But adjust it to fit the size of yard you are dealing with....
Absolutely correct. In 2010 my grandpa used 4in thin wall all around the drive way for drainage. It's now in an oval shape and very brittle. I dug it up and it cracked by stepping on it. I only use 40, and it's absolutely worth the time and extra few bucks. Thin wall underground will not last. All situations are different, but it is best to be safe than sorry.
@@jimbo2325 No Monday morning quarterback, just 40 years in the landscaping business. I've seen lots of failed drainage systems that used the wrong stone, but you apparently don't know anything about that. Before commenting, learn the facts.
This perfectly summarizes the best and worst of the Internet right here. The benefit of a massive base of individual experience, combined with needless antisocial pecking at each other.
This video gives me hope. Some big named companies want to do expensive encapsulation or their patented drain systems that are equivalent to a car note. Considering my home is old and has buried drain pipes (probably old and broken), I would much rather give this a try instead of spending thousands. Plus I have those annoying drain flies, which I'm sure are coming from the crawl space and water entering/backing up. 😬 Thanks for sharing this video.
I live in south Florida, close to the ocean, close to the beach, so my house sits on sand. No issues with drainage. Issues with rainwater eroding the foundation beds under the eaves. You've inspired me to install gutters and direct the rainwater to the middle of the yard into a dry well. I also have plans to install an outdoor urinal, the discharge line to terminate close to the property line into a dry well. A bucket of water to flush the urinal and a dedicated downspout to wash-out the drain line. The issue at the moment, since I don't buy anything new if I don't have to, is to locate a discarded urinal.
I put in a dry well out of a 5 gallon bucket 🪣 years ago. We used an automotive funnel connected to flexible hose which changes over to 1/2" sch 40 PVC and then 90's to a 1/2" P-Trap and then connects to the 5 gallon bucket with lid. I have holes drilled out in it and then it sits in landscaping material and backfilled with rock for drainage. No issues whatsoever. Me and my 3 boys use it practically daily next to and behind our shed in the backyard. It has served us very well. Very practical and no mess or fuss. Sometimes I'll rinse a little bleach down and that's it. Have a good one.
Black corrugated above grade is terrible looking at the house. Schedule 40 or thinner at the gutter downspout in white with a clean out right at grade with a threaded clean out would have be much nicer looking
For down spouts is better solid corrugated pipe or perforated. I saw a video where they added two pipes one solid for down spouts and one perforated for the yard..
dig a hole the size of a bin and fill it with broken brick, rocks, pea gravel, crushed pop cans, and sharp sand and top it off with 5-inches of topsoil and that's it, for 20 feet in every direction your ground will be bone dry, its called a field drain and is the oldest method for drying land, make sure your hole goes down past the clay level, that's what keeping your land wet, no pipes, gutters, drains catchment funnels, just a big hole filled with rubble,
does this work with flat grade? we have standing water in our backyard as our yard is flat and we are the lowest of the homes around us. would the ground have to be pitched toward the hole?
1:59 I had that problem before i moved, but with my main sewer drain, because I noticed the tree in my front yard looked more happy than normal and when I went to power auger the main drain, the line was full of mud water, so good thing that is the new owner’s problem
How do you dig that length and know you are at a 1 1/2 degree pitch? And that pipe is deep enough that it will not get crush if something heavy goes over it? Would love to do this at my house ,but at this age and limited funds it is not in the cards.
Some good tips. Thanks. 1. If that is clay soil, I have my doubts that that pit will handle the capacity. 2. In cold weather when the ground around the pit freezes it will absorb very little water unless you get below the frost line. On a sunny day when it is not real cold roof snow will melt, run into the pipe and the pit and freeze. Then the downspouts and gutters will backup and later freeze. Possible solution is to install a much larger pit or to dig the pit down below the frost line and, with some luck, maybe even reach some sandy soil.
From my watching other youtube video's, another thing would have been to bring dirt in to place around the edge of the house. This would force the water to run away from the house. It would involve a fair bit of work though, taking the garden out around the edge of the house putting soil in to create the fall, then putting the garden back in.
If have one in the corner of my backyard, which is a natural low spot. It works well, but it is not perfect. 2 or 3 times a year it over flows. At least it is easy to pump down a couple of inches so there is no water above ground.
Does the sub pump has to be plugged al the time. I have one at home but I don’t have any knowledge about it. Your video helped me to understand what is use for🙏
curious as to what you installed. it looks undersized for the volume of water (sf at 2" rain/hr in typical locations) which adds quite a bit of cf area required. last, the 1.5% = 3/16" pitch on pipe which is a bit less than the 1/4" required in most areas
If you are in a location that freezes, should there not be an air gap between the down spout and the drain pipe in case the drain pipe freezes the down spout can still empty rather than create a column of ice going all the way up to the gutters. I have also seen where they put a parallel grid so that any leaf litter or twigs that come down the down spout will be directed to the ground rather than allowed to enter the drain pipe.
Sump pump system to day light go under the sidewalk inches away from the street away from the property for good I had the same problem at my house 🏡 called 4 drainage contractors it seem I knew more then them from a lot of research 🔬 on line n they wanted 10 grand⛈they all said the same thing after we get done u will need to hire a landscaper to rake it n seed it 🤦🏽♂️more money 💰 I decided to hire a few guy’s to dig the 100 trench I did the rest by my self All in with materials n laborers 4 thousand n u can’t tell any work was done at all 100 foot French drain a few catch basins n sump pump system to the street 🎯💯🤙🏽
Solid pipe only for downspout runoff. Backfilling with soil is ok for THAT application only!NOTE: FOR DRAINAGE OF YARD PONDING: Your runoff MUST empty into a lower drainage swale, or a lower basin/sump pit. Most pros recommend lining the trench with geotech fabric, perforated black drain pipe goes down next, then cover with 3/4 stone. Then wrap remaining fabric over stone and secure with landscape staples. Never backfill with soil. If you remove sod with a sod cutter, roll it in 2-3 foot sections. Replace sod right on top of fabric. It will grow back green, it did for me! The perforations in the corrugated pipe used in this video will be clogged within a year. See videos from Gate City Drainage and French Drainman on UA-cam on the subject to get it done correctly.
do you have the lid of the dry well at grade? might be better to put the well a few inches deeper in the ground and stub up the emitter. that will give you more room for dirt and grass
In th UK we actually put proper 4inch clay pipe drains in from the home locator the main sewer in the street. I always wondered why you in the US dont do this why is that.
In the winter, your pipe may slowly build up with layers of ice and eventually block up flow to the well. I had a similar problem this past winter (and spent 3 hours boiling water and de-icing until midnight). Any thoughts on how to winterize this drainage system?
In the northeast, does this system have to be below the frost line? That would be at least 36" at the starting point, then grade it down. Lots of digging. I'd love for this to go all the way to my curb.
@@jimc3688 agree with Jim. I am in New York and I run smooth landscape grade (thinner) PVC they sell at Lowe’s. All but one of mine drain to daylight. I’ve never had a problem with ice backup. I have one that drains to a green pop up like in this video and it does fine as well: it has a small hole in its elbow that slowly drains into the soil. Even tho it drains really slowly it’s enough to drain after any rain before temps drop and free what is standing in it. Btw mine are about 4” below soil surface.
Does the landscape fabric cover the pipe does it go underneath the pipe and you add rocks and then cover the top with the fabric and then add rocks again.?
I need to do this to my house as I have discovered that water is getting in under my house going through at the crawl space access door. The issue I am going to have is where I need to lead the water out to there is my main water line and also sewer line. I am concerned that if I dig down as much as you did to install the drywell that I might be hitting my water line or sewer line. Do you have suggestions or other options that could deal with this?
Nice work... except I think the permeability of the soil surrounding the basin should have been excavated further and replaced, maybe with sand. Depending on the amount of water it could just fill up once the soil becomes super saturated. But still a better solution that what the homeowner had. The other point is the basin is situated where the grade begins to naturally slope away, so that helps.
great project but you should had shown then process of connecting and then laying the tubing. also were rocks laid under the extended tubing. again, thanks for the video
It might help in his case. But I did that and didn't help because my house is located near drain storm and gets water from house as well as other neighbors. A French drain with corrugated pipes all the way to a perforated corrugated pipe with two small wells running to storm drain solved my problem.
Hey Jason, water isn’t coming through the wall into the basement. Instead there is a French drain along the outside parameter of the basement which drains any water through the drain pipe into a sump pump well which then gets pumped out. Just trying to dry the ground a bit outside the foundation wall to reduce the work the sump pump is doing. Should work but we shall see if a few months 🤞
This is what I would like to do on my property too. My plan is to connect my sump pump to the downspouts and to create a French drain at the back of my lot. The one issue I am concerned about though are the pipes under the ground for gas, electric, etc. I had a utility company locate the utility lines a few years ago and it seemed like they were going to interfere with where I want to dig my trench for the corrugated pipe. Just curious, but did you rent a trench digger for this project?
RE:jeffthewhiff. Use caution connecting downspouts to sump pump. ua-cam.com/video/z9WysbvNDEs/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/tvZXJUE9rt8/v-deo.html You can use a trenching machine but just hand dig when you get close to utilities. Then map out all the lines for future reference or for the next homeowner.
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We put one of these in a few years ago. Every time it rained or we washed off our patio the water would cover most of our patio and leave dirt and debris behind when it dried. We were going to use the plastic liner that was used in this video but when we got about two feet down we discovered a layer of sand. Maybe we're on top of an ancient riverbed. Regardless, it looked to us that the sand would provide such good drainage the we didn't need the plastic liner. We dug down about another foot, put in the cloth and then filled the hole with gravel. It worked great. We had some of the heaviest rain we've ever had this year. The water rose just to the edge of our patio and then receded almost immediately after the rain stopped.
The alternative was to install a long drain pipe around our house to the street. To say the least this way was massively cheaper and we are doing our part to recharge the groundwater :).
This is exactly my situation, plans, and philosophy!
A tip i leared on filling in trenches is to use a garden hose as you fill back. we try fill about 1/3 of the trench then fill it with water and use spades to break up clods, work them up and down like you are getting out air bubbles in concrete, fill another third repeat and then top it off with last bit of dirt, spasde it again. you are basically making mud. then when using the spades up and down you are compacting it, then lay they sod on top and press in with rake and then tamp down. once tapped down and water has drained off clean the dirt off the grass with a spray nozzel, a few days later you cant even tell you were there. Love the video, always good to learn something new
I like this idea I’m gonna use it
This is exactly what I was looking for. I needed a way to drain from the house...where my house didn't have much grade, and there was no other drainage system to pipe into - thanks.
Same here! The drainage age system I’m working with was an old gravel filled gravity drain but after 25 years the Notorious red clay from up here has made it’s home in the gravel bed so my original thought was the contractor that built this home never installed any drain, a flow test of the gutter nearest the flooding area had the test water bubbling up other side of the retainer wall under ground apparently the erosion pushed right over the exit pipe and Buried it many years ago. Client just put in a $35k drive way that cuts me off from the street drain and much like this site in the video the water will flow back and with the clay water just sits there so I’ve done the same except I also dug my French tench 35” deep and laid the material gravel and drain up high this doe two thing it gives me the ability to manipulate my grade since it’s flat and or running back to the house this also (and most importantly imo) gives me another “holding tank” for the water to fill since to 40 gal one does not seem sufficiently sized to me plus I believe it will give the water more Time to leach into the water table and or soil. I’m no expert we do fencing and handyman services but the client asked. Oh I also put a Chanel drain in the cement patio where it’s start the flooding. I hope this all was correct thought or suggestions anyone?
Can't wait to see a follow up video. Tip - throw in a little rubber duckie or random floating toy so you can easily see the water level in the dry well during your next big rain!
tarp down , sod and dirt separated , impressive , simple prep made this job
I've done two drywells at my house. I used two 5 gallon buckets spliced together and filled with pea gravel. I have a popup that releases excess water during heavy rain storms.
How much water does it hold with all of the pea gravel?
A buried 55 gallon drum would work too. Fill it with gravel. Top it with geotxtile fabric so dirt can't fill in between the spaces.
I have the flat yard, and a spring under ground. I just bought this home. It was built in 1953 and the one's that built it {lol} lived there until this past November.
We had one of these installed and it created a giant sinkhole
Lol
Scott, this comment is not related to this video. I just wanted to say thank you for making the video using SPAX screws. I recently completed a home improvement project and I decided to give the SPAX screws a try. Totally awesome screws!! I did not have to predrill holes into wood and the screws did not strip. I used Milwaukee shockwave impact duty square #1 bit along with the SPAX screws and not one screw stripped. Again, thank you for all your videos!!
If you think SPAX are great I highly recommend you try GRKs. In my opinion they are worth the cost and even better than SPAX.
You're a great communicator. Super easy to understand everything. Nothing missed!👏
I hope I never need all of that. Just watched from today's (11/7/2023) *DIY Guide To Installing Gutters.* Thanks, Scott.
Would have really liked to see the finished product in action at the ending. Great video.
yes mounding the sod after you fill in the trench is very good tip, I have seen many low spots that cross entire fields because it will sink over time as it compacts back down. On one note it is easy to identify your irrigation or drainage, on another note it is an eye sore. very good tips
Former civil engineer here. That drywell at roughly 50 gallons (6.8 CF) capacity will only be able to hold about 40 SF of roof area assuming a 2" rainfall. That's obviously way less than the roof section you're trying to capture but your ultimate goal is to get the runoff water away from the foundation, so as long as the drywell has a way for the additional flow to escape, you're accomplishing your goal.
Edit: I'll add, I am in an area that has some stringent runoff capture and recharge requirements due to the impact excessive runoff has on bacteria levels in our local waterways. When I was doing site design work or reviews for local home development projects, you would typically see drywells on the order of 8' to 20' diameter at 10, 20 or more feet deep to properly capture runoff and contain it on the property.
Thanks Steve, yeah I wanted to keep some of the water on the lawn for the surrounding trees but you are right the overflow will start pretty quickly after a significant rain as the soil also does not have good percolation. Will be interested to monitor over the next few rains but I am confident the water should flow away from the house.
Your right on the money. Dry wells are usually a joke. They have to be so large that they are usually not a reasonable solution on a residential property. A well made and designed sump pump basin is they right way to go.
@@High-Flow-Drainage-Solutions
Pumping water is the last resort. Yes this will be overflowing but if the water runs away from the house....
@@u2mister17 If there is enough slope to drain the pipe with gravity, then correct: there is no reason to use a sump pump basin (and especially not a dry well since they are impractical or impossible in most situations to begin with). But in a situation where there isn't a desirable amount of slope available, a horizontal sump pump basin 4 feet or longer is the way to go.
That depends on the soil type. Flo-well's website has a calculator. If the soil itself is not good at drainage such as clay soil, then the flo-well system will not work.
Boy, how such drainage experts are needed in Southern Oregon. A wasteland of contractors.
Honestly it is pretty tough anywhere to find a contractor that will do a good job helping you with drainage. If your lawn has a nice slope it isn't bad but if you have a flat lawn such as this there is some planning involved which is were finding good help really becomes tough.
First check if the street is lower than the down spout, if it is lower then add soil around the foundation run two 6-inch side by side with a splitter that connects to a scheduled 40 directed to the road, may have go under OR place a drainage in the sidewalk with a plastic or stainless steel that you can step on as you walk or roll across the sidewalk the drainage that allows drainage to the street. On a heavy down pour one 6 inch drain pipe on gravity flow will NOT handle the water. You must reshape the front yard then re-seed the front yard. This will resolve this issue forever. One thing put a check valve at the end or one foot in from the end to prevent rodents from building a nest and wash out your line every spring.
a major drawback of using this type of non perforated corrugated drain pipe is that when it clogs (as it invariably will at some time) it can not be rodded out without damage to the pipe. Although slightly more expensive it is better to use the white smooth wall non-corrugated perforated drain pipe (perforations down). Generally both types of perforated pipe are bedded in gravel so that the pipe also acts to diffuse the water for absorption into the ground. Sometimes a nylon sock with gravel surrounding the pipe is used.
Thanks a lot, you cover every little step, Very important like living the grass an inch higher. Every video is well informed, I’m a maintenance engineer an I like every little tile detail you cover on every one of your videos, once again thank you very much
Good to see there are so many legitimate solutions to poor drainage & ponding water problems. Had a friend that encountered this problem due to uphill neighbor unpermitted ill-concieved 'improvements' that ended up dumping the water in his backyard and flooding out the foundation. After being denied insurance claims & corrective measures from local code enforcement, he tried to sue neighbor, did not prevail in any MEANINGFUL way then spiraled out of control and took his own life. Sad situation. Needless to say it is/would be a better expenditure of resources to have built a drainage system than to WASTE all the time and money on attorneys and court costs, not to mention the enmity and endless harassment by city gubmint officials due to friendly connections & preferential relations to the uphill neighbor. Bottom line: drainage systems WORK, the legal system DOESN'T!!
Jesus Christ bro lol
Thanks for the series! We're in the middle of closing on my first house and noticed the downspouts just unleash right by the foundation. Unfortunately there is a concrete driveway just a foot or two directly beside it. Looking at digging a trench parallel to the driveway to the backyard where there's a steep slope and let it drain that way.
As a non handy-man person, these videos are making me feel comfortable in knowing what to do when I get started!
Nice! Best of luck on the project. Sometimes it takes a few iterations and several rainstorms to get it right 👍
Sounds like a good idea..hope it worked. Had something similar in my home. Ran 6 in pvc pipe along with 4 12in catch basins connected with 2 downspouts to drain towards the curb. With all the summer rain we get here in southwest Texas, it helps.
Well thought out and explained :)
look how neat your work is. plastic under soil, carefully removed patches of the lawn. wow. I wish my sprinkler contractors did the same. but instead half year later I still have hobbit trails across my yard 😀
I guess success will depend on the permeability of the soil, and the volume of water. I have a drywell, and it gets overwhelmed pretty easily in a big rain, and it's a lot bigger than this one featured, but it serves my entire roof. Ultimately my solution was to create overflows with pop ups out at the sidewalk. In a severe rain, they pop open and GUSH water because the entire system is full, but at least it isn't going under my house.
in construction we called it a rock pile and dug them 6 feet long 3 to 4 feet wide, 4 ft deep filled them with gravel and ran the drain tile into the middle did it on swampy lots to run even drain tile in the yard to the pit depends on how much water you have to deal with
Landscape fabric over/around that corrugated pipe though, right? Otherwise it'll eventually get enough dirt inside to reduce performance?
Home builder for 41 years the black corrugated pipe always ends up with leaves and twigs and get stopped up and it will be useless very soon use schedule 40 PVC not the cheap thin stuff any traffic in the yard will crush the thin stuff and you're saving very little money your dry well is definitely too small all you going to do is move you wet spot somewhere else adding dirt to the foundation raises the level next to the foundation makes termites situation worse
Thanks for the feedback Keith!
40 PVC is a huge pain to deal with compared to the green, thinner pvc intended for lawns. I did a run with it a few years ago and it was a waste of money and time; requires a much more perfect trench because it doesn’t flex, for one thing. Welding 4” is less forgiving as well. Properly packed into the trench the green stuff is fine because it cannot compress without also pushing soil outwards. Agree on smooth wall!
Just rent a mini ex and dig a large trench behind the dry well you installed. Install infiltrator sewer chambers. Maybe 10 feet. Pour gravel all around and over it. Run a 4 inch pipe from your existing dry well over to the infiltrators in new trench (which are a little lower grade). Your just boosting it with more capacity and drain ability with what I'm suggesting. But adjust it to fit the size of yard you are dealing with....
Absolutely correct. In 2010 my grandpa used 4in thin wall all around the drive way for drainage. It's now in an oval shape and very brittle. I dug it up and it cracked by stepping on it. I only use 40, and it's absolutely worth the time and extra few bucks. Thin wall underground will not last. All situations are different, but it is best to be safe than sorry.
Its called a soakwell in Australia and they're really common for sandy soils as it free drains compares to clay soil
Instead of the white rocks, you should use bank run gravel which is round stones. Much better for drainage, and less likely to clog with soil.
Always a Monday Morning quarterback in
@@jimbo2325 No Monday morning quarterback, just 40 years in the landscaping business. I've seen lots of failed drainage systems that used the wrong stone, but you apparently don't know anything about that. Before commenting, learn the facts.
@@lacro5686 Thanks for letting me know the facts. Guess you know it all.
This perfectly summarizes the best and worst of the Internet right here. The benefit of a massive base of individual experience, combined with needless antisocial pecking at each other.
I have 10 years experience in UA-cam commenting and the rock used will get the job done.
This video gives me hope. Some big named companies want to do expensive encapsulation or their patented drain systems that are equivalent to a car note. Considering my home is old and has buried drain pipes (probably old and broken), I would much rather give this a try instead of spending thousands. Plus I have those annoying drain flies, which I'm sure are coming from the crawl space and water entering/backing up. 😬 Thanks for sharing this video.
I live in south Florida, close to the ocean, close to the beach, so my house sits on sand. No issues with drainage. Issues with rainwater eroding the foundation beds under the eaves. You've inspired me to install gutters and direct the rainwater to the middle of the yard into a dry well.
I also have plans to install an outdoor urinal, the discharge line to terminate close to the property line into a dry well. A bucket of water to flush the urinal and a dedicated downspout to wash-out the drain line. The issue at the moment, since I don't buy anything new if I don't have to, is to locate a discarded urinal.
Cool idea. A square 5 gallon bucket. With cheap ball valve. To keep the flies from taking over the pisser.
Handy for filtered beer drain 😏🍻
I put in a dry well out of a 5 gallon bucket 🪣 years ago. We used an automotive funnel connected to flexible hose which changes over to 1/2" sch 40 PVC and then 90's to a 1/2" P-Trap and then connects to the 5 gallon bucket with lid. I have holes drilled out in it and then it sits in landscaping material and backfilled with rock for drainage. No issues whatsoever. Me and my 3 boys use it practically daily next to and behind our shed in the backyard. It has served us very well. Very practical and no mess or fuss. Sometimes I'll rinse a little bleach down and that's it. Have a good one.
You have a beautiful home
Black corrugated above grade is terrible looking at the house. Schedule 40 or thinner at the gutter downspout in white with a clean out right at grade with a threaded clean out would have be much nicer looking
Good thing there’s spray paint in white
He also has it tucked behind that bush so it ain't gonna be all that visible.
Functionality over looks anyday
I recommend a shave and a nice wax job too. Looks matter.☮️
For down spouts is better solid corrugated pipe or perforated.
I saw a video where they added two pipes one solid for down spouts and one perforated for the yard..
dig a hole the size of a bin and fill it with broken brick, rocks, pea gravel, crushed pop cans, and sharp sand and top it off with 5-inches of topsoil and that's it, for 20 feet in every direction your ground will be bone dry, its called a field drain and is the oldest method for drying land, make sure your hole goes down past the clay level, that's what keeping your land wet, no pipes, gutters, drains catchment funnels, just a big hole filled with rubble,
does this work with flat grade? we have standing water in our backyard as our yard is flat and we are the lowest of the homes around us. would the ground have to be pitched toward the hole?
1:59 I had that problem before i moved, but with my main sewer drain, because I noticed the tree in my front yard looked more happy than normal and when I went to power auger the main drain, the line was full of mud water, so good thing that is the new owner’s problem
How do you dig that length and know you are at a 1 1/2 degree pitch? And that pipe is deep enough that it will not get crush if something heavy goes over it? Would love to do this at my house ,but at this age and limited funds it is not in the cards.
What if you have clay soil?
I want to see the final product
PERFECT !
Very similar problem with my property and also i have bit high water table. Appreciate really your advise.
Some good tips. Thanks.
1. If that is clay soil, I have my doubts that that pit will handle the capacity.
2. In cold weather when the ground around the pit freezes it will absorb very little water unless you get below the frost line. On a sunny day when it is not real cold roof snow will melt, run into the pipe and the pit and freeze. Then the downspouts and gutters will backup and later freeze. Possible solution is to install a much larger pit or to dig the pit down below the frost line and, with some luck, maybe even reach some sandy soil.
From my watching other youtube video's, another thing would have been to bring dirt in to place around the edge of the house. This would force the water to run away from the house. It would involve a fair bit of work though, taking the garden out around the edge of the house putting soil in to create the fall, then putting the garden back in.
Winnipegger here. We are lucky to get a 1% slope here in the bottom of Lake Agassiz
3 yrs later....great info for homeowners.
Deal with this weekly and these landscaping "experts" around here are ripping people off!
Nice Install .... pvc pipe
would fit this job also .. 👍
If its insulated or below the freeze zone.
The french drain or dry well will work as good as the natural drainage of the soil itself.
Otherwise it works just like a bath tub.
Smooth piping needs less pitch than corrugated. Great on level yards.
If have one in the corner of my backyard, which is a natural low spot. It works well, but it is not perfect. 2 or 3 times a year it over flows. At least it is easy to pump down a couple of inches so there is no water above ground.
Bigger sized outlets and down sprouts can be put on gutters so that they would drain better when on roofs that throw off a lot of water.
if your down spourt drains toward your house, try changing it to another corner where the slope leads away from the house.
Why landscaping fabric instead of the correct drainage fabric?
I like your attention to detail
Baby boy is cute. 👍🏻
Amazing work. Very helpful. I am curious did you learn about calling to locate buried wire the hard way?
Great work, we use corrugated a lot too. PVC has its place, but theyre both for different uses.
PVC is meant for jobs that you want to last.
Corrugated works fine if installed correctly
nice idea, but may not handle the volume of water- do you have updates?
Does the sub pump has to be plugged al the time. I have one at home but I don’t have any knowledge about it. Your video helped me to understand what is use for🙏
curious as to what you installed. it looks undersized for the volume of water (sf at 2" rain/hr in typical locations) which adds quite a bit of cf area required. last, the 1.5% = 3/16" pitch on pipe which is a bit less than the 1/4" required in most areas
If you are in a location that freezes, should there not be an air gap between the down spout and the drain pipe in case the drain pipe freezes the down spout can still empty rather than create a column of ice going all the way up to the gutters. I have also seen where they put a parallel grid so that any leaf litter or twigs that come down the down spout will be directed to the ground rather than allowed to enter the drain pipe.
All of a sudden I feel like I have drainage issues at home that need to be fixed!
Ignorance is bliss isnt it! Just get the water away from your home. that's number 1
🤣🤣🤣 Me too... Let me check
Sump pump system to day light go under the sidewalk inches away from the street away from the property for good I had the same problem at my house 🏡 called 4 drainage contractors it seem I knew more then them from a lot of research 🔬 on line n they wanted 10 grand⛈they all said the same thing after we get done u will need to hire a landscaper to rake it n seed it 🤦🏽♂️more money 💰 I decided to hire a few guy’s to dig the 100 trench I did the rest by my self All in with materials n laborers 4 thousand n u can’t tell any work was done at all 100 foot French drain a few catch basins n sump pump system to the street 🎯💯🤙🏽
any modifications needed for intermittant cold/warm winter climates such as in Colorado in the winter? Thanks for the detailed video.
I don’t think so as we get that here as well in Illinois. Best of luck on the project.
Solid pipe only for downspout runoff. Backfilling with soil is ok for THAT application only!NOTE: FOR DRAINAGE OF YARD PONDING: Your runoff MUST empty into a lower drainage swale, or a lower basin/sump pit. Most pros recommend lining the trench with geotech fabric, perforated black drain pipe goes down next, then cover with 3/4 stone. Then wrap remaining fabric over stone and secure with landscape staples. Never backfill with soil. If you remove sod with a sod cutter, roll it in 2-3 foot sections. Replace sod right on top of fabric. It will grow back green, it did for me! The perforations in the corrugated pipe used in this video will be clogged within a year. See videos from Gate City Drainage and French Drainman on UA-cam on the subject to get it done correctly.
Hey bob, should be solid pipe from a downspout. I believe its just a perforated basin.
do you have the lid of the dry well at grade? might be better to put the well a few inches deeper in the ground and stub up the emitter. that will give you more room for dirt and grass
In th UK we actually put proper 4inch clay pipe drains in from the home locator the main sewer in the street. I always wondered why you in the US dont do this why is that.
Clay pipes are a part of past my dad's 1956 house still has it running to the sewer line in the middle of the street.
In the winter, your pipe may slowly build up with layers of ice and eventually block up flow to the well. I had a similar problem this past winter (and spent 3 hours boiling water and de-icing until midnight). Any thoughts on how to winterize this drainage system?
really, made it through 1 winter and so far so good. Thanks for the feedback!
@@EverydayHomeRepairs Oh, I was hoping you had figured out solution for this. Glad you didn’t have a hard winter to deal with!
In the northeast, does this system have to be below the frost line? That would be at least 36" at the starting point, then grade it down. Lots of digging. I'd love for this to go all the way to my curb.
@@brianeidmann5941 Not if you have enough pitch so there is no standing water in the line.
@@jimc3688 agree with Jim. I am in New York and I run smooth landscape grade (thinner) PVC they sell at Lowe’s. All but one of mine drain to daylight. I’ve never had a problem with ice backup. I have one that drains to a green pop up like in this video and it does fine as well: it has a small hole in its elbow that slowly drains into the soil. Even tho it drains really slowly it’s enough to drain after any rain before temps drop and free what is standing in it.
Btw mine are about 4” below soil surface.
My ground below the basin is thick clay that does not allow water to percolate/absorb into the ground below. Any suggestion?
Great work, thanks so much for sharing!
Have you ever seen hydro blox product? It's a French drain replacement that doesn't need slope. Something you might like to explore.
Scott: very interesting solution, simple is good. How did it work over the past 2 years ?
It has been solid. Only in the heaviest rains does the pop up let water out the top. Super happy with the installation.
excellent to hear, I believe strongly in simple solutions, thanks ! @@EverydayHomeRepairs
Does the landscape fabric cover the pipe does it go underneath the pipe and you add rocks and then cover the top with the fabric and then add rocks again.?
Wow. Great project and video. That is some serious trench and hole digging! Looks great!
Silly question … where does the water eventually go? Evaporates ?
I need to do this to my house as I have discovered that water is getting in under my house going through at the crawl space access door. The issue I am going to have is where I need to lead the water out to there is my main water line and also sewer line. I am concerned that if I dig down as much as you did to install the drywell that I might be hitting my water line or sewer line. Do you have suggestions or other options that could deal with this?
Do you ever worry the pipe will heave in Winter and not drop back in Summer, leaving a hump blocking flow?
Nice work... except I think the permeability of the soil surrounding the basin should have been excavated further and replaced, maybe with sand. Depending on the amount of water it could just fill up once the soil becomes super saturated. But still a better solution that what the homeowner had.
The other point is the basin is situated where the grade begins to naturally slope away, so that helps.
This a good thing because a lot of homes get mold because of this
I'm impressed.
How about an update to this system?
My backyard floods and So what do you do in the ditch in the front at the road is higher than the backyard ?
4:10 what about that bush and root intrusions?
We used solid corrugated as opposed to perforated corrugated so unless we have a hole or damage we shouldn't see any roots coming into the pipe.
Are you in a warm climate? What happens when it freezes?
How does the pop-up work how deep does the water have to be can a pop-up work with just straight off the hose the pipe I mean
Knowledge is power! :-)
How has your drain been working so far?
Looks good!
Thanks for the series, they are really helpful!
great project but you should had shown then process of connecting and then laying the tubing. also were rocks laid under the extended tubing. again, thanks for the video
Can you discharge water onto the street?I notice a lot of people in my neighborhood run the pipe to the street
This was excellent, thank you
@Everyday Home Repairs - It is now about a year since the work shown in this video was done. How has the drainage system performed?
Working great. I wouldn’t change a thing and so far no issues.
Adding some fill dirt around the foundation to create a positive slope would go a long way towards your problems
Agreed, thanks for the feedback 👍
It might help in his case. But I did that and didn't help because my house is located near drain storm and gets water from house as well as other neighbors. A French drain with corrugated pipes all the way to a perforated corrugated pipe with two small wells running to storm drain solved my problem.
So no subpump to push the water out ?
Nope, not on this setup As the water will just drain through the bottom shortly after the rain.
Scott have you tried any coatings on the foundation walls to stop water from coming in?
Hey Jason, water isn’t coming through the wall into the basement. Instead there is a French drain along the outside parameter of the basement which drains any water through the drain pipe into a sump pump well which then gets pumped out. Just trying to dry the ground a bit outside the foundation wall to reduce the work the sump pump is doing. Should work but we shall see if a few months 🤞
Hi Jason, do you have any recommendations on coatings you would use?
Thanks!
Great video! I need to do this soon. What is the benefit of this dry well method vs. a french drain? Thanks
Instead of the catch basin, couldn't a long run of drain tile be just as effective?
Will there be a follow-up video?
This is what I would like to do on my property too. My plan is to connect my sump pump to the downspouts and to create a French drain at the back of my lot. The one issue I am concerned about though are the pipes under the ground for gas, electric, etc. I had a utility company locate the utility lines a few years ago and it seemed like they were going to interfere with where I want to dig my trench for the corrugated pipe. Just curious, but did you rent a trench digger for this project?
Nope, good old fashion hard work 😅 for this one
RE:jeffthewhiff. Use caution connecting downspouts to sump pump.
ua-cam.com/video/z9WysbvNDEs/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/tvZXJUE9rt8/v-deo.html
You can use a trenching machine but just hand dig when you get close to utilities.
Then map out all the lines for future reference or for the next homeowner.
Is this like vertical drainage?
Thank you!
Hope you have sandy soil. That system doesn't have a chance in clay soil.