Such a coincidence. I had a contractor by today to quote my new driveway install and my only predicament was how to hide my downspout pipe and my concerns of freezing pipes. This was like a message from heaven. I have been subscribed for some time but today’s video was perfect info. Thank you so much.
All I can say is I’m sitting in the middle of hurricane Ian here in Florida and i can’t be happier and more prepared with the 209 foot Baughman tile French drain I installed myself over a year ago! Learned everything here on FDM UA-cam ..Two 4inch high octane French drains plus a solid gold tapped in all my four gutters plus one neighbors on one side- will post action as long as I make it out alive
Your videos are so informative and detailed! Especially for someone living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I'm planning on installing the buried downspouts this summer and will be using your technique and products. Thank you!
Great looks good. However, if it is cold, the ground freezes as well, then no water will move through the pipe or gravel base in trench if it all freezes. Maybe up north it's mostly snow....? No rain water to move till spring?
FDM always looking to better the yard drainage experience! Fantastic demo showing amount of water French drains hold after heavy rains and how FDM can dry out standing pipe water using proprietary product ( knife cut pipe and technique ) ! Keep improving yard de-watering for the diy-er and the homeowner!! Awesome
last week I stumbled across one of your videos and I have been hooked ever since. I watch your videos everyday. I am a student at a tech college and I'm in a combined program where I get a civil and environmental engineering associates degree and a construction management bachelors in 4 years. I have also been working for a landscaping company installing mostly French drains and patios for a few years now. Needless to say, I am right up your alley. By no means am I in a position to tell you what you do is right or wrong, but god damn.. You are doing this right. I would love to see a video of what the back end of this company looks like. How much do your pay your employees? How to your find such a good team? How do you handle customer payments? How do you bid? Do you have payments on equipment? How do you hire and keep employees? Where did you learn this? How much do you make, and how about the company? Employee benefits? Do you use contracts for your jobs? What role do you play in your company? I think you know that most of your followers are not just typical homeowners looking for a drain installed, likely they are people that install drains themselves. That being the case I think it would be helpful to see a video of the backside of things. -Ethan from Vermont
All good questions. All markets are different so wage and what I charge wouldn't be worth anything unless we were in the same zip code. We are a on the job training company it's very organic we move people into what their strengths are so they thrive. Sorry son that's all you get I can offer you a franchise opportunity to have access to everything you are asking and more we need a Vermont FDM! Until then peace ✌
Great video,just a question do I have to install pea stone or gravel only under the 3-4ft long perforated corrugated pipe before the emitter or not necessary? Thanks
2 questions. 1. Does frozen clay still perk? 2. If the clay ground is already saturated with the water that seeped out while it was raining all day, will it still absorb the remaining water at the end?
I have watched many videos and over time recommendations have changed. I live in north and am worried about freeze ups. So I blended some techniques as to what was readily available. Under the bottomless pop up emitter I went down 1.8 feet filled with 3/4 to inch and a half stone...fabric over then pea stone to surface (to combat grass obstruction as I don't have access to turf restrictor plate). I filled in a foot of trench to counter downspout runoff back into still open trench. I tested. I think I have turned my pop up emitter into a catch basin. During rain, the water pops up just below the emitter in the pea stone first. After the rain...the water stays just below emitter surface. It then takes about 10 hours to drain completely in clay and loam. Water also still went past my experimental dam into open trench. So now I am wondering if all that wrapping and overlapping of fabric (in this video) was to keep water at bay? You did mention using clay all around. Also, if you do happen to see this, by me having about 7 gallons of room at the emitter, has that reduced my water pressure? I ask because it seemed like my water flow had slowed down and maybe water was backing up more into pipe than it should but I could not tell. I really didn't want to put in a section of perforated taking into account your other videos that mention root issues and clogging. I'm kinda thinking I should make it solid around the emitter (clay you mentioned) until the bottomless part is reached to maybe increase pressure for the emitter. Anyway thanks for all your videos. :)
Very interesting channel information. I understand why French Drains are effective in channeling water away from your foundation. But has anyone ever used perforated drain pipe resting INSIDE YOUR GUTTERS to channel water to the downspout? I'm thinking this is a way of avoiding having leaves clog your gutters on a yearly basis (if you have nearby trees). Ever heard of that solution?
@@2adamast The perforations (holes) in the pipe wouldn't let the pipe float. Small holes, 1/4" every 6 inches on the top half of the pipe would channel the water from the gutter to the downspout unblocked by leaves, etc... I know it would work, just haven't done it yet.
I've seen in your other video where you say not to run downspouts into slotted pipe because it may fill with shingle gravel and debris, so why are we using it in this application?
He's only using it as a relief at the end. Do not run perforated pipe from you gutters immediately as all the water will leak out against the foundation.
This video is great if you can't daylight your discharge, but dumping straight onto a slope, into a ditch, or through the curb is always preferable if it maintains your slope. You can't hold any water in these scenarios.
I bought the "kit" and installed it a couple weeks back. (Had new gutters installed, needed to handle their runoff). Front yard is all clay, and we had 2.5 inches of rain over a day and a half and the clay by the popup became pudding. (Freshly dug, ground hadn't settled, BIG rain event) I mean, like walking on jello pudding goopy. It also washed the dirt downstream of the popup and all the seed and straw away. Serious erosion because the grass had been "killed" pending a lawn renewal next spring. I think next spring I will dig it back up, use a 3 inch popup, and add the knife cut once the ground thaws. If I'm hearing this corrrectly, the trench for the section of knife cut should be wrapped and the trench should have gravel (inside the wrap, not outside), but otherwise the regular 4 inch just lays in the trench? And I too wondered if it may make sense to dig down under the popup and make a lined hole with rock to kind of "dry well" the outflow of the hole in the 90? I'm afraid that even with sod/grass holding teh dirt together, another rain like we had will make that part of the front yard a muddy mess.
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN i like this reply. i've run a backhoe on many many sites that are total sponge but next year same season - done. i'm for sure not an engineer type like FDM but i did run the hoe on the gang for 7yrs where we put in cable at road crossings. on many ditches parallel to a crop field ditch (huge) we'd have to pay attn to this issue. rip rap was already in the ground for the various drainages nearby (other fields). we'd dig in that in summer and even put crush in it. - never dirt. had to put up 60' antenna bases in it. you'd dig out a 6x6' hole that fell in constantly due to the riprap base, and have to backfill with crush it would be like walking on a trampoline for weeks, maybe months. but eventually it would get back to packed crush. i guess some northern guys call it washout/ abc, whatever. it is very small but not sand small. it sets up as a base for a road. except when the dirt around it is mud. we'd have to just get rid of the mud and use crush. you are wasting time pushing dirt in a ditch in that kind of area. the next yr tho hard as concrete. water runs over it, for the most part. but this is all in the SE, near flooded fields. in my experience you run into this in special areas that constantly flow water. and normal heavy eqmt people don't see it that often i think. except for FDM types
You need to teach a MASTERCLASS !! Seriously..... However, in this case, I am not 100% convinced it will keep the line from freezing. When temp is sub freezing and ground is solid, won't the water in the "cut" corrugated pipe extension also freeze ? Same is true with the hole under the 90" ???
Looks great. Up here in the north, it was -20 C then plus 3 c the next week. Will this drain or should I keep it on the surface to discharge so I can have access to keep it flowing? it s hard as I have 2 feet of snow in the front yard then these warm fronts come in then back to too freezing. Great info
Looked on Amazon and your site. Where can I get 3” knife cut? Or can I just do it by hand to the 3” corrugated pipe? I bought your kit with the downspout filter, hose, and popup emitter.
I don't recommend a three-inch knife cut. It can hurt you more than it can help you. A four-inch pipe displaces 56% more area and holds 56% more water. By going to three inches, you've already reduced the amount of water left in that line by 56%. You'll bring some dirt in through those knife cuts. And the three-inch line doesn't displace enough area to recover from too much dirt filling it up like the four-inch pipe would.
So should I cancel the 3” pipe? I watched your video praising the 3” I live in Utah and get about 14-16” precipitation a year. Or are you suggesting I get knife cut 4”? Or just run the 3” and drill some holes in the bottom of the elbow connecting to the pop up?
I have clay soil and minimal slope so I don't expect my drain hose to drain completely, so I would use weep holes like you show. My question is if it rains for 30-60 minutes, the weep holes will saturate the clay, therefore, when the rain stops, there is now no room for the remaining water in the pipe to disperse, as the clay was already saturated from the weep holes draining throughout the 30-60 minute storm. Thoughts? Is it better to put only one very tiny weep hole in the 3" right angle, that would limit the amount of rain weeping into the ground to a minimum during the storm, and then after the storm let the remaining water in the pipe still have room to drain out slowly over many many hours?
5-10ft depends on the soil type and total distance of run. 15ft of solid and 10ft of knife cut in a perfect world. I realize this distance isn't always available. We take what we can get.
What's best to use under concrete in Wisconsin? A trench drain with exposted top, 4" abs pipe, or 4 inch double wall culvert pipe? I have a 5ft length of green drain pipe under my sidewalk with a 4 inch white elbow inlet from downspout that freezes and cracks into peices every winter and will be pouring concrete patio below where it discharges so I'm looking into a miter drain for the discharge. Drilling a hole in the bottom of my elbow is probably not a good idea because then it will freeze and heave the concrete. What's my best option?
If there is no perk…won’t the basin for the knife cut just fill up with water? I’ve got a rock basin so that the pop up drains but all it does is fill up since the rock basin is surrounded by clay.
I have a ranch house approx 2,100 sq ft of roof area and theres only 1 gutter downspout on each side of the house. I just ran 4” corrugated from gutters underground at 1.5% slope until they tye into each other with a wye and they share a single 4” corrugated pipe to the pop up emitter way down hill 65feet at probably around 3% grade. Do you think i should have went bigger than 4” ? I havent had a huge rain yet with the setup. Im basically draining entire house into 1 4” and questioning my decision! Been watching your videos and doing my homework. I did run an extra 4” in the trench in case i need to put each side of the house on its own discharge line . Thanks for any info
Great demo, totally makes sense. I am in eastern Canada so of course I will get freezing temps in the winter. I wasn't planning on using a pop up emitter and instead just running my pipe to day light at the back of my property. In this case is the few feet of perforated (knife cute) pipe at the end necessary, or will the water just drain out because there is now bend to get out of the pop up? thanks
Just bought some and I feel like I’m missing something. I just dry fit everything and tested with the hose and I can hardly get a trickle. Also the water backs up so much in the pipe. I have more than enough slope, is it just not enough pressure with the hose?
@@FRENCHDRAINMANthanks for your reply. heat trace is not an option either. What do you do when there is nowhere to take a French drain? The street is up hill from the downspout.
4 in. x 108 ft. FDM's 200 Year Tape - Extra Sticky & Extra Stretchy - French Drain Systems | Curtain Drains | Macomb, Oakland, Lapeer, St. Clair County frenchdrainman.com/product/4-x-108-fdms-200-year-tape/
Love your videos ,thank you. I had a question. I was extending my patio this week and have a downspout in the way so I was going to do it underground. Is there any advice on covering it so I can pour concrete over the piping.
I have this exact setup with about 15 ft of knife cut. How would this setup work with a crawl space sump pump attached to it also,? ( im also in ny. So we get a good amount of snow).
My house was built in 1898 there isn't much slope except towards the house from the backyard and driveway.. thinking channel drain along driveway with some catch basins in the higher flood areas all going back to a 50gal dry well in the backyard , between mine and neighbors house have to connect 4 downspouts to a line and probably discharging to the road? Or sending it back to the dry well?
Negative grade usually requires a outdoor sump pump system. Dry wells only work great if the soil is highly permeable. Dry well is a capacity drain, once it reaches its full capacity it no long works and you will flood.
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN I figured if I dig the trench deep enough to give it a proper grade i might not need a sump? I was originally thinking multiple dry wells connected to each other but I collect a lot of landscape material from work so I have A LOT of stone from small egg stone, field rocks (small boulders) flag stone etc and digging down a couple feet to put rock in a decorative manner then having the flo-well/s underneath it in a way I can still access the well to clean it when the time comes. My street has some weird grading and there isn't a drain near the house so I decided against coring the curb, then I thought maybe I'd do a couple of your pop up emitters with sump basin but it doesn't appear to have much grade at all and through my research I learned that I need 1 inch of fall per 8 feet and that doesn't seem realistic for me to discharge to the road especially with it having no where really to go from there. This is what I've come to after about 4 months of planning and watching videos of drainage companies from Florida LOL just found your channel a couple weeks ago
I have 2 rain barrels to collect water for my carnivorous plants. There is 1 downspout connected to each barrel. 15 minutes of gentle rain will fill those barrels.
@@mikeingeorgia1 I'm moving way too much water for my original idea, I ended up building a custom sump pump basin that holds roughly 300 gallon of water (lost power once in a storm and had to bucket out the water from the basin and half of the vertical shaft (not including the larger horizontal chamber) I pulled over 80 gallons out of , working on a solar set up for my sump pump
Tell me a heat tape mfg/brand name that can reside inside the pipe/downspout that is in co tact with the runoff so it will not freeze. Thx for the video.
I bought this for my personal home I plan on doing a video on installing. Follow their directions on the heat cable website. Drop the end down your downspouts and remove the center of the Vented Cleanout screen (if you run our system you know what I'm referring to.) Use a fish cable to pull it to your FDM pop-up emitter V2.0 Check this out! RADIANT SOLUTIONS HeatTapePro - Intelligent Commercial Grade Self-Regulating Heat Cable with GlowCap™ - 10 YR warranty - Ice Dam & Pipe Freeze Protection - 100 ft cable + 10 Ft Cord, 120V, 6 watts/Ft a.co/d/dYtAx3y
You’d probably need to use one of his pop up emitters. If you put a grate on the exit of the pipe, it’ll keep critters out, but it will probably get clogged with leaves and sticks pretty quickly.
There is more water in the end of that pipe than in the catch basin can hold below the pipe. It's not 5 gal. Not even close. Perf pipe should be a given. I like the weep hole in the elbow.
One technique I've seen is to dig a post hole under your pop up and fill it with gravel to allow trapped water to dissipate more effectively. I guess it would be the vertical version of the knife cut section in this video.
@@lawn-n-orderlandscaping1389 When I've seen dry wells, they were installed as the primary dissipation technique for water. In this instance, it is secondary to simply ensure residual water at the pop-up disappears faster, but yeah, the function is the same.
4 in. x 108 ft. FDM's 200 Year Tape - Extra Sticky & Extra Stretchy - French Drain Systems | Curtain Drains | Macomb, Oakland, Lapeer, St. Clair County frenchdrainman.com/product/4-x-108-fdms-200-year-tape/
Why wouldn't you use the knife cut the entire length or after 10 ft of solid pipe from the down spout then knife cut out to popup? . With that knife cut, do you need stone and cloth anywhere knife cut is used? There is sooo many ways. I don't have any trees, and I have minimal grade. Was thinking about going 25 ft out. 10 feet of solid 15ft of knife cut out to popups. I live in Maryland. I really Want to do this right , the first dang time. I just get confused on what to use. Black pipe blue pipe , solid pipe , knife cut, where to use knife cut , where not to use knife cut. Stone , no stone And the more videos I watch the more confused I get. I feel like I am over thinking this but I am doing this in August and trying to get a solid game plan. So far I feel like I have no game plan Lmao!!
I gotcha covered. The most complete and up-to-date video (it's all you need) watch it twice.....3 times even. Yes you can run knife cut after 10ft but you must put a sock on it. The Blue pipe is a virgin 100% HDPE NO recycled materials and it's Extra Heavy Duty! Side note: If this isn't gonna happen till August you should wait for our New release in line sediment trap expected Late July 2023 it's a game changer. Enjoy the video and Thank You for watching.
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN But on warmer days snow will melt off the roof. I have puddles in my driveway they freeze and create skating rinks. Wouldn't it freeze if I drained it into the yard?
Watch "New Pop-Up 2.0: Game Changer in Drainage! Made in the USA, Indestructible Design, Fits ANYTHING!" on UA-cam ua-cam.com/video/E85Tjrd5708/v-deo.html
![Dos & Don'ts - Downspout Drain in the North Where Winter is Winter [ Complete Guide ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_V1efJM-8yM/mqdefault.jpg)
![Dos & Don'ts - Downspout Drain in the North Where Winter is Winter [ Complete Guide ]](/img/tr.png)
ua-cam.com/video/1kPHHnDc1ZY/v-deo.htmlsi=jqaV6rmieJmgntsj
I also dig a hole under the 90 degree elbow and add rock to help with the drainage of the elbow, obviously I drilled the holes in it too.
Such a coincidence. I had a contractor by today to quote my new driveway install and my only predicament was how to hide my downspout pipe and my concerns of freezing pipes. This was like a message from heaven. I have been subscribed for some time but today’s video was perfect info. Thank you so much.
Same boat right now. Next week I'll be digging.
All I can say is I’m sitting in the middle of hurricane Ian here in Florida and i can’t be happier and more prepared with the 209 foot Baughman tile French drain I installed myself over a year ago! Learned everything here on FDM UA-cam ..Two 4inch high octane French drains plus a solid gold tapped in all my four gutters plus one neighbors on one side- will post action as long as I make it out alive
Your videos are so informative and detailed! Especially for someone living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I'm planning on installing the buried downspouts this summer and will be using your technique and products. Thank you!
I am in Ottawa and have similar concerns. Did you do your drain like this and did it work? Do your downspouts freeze? Thanks!
@@thuswaldner1 I have not gotten around to it yet. Family first!
i NEVER COMMENT ON THESE BUT DAMN THIS IS BRILLANT!!!!
Great looks good. However, if it is cold, the ground freezes as well, then no water will move through the pipe or gravel base in trench if it all freezes. Maybe up north it's mostly snow....? No rain water to move till spring?
ua-cam.com/video/1kPHHnDc1ZY/v-deo.htmlsi=X7g01LO4Pp7Wez7t
FDM always looking to better the yard drainage experience! Fantastic demo showing amount of water French drains hold after heavy rains and how FDM can dry out standing pipe water using proprietary product ( knife cut pipe and technique ) ! Keep improving yard de-watering for the diy-er and the homeowner!! Awesome
Please show how to properly use gutter& roof heat cables with your system
ua-cam.com/video/1kPHHnDc1ZY/v-deo.htmlsi=kv309YHnSAsTUN1r
Not a bad idea. Ever have trouble with tree roots sneaking in the knife cuts?
I don't advise running knife cut near a tree.
last week I stumbled across one of your videos and I have been hooked ever since. I watch your videos everyday. I am a student at a tech college and I'm in a combined program where I get a civil and environmental engineering associates degree and a construction management bachelors in 4 years. I have also been working for a landscaping company installing mostly French drains and patios for a few years now. Needless to say, I am right up your alley.
By no means am I in a position to tell you what you do is right or wrong, but god damn.. You are doing this right.
I would love to see a video of what the back end of this company looks like. How much do your pay your employees? How to your find such a good team? How do you handle customer payments? How do you bid? Do you have payments on equipment? How do you hire and keep employees? Where did you learn this? How much do you make, and how about the company? Employee benefits? Do you use contracts for your jobs? What role do you play in your company?
I think you know that most of your followers are not just typical homeowners looking for a drain installed, likely they are people that install drains themselves. That being the case I think it would be helpful to see a video of the backside of things.
-Ethan from Vermont
All good questions. All markets are different so wage and what I charge wouldn't be worth anything unless we were in the same zip code. We are a on the job training company it's very organic we move people into what their strengths are so they thrive.
Sorry son that's all you get I can offer you a franchise opportunity to have access to everything you are asking and more we need a Vermont FDM!
Until then peace ✌
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN do you have a franchisee in Fort Wayne Indiana
Great video,just a question do I have to install pea stone or gravel only under the 3-4ft long perforated corrugated pipe before the emitter or not necessary? Thanks
In my opinion this is the best video on downspouts in the North
ua-cam.com/video/wawHvSs0UV4/v-deo.html
Super expert advice. Wow! Blown away. Thanks.
ua-cam.com/video/2OkH9gAdokk/v-deo.htmlsi=xcNA1SI33dxd475Q
I MEAN BRILLIANT!!!!
More info on the heat tape please
ua-cam.com/video/1kPHHnDc1ZY/v-deo.htmlsi=X7g01LO4Pp7Wez7t
Dude. You rock. I wish I could start a business like yours
ua-cam.com/video/1kPHHnDc1ZY/v-deo.htmlsi=X7g01LO4Pp7Wez7t
2 questions. 1. Does frozen clay still perk? 2. If the clay ground is already saturated with the water that seeped out while it was raining all day, will it still absorb the remaining water at the end?
The pipe and pop-up moves bulk water. The little bit left after a rain event leach.
I have watched many videos and over time recommendations have changed.
I live in north and am worried about freeze ups.
So I blended some techniques as to what was readily available.
Under the bottomless pop up emitter I went down 1.8 feet filled with 3/4 to inch and a half stone...fabric over then pea stone to surface (to combat grass obstruction as I don't have access to turf restrictor plate). I filled in a foot of trench to counter downspout runoff back into still open trench.
I tested. I think I have turned my pop up emitter into a catch basin.
During rain, the water pops up just below the emitter in the pea stone first.
After the rain...the water stays just below emitter surface. It then takes about 10 hours to drain completely in clay and loam. Water also still went past my experimental dam into open trench.
So now I am wondering if all that wrapping and overlapping of fabric (in this video) was to keep water at bay? You did mention using clay all around.
Also, if you do happen to see this, by me having about 7 gallons of room at the emitter, has that reduced my water pressure? I ask because it seemed like my water flow had slowed down and maybe water was backing up more into pipe than it should but I could not tell.
I really didn't want to put in a section of perforated taking into account your other videos that mention root issues and clogging.
I'm kinda thinking I should make it solid around the emitter (clay you mentioned) until the bottomless part is reached to maybe increase pressure for the emitter.
Anyway thanks for all your videos. :)
I think what you did is fine, and you don’t have to make any additional changes. What you made might be overkill, but I like it that way.
@@FRENCHDRAINMANthanks very kindly for the feedback :)
lucky for me you are not far from me. I am in Fenton. I have a job i need to do and i may use your products.
Very interesting channel information. I understand why French Drains are effective in channeling water away from your foundation. But has anyone ever used perforated drain pipe resting INSIDE YOUR GUTTERS to channel water to the downspout? I'm thinking this is a way of avoiding having leaves clog your gutters on a yearly basis (if you have nearby trees). Ever heard of that solution?
Leaf guard lol
@@jeffbidniy6552 I can buy 100 ft. of ADS 3-in x 100-ft Corrugated Perforated Pipe to sit in my gutters for $130, Leaf Guard would cost me $2,400.
@@j.ericswede7084 I guess it will float, the dirt piling up under the pipe
@@2adamast The perforations (holes) in the pipe wouldn't let the pipe float. Small holes, 1/4" every 6 inches on the top half of the pipe would channel the water from the gutter to the downspout unblocked by leaves, etc... I know it would work, just haven't done it yet.
Downspout Cleanout and Leaf Filter Gutter Leaf Guard
frenchdrainman.com/product/downspout-leaf-filter-clean-out/
I've seen in your other video where you say not to run downspouts into slotted pipe because it may fill with shingle gravel and debris, so why are we using it in this application?
Don't run downspouts into French Drain Systems.
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN I don't intend to but in this video you recommend using slotted drain tile before the pop up...that is what I was asking about.
He's only using it as a relief at the end. Do not run perforated pipe from you gutters immediately as all the water will leak out against the foundation.
This video is great if you can't daylight your discharge, but dumping straight onto a slope, into a ditch, or through the curb is always preferable if it maintains your slope. You can't hold any water in these scenarios.
He generally surface ours at the end, but thats possible living in the mountains. Flat land not so much.
I bought the "kit" and installed it a couple weeks back. (Had new gutters installed, needed to handle their runoff). Front yard is all clay, and we had 2.5 inches of rain over a day and a half and the clay by the popup became pudding. (Freshly dug, ground hadn't settled, BIG rain event) I mean, like walking on jello pudding goopy. It also washed the dirt downstream of the popup and all the seed and straw away. Serious erosion because the grass had been "killed" pending a lawn renewal next spring. I think next spring I will dig it back up, use a 3 inch popup, and add the knife cut once the ground thaws. If I'm hearing this corrrectly, the trench for the section of knife cut should be wrapped and the trench should have gravel (inside the wrap, not outside), but otherwise the regular 4 inch just lays in the trench? And I too wondered if it may make sense to dig down under the popup and make a lined hole with rock to kind of "dry well" the outflow of the hole in the 90? I'm afraid that even with sod/grass holding teh dirt together, another rain like we had will make that part of the front yard a muddy mess.
It will set up and shed water wait until next spring
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN i like this reply. i've run a backhoe on many many sites that are total sponge but next year same season - done. i'm for sure not an engineer type like FDM but i did run the hoe on the gang for 7yrs where we put in cable at road crossings. on many ditches parallel to a crop field ditch (huge) we'd have to pay attn to this issue. rip rap was already in the ground for the various drainages nearby (other fields). we'd dig in that in summer and even put crush in it. - never dirt. had to put up 60' antenna bases in it. you'd dig out a 6x6' hole that fell in constantly due to the riprap base, and have to backfill with crush it would be like walking on a trampoline for weeks, maybe months. but eventually it would get back to packed crush. i guess some northern guys call it washout/ abc, whatever. it is very small but not sand small. it sets up as a base for a road. except when the dirt around it is mud. we'd have to just get rid of the mud and use crush. you are wasting time pushing dirt in a ditch in that kind of area. the next yr tho hard as concrete. water runs over it, for the most part. but this is all in the SE, near flooded fields. in my experience you run into this in special areas that constantly flow water. and normal heavy eqmt people don't see it that often i think. except for FDM types
You need to teach a MASTERCLASS !! Seriously..... However, in this case, I am not 100% convinced it will keep the line from freezing. When temp is sub freezing and ground is solid, won't the water in the "cut" corrugated pipe extension also freeze ? Same is true with the hole under the 90" ???
ua-cam.com/video/1kPHHnDc1ZY/v-deo.htmlsi=jqaV6rmieJmgntsj
Looks great. Up here in the north, it was -20 C then plus 3 c the next week. Will this drain or should I keep it on the surface to discharge so I can have access to keep it flowing? it s hard as I have 2 feet of snow in the front yard then these warm fronts come in then back to too freezing. Great info
ua-cam.com/video/JUA3ww7k27g/v-deo.html
You will find this helpful. Thank you for commenting.
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN , Awesome thanks again
Looked on Amazon and your site. Where can I get 3” knife cut? Or can I just do it by hand to the 3” corrugated pipe? I bought your kit with the downspout filter, hose, and popup emitter.
I don't recommend a three-inch knife cut. It can hurt you more than it can help you. A four-inch pipe displaces 56% more area and holds 56% more water. By going to three inches, you've already reduced the amount of water left in that line by 56%. You'll bring some dirt in through those knife cuts. And the three-inch line doesn't displace enough area to recover from too much dirt filling it up like the four-inch pipe would.
So should I cancel the 3” pipe? I watched your video praising the 3” I live in Utah and get about 14-16” precipitation a year. Or are you suggesting I get knife cut 4”?
Or just run the 3” and drill some holes in the bottom of the elbow connecting to the pop up?
I have clay soil and minimal slope so I don't expect my drain hose to drain completely, so I would use weep holes like you show. My question is if it rains for 30-60 minutes, the weep holes will saturate the clay, therefore, when the rain stops, there is now no room for the remaining water in the pipe to disperse, as the clay was already saturated from the weep holes draining throughout the 30-60 minute storm. Thoughts?
Is it better to put only one very tiny weep hole in the 3" right angle, that would limit the amount of rain weeping into the ground to a minimum during the storm, and then after the storm let the remaining water in the pipe still have room to drain out slowly over many many hours?
ua-cam.com/video/wawHvSs0UV4/v-deo.htmlsi=bl8PN2vSqBnFCwgy
Would you recommend this method of termination for a sump pump discharge in southeast Michigan?
Yes
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN Could you wye it with a downspout or should they be seperate?
How many feet of knife cut are you recommending to put at the end of the line?
5-10ft depends on the soil type and total distance of run. 15ft of solid and 10ft of knife cut in a perfect world. I realize this distance isn't always available. We take what we can get.
What's best to use under concrete in Wisconsin? A trench drain with exposted top, 4" abs pipe, or 4 inch double wall culvert pipe? I have a 5ft length of green drain pipe under my sidewalk with a 4 inch white elbow inlet from downspout that freezes and cracks into peices every winter and will be pouring concrete patio below where it discharges so I'm looking into a miter drain for the discharge.
Drilling a hole in the bottom of my elbow is probably not a good idea because then it will freeze and heave the concrete.
What's my best option?
ua-cam.com/video/3_FcEdESkQ0/v-deo.html
Sleeve it with 6" and run 4" single wall corrugated pipe through it.
do the 'knife cut' perforations allow roots to get in?
Yes. If trees are near we don't use it. Putting stone around it with fabric wrapped helps a lot.
We actually fabric all of our French drains. Between fabric and gravel the root growth rate will actually exceed the lifespan of the perforated pipe.
If there is no perk…won’t the basin for the knife cut just fill up with water? I’ve got a rock basin so that the pop up drains but all it does is fill up since the rock basin is surrounded by clay.
ua-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BUqichor2QH1X_p9bBPor8D.html&si=zfJ5jYMft5XQxIBM
Where can I get the downspout system shipped to New Brunswick, Canada?
Frenchdrainman.ca
If I am day lighting the end do I need to worry about freeze up in the north? Ie should I still add the knife cut before the daylight?
ua-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BUqichor2QH1X_p9bBPor8D.html&si=S3gHWmwF_pMgB1Id
What prevents roots from growing into the holes in the knife cut and the hole in the elbow?
We do not use knife cut where there are trees and large shrubs.
I have a ranch house approx 2,100 sq ft of roof area and theres only 1 gutter downspout on each side of the house. I just ran 4” corrugated from gutters underground at 1.5% slope until they tye into each other with a wye and they share a single 4” corrugated pipe to the pop up emitter way down hill 65feet at probably around 3% grade. Do you think i should have went bigger than 4” ? I havent had a huge rain yet with the setup. Im basically draining entire house into 1 4” and questioning my decision! Been watching your videos and doing my homework. I did run an extra 4” in the trench in case i need to put each side of the house on its own discharge line . Thanks for any info
ua-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BUqichor2QH1X_p9bBPor8D.html&si=ugXP9CwgX60WPZFE
Great demo, totally makes sense. I am in eastern Canada so of course I will get freezing temps in the winter. I wasn't planning on using a pop up emitter and instead just running my pipe to day light at the back of my property. In this case is the few feet of perforated (knife cute) pipe at the end necessary, or will the water just drain out because there is now bend to get out of the pop up? thanks
To daylight on a slope no knife cut is needed.
Just bought some and I feel like I’m missing something. I just dry fit everything and tested with the hose and I can hardly get a trickle. Also the water backs up so much in the pipe. I have more than enough slope, is it just not enough pressure with the hose?
A garden hose does not provide nearly enough pressure.
Can this be installed on a downhill slop? I have about 4 feet of flat ground then I go into a downhill grade. Would a pop up work in that situation?
Perfect for a pop-up emitter V2.0
Any suggestions to remedy a frozen downspout in which there is nowhere for a french drain to drain to? Heat trace is not an option either...
Heat cable for the metal gutter and downspout and PVC heat tape for the plastic line.
@@FRENCHDRAINMANthanks for your reply. heat trace is not an option either. What do you do when there is nowhere to take a French drain? The street is up hill from the downspout.
What tape is that you use to wrap the couplings?
4 in. x 108 ft. FDM's 200 Year Tape - Extra Sticky & Extra Stretchy - French Drain Systems | Curtain Drains | Macomb, Oakland, Lapeer, St. Clair County
frenchdrainman.com/product/4-x-108-fdms-200-year-tape/
Love your videos ,thank you. I had a question. I was extending my patio this week and have a downspout in the way so I was going to do it underground. Is there any advice on covering it so I can pour concrete over the piping.
Youll have gravel under the patio pour anyways. So bury the pipe with several inches of soil, then however many inches of gravel needed, then pour.
Downspout Pipe 4 in. x 100 ft. High Octane ARMOR Pipe
frenchdrainman.com/product/heavy-commercial-solid-high-octane/
Can I get the knife cut pipe with the DIY kit?
frenchdrainman.com/product/buried-downspout-complete-kit/
I have this exact setup with about 15 ft of knife cut. How would this setup work with a crawl space sump pump attached to it also,? ( im also in ny. So we get a good amount of snow).
Watch "Leach Field Instructional Video for DIYers and Contractors" on UA-cam
ua-cam.com/video/_bjtY_Ex150/v-deo.html
My house was built in 1898 there isn't much slope except towards the house from the backyard and driveway.. thinking channel drain along driveway with some catch basins in the higher flood areas all going back to a 50gal dry well in the backyard , between mine and neighbors house have to connect 4 downspouts to a line and probably discharging to the road? Or sending it back to the dry well?
Negative grade usually requires a outdoor sump pump system. Dry wells only work great if the soil is highly permeable. Dry well is a capacity drain, once it reaches its full capacity it no long works and you will flood.
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN I figured if I dig the trench deep enough to give it a proper grade i might not need a sump? I was originally thinking multiple dry wells connected to each other but I collect a lot of landscape material from work so I have A LOT of stone from small egg stone, field rocks (small boulders) flag stone etc and digging down a couple feet to put rock in a decorative manner then having the flo-well/s underneath it in a way I can still access the well to clean it when the time comes.
My street has some weird grading and there isn't a drain near the house so I decided against coring the curb, then I thought maybe I'd do a couple of your pop up emitters with sump basin but it doesn't appear to have much grade at all and through my research I learned that I need 1 inch of fall per 8 feet and that doesn't seem realistic for me to discharge to the road especially with it having no where really to go from there. This is what I've come to after about 4 months of planning and watching videos of drainage companies from Florida LOL just found your channel a couple weeks ago
I have 2 rain barrels to collect water for my carnivorous plants. There is 1 downspout connected to each barrel. 15 minutes of gentle rain will fill those barrels.
@@mikeingeorgia1 I'm moving way too much water for my original idea, I ended up building a custom sump pump basin that holds roughly 300 gallon of water (lost power once in a storm and had to bucket out the water from the basin and half of the vertical shaft (not including the larger horizontal chamber) I pulled over 80 gallons out of , working on a solar set up for my sump pump
Tell me a heat tape mfg/brand name that can reside inside the pipe/downspout that is in co tact with the runoff so it will not freeze.
Thx for the video.
I bought this for my personal home I plan on doing a video on installing. Follow their directions on the heat cable website. Drop the end down your downspouts and remove the center of the Vented Cleanout screen (if you run our system you know what I'm referring to.)
Use a fish cable to pull it to your FDM pop-up emitter V2.0
Check this out!
RADIANT SOLUTIONS HeatTapePro - Intelligent Commercial Grade Self-Regulating Heat Cable with GlowCap™ - 10 YR warranty - Ice Dam & Pipe Freeze Protection - 100 ft cable + 10 Ft Cord, 120V, 6 watts/Ft a.co/d/dYtAx3y
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN thank you. And made in my state of Minnesota, so they know freezing.
Would the sump pop up suffice rather than adding a couple of feet of knife cut?
ua-cam.com/video/wawHvSs0UV4/v-deo.htmlsi=2Exsof2IfyEtZ9_l
Thanks again.
I have my drains ending in a ravine, just the open end. Is there a perforated cap made for that situation, to keep varmints out
You’d probably need to use one of his pop up emitters. If you put a grate on the exit of the pipe, it’ll keep critters out, but it will probably get clogged with leaves and sticks pretty quickly.
ua-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BUqichor2QH1X_p9bBPor8D.html&si=jjJoNOi_FqVk1BC8
Could this set up handle 2/3 of my roof's runoff from 2 downspouts?
Watch "How to Calculate Roof Runoff and Size Your Underground Drainage System - French Drain Man" on UA-cam
ua-cam.com/video/b3YF1QSGz6M/v-deo.html
If the ground is frozen it won’t perc. So if you get a rain when it’s still frozen how do you keep it from filling with water and freezing?
ua-cam.com/video/1kPHHnDc1ZY/v-deo.htmlsi=XgKACGOjFodhn3pj
There is more water in the end of that pipe than in the catch basin can hold below the pipe. It's not 5 gal. Not even close. Perf pipe should be a given. I like the weep hole in the elbow.
ua-cam.com/video/1kPHHnDc1ZY/v-deo.htmlsi=7Bky3x6DR5vlr-ns
One technique I've seen is to dig a post hole under your pop up and fill it with gravel to allow trapped water to dissipate more effectively. I guess it would be the vertical version of the knife cut section in this video.
Like a dry well? Those work great too!
@@lawn-n-orderlandscaping1389 When I've seen dry wells, they were installed as the primary dissipation technique for water. In this instance, it is secondary to simply ensure residual water at the pop-up disappears faster, but yeah, the function is the same.
ua-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BUqichor2QH1X_p9bBPor8D.html&si=0Ifem4st3MDhFrgU
Great god damn video!!
thank you
Doesn’t the ground get saturated from the roof water then freeze around the exit?
ua-cam.com/video/rxubvrW_Tvk/v-deo.html
What is the name of the pipe that you are using?
Best French Drain and Yard Drainage Contractor
frenchdrainman.com/
Neat video
ua-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BUqichor2QH1X_p9bBPor8D.html&si=elTn1NbZ5V709dhe
How deep should I bury the drain pipe? I live in Minnesota ... Amazing info, thanks!
Watch "Dos & Don'ts - Downspout Drain in the North Where Winter is Winter [ Complete Guide ]" on UA-cam
ua-cam.com/video/_V1efJM-8yM/v-deo.html
18-24" is what we shoot for
he said in the north a 3 inch hold less water. does that mean in the south it holds more? I'm confused why he would say this.
ua-cam.com/video/wawHvSs0UV4/v-deo.htmlsi=1OpponcEb0-x22N4
How deep do you bury it?
ua-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BVXKFHIb3Hd4nsppJYo0hzu.html&si=9-QJscX82h5h7x7L
The large ring around the emitter - where do you get those? Edit: Oops, never mind - just saw those on your web page!
Thanks for the videos!
4 in Pop-Up Emitter for Corrugated & Turf Restrictor Plate
frenchdrainman.com/product/4-in-corrugated-pop-up-emitter/
i cant stop thinking about the amount of treated water you wasted in this video
It's pumped out of a Lake. It's not treated and it runs back into the lake. You can rest easy brother.
Educational
So add heat tape or not needed?
ua-cam.com/video/1kPHHnDc1ZY/v-deo.htmlsi=X7g01LO4Pp7Wez7t
Does this apply to PVC?
ua-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BX_ZMbxsYVB6CNFoeAmuPxX.html&si=mSIjk3DtkJHtT1d4
What tape does he use?
4 in. x 108 ft. FDM's 200 Year Tape - Extra Sticky & Extra Stretchy - French Drain Systems | Curtain Drains | Macomb, Oakland, Lapeer, St. Clair County
frenchdrainman.com/product/4-x-108-fdms-200-year-tape/
Are you still using recommending using a drain box earlier in the run-off line to catch debris?
If you have big trees or a old Asphalt shingle roof it is a good idea.
Can you redo this with the blue pipe being clear. This would be an excellent explanation for potential customers
ua-cam.com/video/1kPHHnDc1ZY/v-deo.htmlsi=X7g01LO4Pp7Wez7t
Why wouldn't you use the knife cut the entire length or after 10 ft of solid pipe from the down spout then knife cut out to popup? .
With that knife cut, do you need stone and cloth anywhere knife cut is used? There is sooo many ways. I don't have any trees, and I have minimal grade. Was thinking about going 25 ft out. 10 feet of solid 15ft of knife cut out to popups. I live in Maryland. I really Want to do this right , the first dang time. I just get confused on what to use. Black pipe blue pipe , solid pipe , knife cut, where to use knife cut , where not to use knife cut. Stone , no stone And the more videos I watch the more confused I get. I feel like I am over thinking this but I am doing this in August and trying to get a solid game plan. So far I feel like I have no game plan Lmao!!
I gotcha covered. The most complete and up-to-date video (it's all you need) watch it twice.....3 times even. Yes you can run knife cut after 10ft but you must put a sock on it. The Blue pipe is a virgin 100% HDPE NO recycled materials and it's Extra Heavy Duty!
Side note: If this isn't gonna happen till August you should wait for our New release in line sediment trap expected Late July 2023 it's a game changer.
Enjoy the video and Thank You for watching.
Where does the water drain when the ground is frozen 2+ ft deep? Do you need to bury the pipe below the frost line?
It would be snow not liquid.
@@FRENCHDRAINMAN But on warmer days snow will melt off the roof. I have puddles in my driveway they freeze and create skating rinks. Wouldn't it freeze if I drained it into the yard?
In michigan It will randomly warm up and rain when the ground is still frozen.
My house......1920...and I'm out. Lol
ua-cam.com/play/PLjFCqaZ4v1BUqichor2QH1X_p9bBPor8D.html&si=_Hz0wSVGC7ohm-kY
I wish you guys did work in Ohio
We might have someone in Ohio 248-505-3065 is our office
ua-cam.com/video/6g7QB3XUSiA/v-deo.html
Watch "New Pop-Up 2.0: Game Changer in Drainage! Made in the USA, Indestructible Design, Fits ANYTHING!" on UA-cam
ua-cam.com/video/E85Tjrd5708/v-deo.html
Best Pop Up Emitter FDM's V2.0 for Downspout Drainage
frenchdrainman.com/drainage-products/pop-up-emitter-and-turf-restrictor-plates/