How to Install a French Drain

Installing french drains in a basement of a home can be a challenge. There are many things to investigate in order to complete this task. Some examples are; What type of ground and what's under it, How thick is the ground, What type of soil, And is there a high water table.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Cement cutter, round shovel, stones,wheel barrow,tamper,drain pump assembly for extracting ground water,pvc pipe 2 inch in diameter,various fittings,drill, hole saw kit upto 2 1/2 inch,saw, glue,measu

1. The first thing you want to do is brake up the cement in the far corner of the basement or space where the pump will be installed. Dig down deep enough to install the pump.
2. Cut a 4 inch wide trench around the perimeter of the basement. Remove all cement and some of the dirt enough to install a bed of 1 inch stones evenly in the hole. This hole must also be deep enough to accommodate a 4 inch perforated pipe(holes drilled around the entire pipe) This hole will be approximately 6 inches at the highest end and slope toward the pump 1/4 inch per foot. the easiest way to measure this is mark the floor every 4 feet and dig 1 inch lower than the beginning of the trench. Do this around the perimeter until all pipes lead to pump.
3. Run all pipes into basin. Now drill a hole into the wall where the pipe will exit the building. Attach this pipe to pump. Make certain the vertical pipe has a check valve installed. This pipe will extend out to the furthest part of the outside landscaping.
4. After pipe is installed and pitched properly cover with a thin layer of concrete about 1 inch below the level of the existing floor level.