Should I tap French drain into my gutter drainage piping?
#1
04-22-20, 11:55 AM
Should I tap French drain into my gutter drainage piping?
Hello,
We have a poorly executed French drain extending from under our barn slab. Picture attached. I'm in the process of installing some underground gutter drainage pipes (sch 40 pipe) that run past the French drain and have these questions:
Q1: Should I tap the French drain into my underground piping? I've read in a few places that you should never combine surface and subsurface drainage. I'm also worried about sediment from the French drain clogging up my pipes because the French drain was NOT properly wrapped with landscape fabric. So if you think I CAN tap into my piping, what is the best way to keep it from mucking up my pipes?
Q2: If not, how should I terminate this French drain? The area it currently drains to is very wet, which is why I was motivated to pipe the gutter water out of there. I'd hate to let the French drain ruin my work.
Thanks!
We have a poorly executed French drain extending from under our barn slab. Picture attached. I'm in the process of installing some underground gutter drainage pipes (sch 40 pipe) that run past the French drain and have these questions:
Q1: Should I tap the French drain into my underground piping? I've read in a few places that you should never combine surface and subsurface drainage. I'm also worried about sediment from the French drain clogging up my pipes because the French drain was NOT properly wrapped with landscape fabric. So if you think I CAN tap into my piping, what is the best way to keep it from mucking up my pipes?
Q2: If not, how should I terminate this French drain? The area it currently drains to is very wet, which is why I was motivated to pipe the gutter water out of there. I'd hate to let the French drain ruin my work.
Thanks!
#2
04-22-20, 12:12 PM
Member
We have a poorly executed French drain extending from under our barn slab.
#3
04-22-20, 12:38 PM
Yep, draining from under the slab.
Shortly after the barn was build we started getting flooding, and their fix was to put that drain in. I’m hoping my gutter extensions render the drain obsolete, but would hate to be proven wrong and miss and opportunity to improve the drain while I’ve got the ground all dug up.
Shortly after the barn was build we started getting flooding, and their fix was to put that drain in. I’m hoping my gutter extensions render the drain obsolete, but would hate to be proven wrong and miss and opportunity to improve the drain while I’ve got the ground all dug up.
#4
04-22-20, 03:14 PM
Member
Sorry, what I'm not getting is where is the water coming from under the slab that the french drain is removing, ground water, maybe the downspouts?
#6
04-23-20, 12:59 AM
Member
So there is a pipe of some sort of pipe or corrugated drain pipe within the french drain?
Depending on how deep the french drain is the dirt rock that makes it up should filter out any sediment, your using PVC pipe which is smooth interior unlike corrugated pipe. Lots of slope helps. A cleanout could be installed.
Personally if you installing a pipe to remove water from an area, Id get it all out of there!
Depending on how deep the french drain is the dirt rock that makes it up should filter out any sediment, your using PVC pipe which is smooth interior unlike corrugated pipe. Lots of slope helps. A cleanout could be installed.
Personally if you installing a pipe to remove water from an area, Id get it all out of there!
#7
04-23-20, 06:04 AM
Member
I would install separate piping for the two systems. The gutter drains will flood the french drain and make it useless if the two systems are connected to each other.
#8
04-23-20, 09:43 AM
Marq1: Yes, the black pipe in the picture I attached is the corrugated French drain pipe sticking out from under the slab (its perpendicular to the PVC pipe being used for the gutter drainage). I could easily connect the corrugated pipe to the PVC, but am worried that it will add sediment to my PVC pipes.
Wirepuller: The French drain pipe is currently a couple inches higher than the gutter drain pipe - so would the gutter water really flood the French drain?
Wirepuller: The French drain pipe is currently a couple inches higher than the gutter drain pipe - so would the gutter water really flood the French drain?
#9
04-23-20, 01:07 PM
Member
So is the slab/french drain is to the left? I was assuming the slab/french drain and downspouts was from the structure on the right?
There is no right or wrong answer here, the purpose of any drain is to move water away, could it add silt, possibly, but as noted if good slope exists water will be moving and not settleling!
There is no right or wrong answer here, the purpose of any drain is to move water away, could it add silt, possibly, but as noted if good slope exists water will be moving and not settleling!
#10
04-24-20, 04:38 AM
Should I tap the French drain into my underground piping?
Okay provided that said underground piping can never back up and require time to dissipate the water.
... how should I terminate this French drain?
The French drain must be able to immediately drain the accumulated water, directly or indirectly, to a storm drain or to daylight, either via gravity or using a sump pump.
A limited amount of water may be permitted to be absorbed in a dry well or an absorption field (leach field) but not the same field to which a septic tank feeds water.
A limited amount of water may be permitted to remain in a French drain or weeping tile but an air pocket must continue to exist the full length of the pipe uninterrupted by water filled dips..
The gutter drain juxtaposed with the French drain should be non-perforated. The purpose of a French drain is to desaturate the surrounding soil. It is therefore undesirable to artificially add to its environs water from elsewhere such as from roofs or gutters.
A French drain pipe or weeping tile should not be wrapped closely with a cloth or sock otherwise the fabric may cling to the pipe and only the half inch or so patches of cloth directly over the holes will admit water to the pipe and get clogged with dirt quicklty.
Last edited by AllanJ; 04-24-20 at 05:11 AM.
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