In reality, a French drain is sort of like a French fry, or French toast -- its actual link to France is tenuous at best, and few people remember why it's named the way it is. In France, fries are called pommes frites, and French toast is pain perdu. And its French name notwithstanding, the French drain is a great way to move water from one place to another, whether you're in Europe or the States.
The French drain is a shallow drainage system, and can be one of the best foundations to an all-encompassing basement waterproofing design. Essentially, it's a perforated pipe in your basement, which allows water to drain away from your home, into a solid, unperforated pipe, which then drains into a retention pond. A dry basement is a priority for any responsible homeowner, since too much moisture around a home's foundation can result in cracks, or worse.
A French drain is the easiest way to keep your basement dry. If you have plenty of time and know-how, you may be able to install one yourself. But hiring a quality basement waterproofing contractor with lots of experience might be a more prudent route, particularly if you have an especially large basement or amount of property, or if your French drain has to be installed under your foundation.
Just to give you an idea of the amount of work involved, here's a quick outline of the process to installing a French drain.
Find your path. This phase of the French drain installation will be where you figure out whether you can do the job yourself, or hire a basement waterproofing company to do it for you. Take a look at your basement: Is there a place where the water is pooling, or any other obvious signs that a specific spot needs drainage? Once you've done this, trace a straight line from this spot, downhill, to a place outside that you can use as a retention pond. Keep gravity in mind at all times, and remember to keep things like trees, underground utilities and other buildings in mind.
Excavate a trench. This is the hard part. The trench should lead from your basement to the retention pond, and should be about eight to twelve inches deep by about six inches wide. You'll be filling it with pipe and gravel, so it needs to be somewhat large.
Fill it back in. Once the trench is dug, lay about two inches of gravel in the bottom. The amount of gravel you use will depend on the length and depth of your French drain, so be sure your measurements are correct before placing your order.
Start laying pipe. This is the most vital part of your French drain. You'll need two types of pipe: Perforated, for the area to be drained, and unperforated, for carrying the water away from the house. The idea here is to allow water to seep into the system through the perforated pipe, then drain away from the house in the unperforated section.
Use gravel to cover the pipe. Use gravel in your French drain instead of dirt. Remember, your goal is to create a porous system that allows water to seep into the perforated pipe. Covering it with dirt would simply create a muddy mess.
Lay sod over the outdoor section. French drains aren't meant to be looked at, right? So be sure the outdoor section is hidden out of sight. Sod is the best way to do this.
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