How To Design a Drainage System – Step Two
This section will describe both how to design your water drainage system, and maybe how to avoid
have to install one at all. Gather your sketch and notes and let’s get started.
Look at your notes from Step One - How To Discover Your Water Drainage Problems – to see how
long it took the different areas of standing water to disappear and to decide which situation below
fits your lawn or garden drainage issue. The links below will take you to specific design and
installation information.
If the standing water disappeared in an hour or so - then your lawn, yard, and garden has decent
drainage and all you may need to do is fix your Lake Downspout (gutter) problems.
If there were no Rainy Rivers, or they disappeared quickly, or ran in an area that is not a problem
– then you can probably just improve the yard top soil drainage, or perhaps install a French drain
or build a drywell to drain your Soggy Lawn Swamp, along with fixing any gutter downspout
drainage problems of course.
If you have any rain water collecting up next to your foundation – then you will need to correct the
slope of the ground next to your foundation first.
If your drainage problems do not fit in the above categories, or fit into multiple categories – then
you will have to design and install a connected drainage system utilizing the information below as
well as our other installation instructions.
Below are important drain system design guide lines, rules, and information:
Foundation drainage and downspout issues are critical
A soggy lawn is annoying, but a flooded basement or crawlspace is expensive and potentially
destructive. Always fix foundation and gutter drainage issues first.
Keep your water on your own property if at all possible
Draining your excess water away to the street or a ditch seems like a simple solution, but it just
transfers your problem to others. Also your lawn, trees, and plants will be healthier if you have
created a store of rain water in the subsoil for your plants to access in dry times. Only after all
other options to improve your drainage and keep the water in your own soil should you send the
excess off-site.
Top soil can be made to drain better by adding amenments
If your top soil is mostly clay, or is very compacted, your drainage will be greatly improved by
amending the soil with compost, gypsum, or other organic matter and mixing it in by hand or with a
rototiller. In some cases, you may be able to top dress a nice lawn with sand to improve drainage
rather than tilling up your yard.
Garden drainage issues by can also be fixed by raising the plants
Installing a drainage system in a garden might cause the soil to become too dry or interfere with
digging or cultivating. It is also possible to keep you plants from drowning by using raised beds to
rise above the occasional soggy situation.
Water will flow along the path of least resistance
Water flows downhill, not uphill. Water will flow through loose gravel easier than through tight soil.
Water will flow through a pipe easier that through gravel or soil. Drainage is improved when water
can easily flow from very soggy areas to drier areas.
Water can flow into, out of, or through plastic drain pipe or tile
Remember that there are two types of drain pipe: perforated and solid. Perforated pipe has many
little holes punched or drilled into it to allow water to enter and exit the pipe. In any drainage
system design there is often water flowing IN through the perforations in a soggy area at the same
time there is water flowing OUT of the perforations in a drier area. The perforations always go on
the bottom. Solid pipe is used in a drainage system to carry water PAST areas where you do not
want to add more water. Most drainage systems use both types of pipe or tile.
A French drain is simply a trench full of gravel that moves water horizontally
It acts much like a perforated pipe in that it collects water from a soggy area and distributes water
to drier areas. French drainage systems often contain one or more pipes buried in the gravel
trench.
A drywell quickly moves water deeper into the subsoil.
The purpose of a drywell is to allow water to enter the subsoil faster and easier. It is simply a hole
dug downward into the subsoil and filled with gravel or a sleeve. A small drywell can be dug with a
posthole digger. A large drywell may use a precast concrete cylinder as a sleeve.
Designing a drainage system is a little complex, but fortunately most of the knowledge and
techniques are fairly simple. Please read ALL of the above linked sections before going on to Step
Three - How To Diagram and Layout a Yard Drainage System
This section will describe both how to design your water drainage system, and maybe how to avoid
have to install one at all. Gather your sketch and notes and let’s get started.
Look at your notes from Step One - How To Discover Your Water Drainage Problems – to see how
long it took the different areas of standing water to disappear and to decide which situation below
fits your lawn or garden drainage issue. The links below will take you to specific design and
installation information.
If the standing water disappeared in an hour or so - then your lawn, yard, and garden has decent
drainage and all you may need to do is fix your Lake Downspout (gutter) problems.
If there were no Rainy Rivers, or they disappeared quickly, or ran in an area that is not a problem
– then you can probably just improve the yard top soil drainage, or perhaps install a French drain
or build a drywell to drain your Soggy Lawn Swamp, along with fixing any gutter downspout
drainage problems of course.
If you have any rain water collecting up next to your foundation – then you will need to correct the
slope of the ground next to your foundation first.
If your drainage problems do not fit in the above categories, or fit into multiple categories – then
you will have to design and install a connected drainage system utilizing the information below as
well as our other installation instructions.
Below are important drain system design guide lines, rules, and information:
Foundation drainage and downspout issues are critical
A soggy lawn is annoying, but a flooded basement or crawlspace is expensive and potentially
destructive. Always fix foundation and gutter drainage issues first.
Keep your water on your own property if at all possible
Draining your excess water away to the street or a ditch seems like a simple solution, but it just
transfers your problem to others. Also your lawn, trees, and plants will be healthier if you have
created a store of rain water in the subsoil for your plants to access in dry times. Only after all
other options to improve your drainage and keep the water in your own soil should you send the
excess off-site.
Top soil can be made to drain better by adding amenments
If your top soil is mostly clay, or is very compacted, your drainage will be greatly improved by
amending the soil with compost, gypsum, or other organic matter and mixing it in by hand or with a
rototiller. In some cases, you may be able to top dress a nice lawn with sand to improve drainage
rather than tilling up your yard.
Garden drainage issues by can also be fixed by raising the plants
Installing a drainage system in a garden might cause the soil to become too dry or interfere with
digging or cultivating. It is also possible to keep you plants from drowning by using raised beds to
rise above the occasional soggy situation.
Water will flow along the path of least resistance
Water flows downhill, not uphill. Water will flow through loose gravel easier than through tight soil.
Water will flow through a pipe easier that through gravel or soil. Drainage is improved when water
can easily flow from very soggy areas to drier areas.
Water can flow into, out of, or through plastic drain pipe or tile
Remember that there are two types of drain pipe: perforated and solid. Perforated pipe has many
little holes punched or drilled into it to allow water to enter and exit the pipe. In any drainage
system design there is often water flowing IN through the perforations in a soggy area at the same
time there is water flowing OUT of the perforations in a drier area. The perforations always go on
the bottom. Solid pipe is used in a drainage system to carry water PAST areas where you do not
want to add more water. Most drainage systems use both types of pipe or tile.
A French drain is simply a trench full of gravel that moves water horizontally
It acts much like a perforated pipe in that it collects water from a soggy area and distributes water
to drier areas. French drainage systems often contain one or more pipes buried in the gravel
trench.
A drywell quickly moves water deeper into the subsoil.
The purpose of a drywell is to allow water to enter the subsoil faster and easier. It is simply a hole
dug downward into the subsoil and filled with gravel or a sleeve. A small drywell can be dug with a
posthole digger. A large drywell may use a precast concrete cylinder as a sleeve.
Designing a drainage system is a little complex, but fortunately most of the knowledge and
techniques are fairly simple. Please read ALL of the above linked sections before going on to Step
Three - How To Diagram and Layout a Yard Drainage System
| Step 2: Designing a French Drain and DrywellSystem for Lawn, Yard, and Garden Please first read Step 1: Lawn and Garden Drainage Guide In Step 2 you will find information on: • How to design and build an affordable drainage system • French drain and drywell tips for your lawn • Installation of plastic pipe and drainage tile • Connected landscape drainage system guide |
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| Follow the steps linked below correct most home and yard drainage problems... |
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