So like a lot of people in Houston, I learned a lot about my drainage in the past couple days.

What I figured out is that when the previous builder redid the foundation, I don't think they built the yard back up enough to keep water from draining properly.

I've had two instances now, where if it rains hard, enough water can pool up to start to come through the foundation into my study. This looks to be a combination of water flowing "down my yard" and from the fence line inward. I already have gutters in place

I've gotten recommendations from family/friends that range from "build the ground up near the foundation so it slopes away" to "a french drain is necessary."

Since this is the back of my house, it's parallel to the street meaning it would need to drain out to the fence line and then hook a right to go out to the street. It's an option, but probably the most expensive.

Some things I've considered is digging a rock trench a foot or so in front of the foundation that flows towards the fence line. This would be similar to a french drain, but not necessarily any pipe necessary. Main goal would be to build a barrier to keep water from pooling in the low spots and instead pooling away from the house until it can drain properly.

What do yall think? I'm open to all ideas.

french drain... it's actually not that hard and you can run along the side of your house out to the curb.

If you go the French drain route make sure that your gutters tie into the the French drain too.

***edited for grammar ***

Yeah...I'm thinking that's the solution as well...Just going to have to figure out how to run this and have it loop the house.

Based on the overall layout of my house and where I need it to drain to, I'm not not 100% certain draining it to the street makes sense. Just not sure of a good drainage point.

If you can get it far enough forward to where you have good drainage then you can use a pop up drain to let the water out.

spider96 is right. You don't have to get to the curb if you can just get it far enough from the house.

If you don't go to the street you have to careful where you drain it. If it goes towards a neighbor, that could lead to problems if they flood.

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If you don't go to the street you have to careful where you drain it. If it goes towards a neighbor, that could lead to problems if they flood.

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In Texas, absent some sort of natural topography that drains across property lines, your property has to drain to the public way.

I'll have to think on where it should drain to.

I'm in an area with a side walk between my yard and the street, so I couldn't bring it down to the street anyhow...

If I were to loop it from the backyard to the front, and then let it naturally flow down my front yard, that should work right?

I've seen them installed where the French drain is routed down the side of the home and the pop up is installed before the sidewalk. That way ensures that you don't get any water into your neighbors property.

That's kind of what I'm thinking.

The front yard slopes enough and my neighbors drive way is next to me, so I'm not concerned about any flooding, but I don't want to purposefully push water their direction. I think I have a good enough idea as to what needs to be done now, I just need to figure out the right spot for the pop up to be located to drain back yard.

French drain will not work with a popup outlet. There is not usually enough gravity to push it open. French drains should be used in the yard with gutter downspouts run into separate solid pipes. The gutters can have a pop up emitter on them. If you do not have enough fall to get it out of the yard a good sub pump would be the solution.

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French drain will not work with a popup outlet. There is not usually enough gravity to push it open. French drains should be used in the yard with gutter downspouts run into separate solid pipes. The gutters can have a pop up emitter on them. If you do not have enough fall to get it out of the yard a good sub pump would be the solution.

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I've used them before and had them work on my jobs.

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French drain will not work with a popup outlet. There is not usually enough gravity to push it open. French drains should be used in the yard with gutter downspouts run into separate solid pipes. The gutters can have a pop up emitter on them. If you do not have enough fall to get it out of the yard a good sub pump would be the solution.

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I've used them before and had them work on my jobs.

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Works on mine too and I have 2 houses with French drains and pop-ups on both!

Plus I've got my gutters on separate lines with pop-ups on them as well. Only problem I have with them is they pop-off, meaning there's too much water flow at times and the pop-ups blow off at times!

Isn't a french drain actually a gravel drain with no pipe? Most of the yards in my neighborhood have a pretty simple pvc drain pipe with 3 or 4 inlets and a pop-up emitter on the end by the street. Seems to be a popular band-aid. My builder put one on one of the sides to correct a drainage problem there.

The original design of a french drain was just gravel/rock. Modern versions all include the pipe.

On the popup outlet, what I do intend to place it near an existing gutter drain.

What I could conceivably do is grab a Y or T joint and tie in the gutter to the drain as well so that it drains and clears the line. my only concern would be getting debris in the line doing it this way.

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On the popup outlet, what I do intend to place it near an existing gutter drain.

What I could conceivably do is grab a Y or T joint and tie in the gutter to the drain as well so that it drains and clears the line. my only concern would be getting debris in the line doing it this way.

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The way I've seen it done it to use flexible corrugated black pipe. Make sure to get the non perforated kind. Use several catch basins that tie into the pipe n the yard to provide an inlet. Provide a pop up outlet where you want the water to drain to. You can also use pvc pipe in place of the corrugated pipe if you wish.

it will work only if you have enough fall but will not pop up in a relatively flat application. You then have water sitting in the pipe. Pop up emmitters work fine for gutters. Its just my opinion which is only good for what it is....... I have installed over 300 hundred drain systems in the last 20 plus years.

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it will work only if you have enough fall but will not pop up in a relatively flat application. You then have water sitting in the pipe. Pop up emmitters work fine for gutters. Its just my opinion which is only good for what it is....... I have installed over 300 hundred drain systems in the last 20 plus years.

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From the op it sounds like the drainage was fine before he had foundation work done. If he's going to the street from the back yard with it then he "should" have enough fall. If not, then I agree with you about a sump pump.

Drains and tube is a simple project - haven't done it commercially but have done a few.

Get the perforated tube and the sock. After you dig your trench, put the sock over the tube, install the tube then backfill with pea gravel or decomposed granite - whatever is cheap. Cover with dirt then replace the sod.

You should use tees and wyes for junctions but you don't need a 'drain' at the collection end of any given run, only at the junctions and areas that need most drainage.

I have a couple dozen feet of tube left over from my last project - bump the thread if you want my contact info.