I plan to have everyone that posts on this thread come to my house and fix all my issues free of charge....

I had a house on the side of a steep hill that had issues during heavy rains, where the runoff from the neighbor above me (on top of the hill) would be like a river through my front yard up against the house.

I had a landscaper look at it and requested that a french drain be installed. He said he never installed french drains because they didn't work well enough in most cases. He recommended a small wall about 12" high (includes a footer and two limestone blocks high) and 75' long that was about 5' off the property line between me and the neighbor, and slightly curved inward as it extended towards my back yard.

I approved his proposal and am glad I did. We had a "rain bomb" that fall that dumped 12" of rain in 2 hours. The wall deflected all of the water towards mt backyard and vacant lot behind my house. I am sure the wall of water would have flooded my house had I not installed the wall.

Howdy Dammit said:

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WheelinAg said:

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Howdy Dammit said:

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More drainage threads. Could talk about the stuff all day.

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Hmm... I have pretty decent drainage issues. I'm a huge DIY guy, but would love advice on what products to use and where. I could post survey and take elevations with a rotary laser.

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Post away. I am an engineer and took my PE exam specifically in hydrology and hydraulics. I can give my "on paper" advice. Magnolia, as I understand actually installs systems, so would probably be a better source for specific products. He already called one of my brand references "junk".

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Isn't the answer always "buy at Ewing or Site1, never Home Depot or Lowes"?

so when I walk into big box, what do I buy? Have a line I want to run right along house foundation in a hidden are that will be half buried and half covered with rocks or something...black corrugated I know clogs, but do I get the white PVC, the green, the blue - what exactly?

CapCity12thMan said:

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so when I walk into big box, what do I buy? Have a line I want to run right along house foundation in a hidden are that will be half buried and half covered with rocks or something...black corrugated I know clogs, but do I get the white PVC, the green, the blue - what exactly?

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What are you connecting to it? Or are you trying to do one of these famous shallow French drains everybody does?

Howdy Dammit said:

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Either a bad engineer or installer. Perforations in French drains are always down.

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It was designed this way to optimize the flushing by the gutters. The design worked well and was maintenance free.

One of my first projects when I bought my house/13000sqft lot was to slope my yard, add about 250' of SDR35 serving 11 inlets flowing to 3 outfalls. Then added sprinkler and sod. Handled Hurricane Harvey like a champ. Check your drainage area and run slope calculations.
https://www.prinsco.com/resources/drainage-calculator-by-pipe-size/
https://www.ndspro.com/tools-and-calculators/drainage-calculator

catch basin at end of driveway (slopes towards house) is gonna catch some run off, and from there, its' downhill down the side of the house, and will empty into backyard in a logical place I have thought would be good.

The side of the house is where the AC units are and where we keep our trash cans, so I was gonna bury it just so it is covered and then gonna do some rock landscaping around it all to hide it. doesn't need to be glamourous, just functional to control the water from the sloped driveway

So, I don't think I need a french drain...

https://www.lowes.com/pd/NDS-9-in-dia-Catch-Basin/1002683

Then, SDR is best, S&D next best, and then worst ADS. And if all it is is catch basins and downspouts, then do not buy slotted/perforated. Not very smart to connect fast water to pipe with holes in it.

What is the purpose of all these pipes w/ holes. Is the concept to provide *some* moisture to the ground near the house while moving the majority away?

planoaggie123 said:

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What is the purpose of all these pipes w/ holes. Is the concept to provide *some* moisture to the ground near the house while moving the majority away?

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French drains are mainly used for subsurface drainage. Primarily used around foundation perimeters to keep groundwater from seeping under the slab. The hydrostatic pressure underground pushes water up into the holes of the pipe and then is able to be discharged.

Ahh. Interesting. Thank you for that!