Why are French drains called French?

While you might think that the French drain originated in France, the name derives from its inventor, Henry Flagg French, a farmer from New England born in 1813. Fascinated by agriculture, in 1859 French wrote a book, “Farm Drainage,” highlighting the drainage systems in use at the time.

What does the term French drain mean?

Definition of French drain

: a drain consisting of an underground passage made by filling a trench with loose stones and covering with earth. — called also rubble drain.

What is the difference between a French drain and a regular drain?

The main difference between the two is that French drains capture and remove groundwater while trench drains quickly remove surface water before it can saturate the ground. Here's a closer look at each type of drain.

What is French drain pipe called?

A French drain, which may also be called a curtain drain, perimeter drain, weeping tile, or agricultural drain, is a gravel-filled trench that includes a perforated or slotted pipe. These drains are used to direct surface water or groundwater away from a specific area, such as a home's foundation.

What is a Dutch drain?

Open drain that carries stormwater runoff from the bottom of a house wall away from the house.

What is a French Drain?

What is a swale ditch?

Drainage swales are shallow ditches that blend in with surrounding landscape design, facilitate water management, and encourage natural irrigation. Swales take advantage of natural slopes in the land to direct water downward into all the soil as opposed to letting it pool above ground or waterlog a specific region.

What is better than a French drain?

A sump pump is one the the most popular and most effective alternatives to a french drain. A sump pump add lots of drainage but comes with a few downsides. A sump system requires electricity to function and can be expensive to install and maintain.

Who invented French drains?

People have been trying to come up with an efficient way to waterproof basements or cellars since the 1800s. A big player in this field was Henry French, who invented the French drain, and wrote about that and drainage tiles in his book Farm Drainage.

Do French drains freeze in winter?

While usually a good strategy to prevent foundation damage, French drains may get damaged by winter thaw and freeze cycles.

How long should a French drain last?

Generally speaking, a French drain will last approximately 30 to 40 years. However, the above-mentioned factors may shorten its life cycle and it must then be replaced by a team of foundation experts.

What is a California drain?

This drainage system is typically used on driveways and sidewalks as well as areas directly under a roof edge that doesn't have gutters or any other area where water has the tendency to collect.

Do French drains attract mosquitoes?

As great as french drains are for moving water, the water basins that serve as inlets are perfect breeding grounds for mosquitos. They are dark, wet, and usually undisturbed except during a rainfall.

Can you walk on a French drain?

Popular in the space between houses, drainage walkways are basically a stepping stone path installed over the top of a French drain system. They function much like a dry creek bed, but allow for walking on top.

What is a Victorian drain?

Typically, these Victorian houses are brick-built and laid out in terraces. The drains of each property in the terrace will connect to pipes leading to the public sewer. The pipes used in Victorian times were made from salt-glazed clay.

What is a French drain UK?

A French drain is simply a small trench, dug to a gradient, and filled with aggregate, that will allow surface water to drain away from your walls, a building, driveway, garden or area that is prone to surface water pooling, or is vulnerable to flash flooding.

Does a French drain need an exit?

Short answer to the title of "Where should french drain terminate?" is that, ideally, the french drain will terminate to an above-ground exit on the side of a hill or at least a downwards slope, so that the water that was in the drain can escape to get into the place that normal surface runoff goes from the property.

Do french drains need to be sloped?

French drains need to have a slope of at least 1 percent, so the force of gravity will work for you. This means that the drain should slope down a total of at least one inch for every 10 feet of pipe.

Are French drains from France?

These may have been invented in France but Henry Flagg French (1813–1885) of Concord, Massachusetts, a lawyer and Assistant U.S. Treasury Secretary described and popularized them in Farm Drainage (1859).

Can you cover French drain with dirt?

Can I cover a French drain with dirt? Because a French drain has holes throughout the pipe which allow it collect water, you should not install dirt on top of the drain pipe. Installing dirt will clog the pipe and the holes, rendering it useless.

How far away from the house should a French drain be?

How Close Should a French Drain be to the House? A good rule of thumb is to install french drains 3 feet from the house. Make sure to measure around the porch, patio and deck.