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One of the reasons so many people love living in Los Angeles is our amazing climate. Once you get a taste of SoCal living with our endless sunny days, who would want to go back to winters with snow?
While we all know that it’s sunny here about 90% of the time, we do get our rainstorms, and they are usually epic.
It’s not surprising, then, that a lot of homes in Los Angeles are not really all that well designed to handle water falling from the sky. Homeowners frequently find water pooled up next to their home during the rainy season. Others may worry about their retaining wall. Still other homeowners may have mysterious muddy spots in their lawns that aren’t being caused by any water pipe leakage. Whatever the situation, you don’t want a bunch of water just hanging around near your home. As we all know, water is one of the most destructive forces for homes.
So, how do you deal with all this water? Two words – French drains.
Despite the name, French drains weren’t actually invented in France. No, they were popularized in the 1800’s by Henry Flagg French who lived in Massachusetts (much like German Chocolate Cake not actually being from Germany, but that’s another story).
The beauty of French Drains is that you don’t really see them in your lawn. In fact, you could drive all around LA and probably see dozens of lawns and retaining walls that have French Drains installed, without even knowing it.
Basically, a French Drain is designed to use the power of gravity to move water away from your house and out to the street, gutter or another part of your property that can handle the water.
Although Los Angeles seems like an arid desert during heat waves, there’s actually plenty of groundwater and rain around to cause problems for your foundation, retaining walls and your lawn.
Water is one of the most destructive forces on the planet. Just think about all the mudslides that happened in burn-affected areas. The water literally sweeps homes away. And that’s not just when it’s raining. Water soaked hillsides can become destabilized and slide down, taking homes, sheds, cards, retaining walls, everything else with it.
Los Angeles is filled with hillsides. If you are living in a hillside home, how’s that hill holding up after a good rain storm? How much water is that hillside holding onto?
Bottom line, water (whether you can see it or not) causes damage and possibly destruction to your home’s foundations, retaining walls and other buildings. You want to get that water away from your home.
A French Drain is basically an underground pipe that collects groundwater and moves it away from your house or lawn. The drain works by using gravity to encourage water to seep into the drain, which whisks it away.
The first thing you want to do in installing a French Drain is find a contractor who has experience installing these types of drains. Any time you complete home improvement projects, it’s best to hire a professional who has all the equipment and background experience to make the project go more smoothly.
Your contractor will dig a trench about 18 inches deep and 12 inches wide and then fill that with gravel. Then, a perforated pipe is nestled into the gravel. A permeable fabric is placed over the pipe to keep dirt, rocks and debris out. Water will soak into the ground, through the gravel and into the pipe. The pipe takes the water to a second location, usually a storm drain.
Since a French drain depends so much on gravity to do most of the work, the most crucial requirement is the proper slope. (Coincidentally, this is one of the most important reasons to hire a contractor to do this job – they know how to install the drain with the proper slope.) The drain needs at least a 1% grade drop – the equivalent of a one-inch drop over 10 feet. If you don’t install the drain with the proper slope, you’re still going to be stuck with standing water.
Additionally, a French drain must be able to take the water to a location where it no longer poses a threat. This can be a storm drain, retention pond, or simply a safe spot away from your home.
Once you have your French drain installed, it will last 30-40 years, possibly even longer. They are relatively maintenance-free. You do want to clean out the pipe every year or so, to make sure there’s no debris clogging it up. Even though your French drain will be installed with a protective fabric, there’s always going to be those few pebbles and dirt that make their way into the pipe.
It’s pretty easy to clean out a French pipe. First, you just put a hose in it to check to see if water backs up. If water backs up it’s time to clean. Use a pressure water or a sewer snake to dig in there and get the grime out. You want to make sure you’re standing off to the side, though. That water and debris will make its way back to you!
Ready to install a French drain on your property? Give us a call. We have over 20 years experience, ensuring your project is done correctly the first time and on budget.