How to Install a Basement Perimeter Drain

Basement flooding is usually caused by improper drainage around the base of your home. A perfect solution to this unfortunate problem is a perimeter drain. Installing such a drain will take some hard work and time, but doing so will protect your home for many years to come. In order to install a basement perimeter drain for your home, you will need the right tools and materials and a bit of know-how.

Things You'll Need

• Marker paint
• Round point shovel
• Mattock
• Tape measure
• Landscaping cloth
• Razor knife
• Gravel
• French drain with angles and connectors
• Tin snips
• Grass seed
• Straw
• Leather work gloves
• Safety glasses

Instructions

1. Survey your property. Walk around the house and determine where your drainage should go to prevent flooding elsewhere. Ideally you will want this spot to be in a drainage ditch, creek or storm drain. Mark this spot with your paint.

2. Determine the high spot next to your house. This will not be the highest level of the yard; it will be the spot next to the house farthest from the low spot you have already marked. Mark your high spot with paint.

3. Dig down at your low spot mark with a shovel and mattock while measuring with a tape measure periodically to track your progress. Dig down 36 inches at this spot.

4. Move to the closest spot next to the house and dig down 30 inches with your shovel. Move to a spot halfway between the 30-inch hole and your high spot. Dig down 24 inches at this spot and again at a spot directly on the other side of the house.

5. Dig down 20 inches at your high spot mark. Connect the holes by digging a 12-inch-wide trench with your shovel while using your mattock to loosen the soil and remove rocks easier. Pay particular attention to keeping the ground at the bottom of your trench sloped so that your high, mid-range and low spots remain the same.

6. Cover the entire trench with a layer of landscaping cloth. Cut the cloth with a razor knife so that it covers the bottom of the trench and rides up each side 2 inches. Cover the cloth with 2 inches of gravel.

7. Lay a French drain into the trench. Connect the pieces by adding a coupling in the straight sections and corner connectors at the corners of the house. Add a "T" coupling at the low spot of the house, and continue your drain to the low spot at the outflow. Twist each piece of drain so that the slotted side is facing up. Cut the drain where necessary with your tin snips.

8. Cover the entire length of drain with 6 inches of gravel, replace the dirt into the trench and walk along the entire trench several times to pack the dirt into the hole. Spread a liberal amount of grass seed to the fresh dirt, and cover it with straw to protect the seeds.

Tips & Warnings

• Always contact your utility location service before digging. Allow them time to come out and mark your property so there will be no question where gas, electric and utility lines are located underground. This information can save your home, property and your life. It is a free service and is required by law.

• Always wear appropriate safety equipment, such as leather work gloves and safety glasses, to protect yourself when performing any digging project.

References

• Grounds-Mag.com: How to Install a French Drain