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What is a French Drain System - Rapid Response

How French Drains Work

The earliest French drain systems were simple ditches that were pitched from a high area to a lower one and filled with gravel. The name stems from Henry Flagg French of Concord, MA, who was a farmer who popularized them in 1859 as a solution to drain excess water away from crop fields. The first French drains were made of sections of ordinary roofing tile that were laid with a 1⁄8 gap in between the sections to admit water. Modern French drain systems are made of perforated pipe and are used to help protect housing foundations and prevent basements from flooding.

Water can accumulate around the foundation of the home and seep into the basement because it doesn’t have a drainage path. The basic principle of a French drain is to provide a path of least resistance for water to follow to prevent the flooding of the basement by diverting water out of the home.

If water tends to pool in a particular low spot around your home after a rainstorm or snowmelt, a French drain system can be used to channel that water to a sump pump, and out of the home. This is achieved using hollow, perforated drainage pipe set at an angle and installed the below slab. This piping is covered in several layers of gravel which helps water flow down into the drainage pipe.

An interior French drain system also provides a solution for basements that admit water through the structure. In these wet basements, water pushes against the foundation and gradually leaks through. With a French drain, however, water near the foundation can be rerouted and transferred elsewhere before entering the basement or crawlspace to protect the basement from recurring floods and prevent further damage to the foundation by reducing the hydrostatic pressure on the foundation, by re-routing the water so that it is not forced through cracks in the foundation wall.

When to Use French Drain Systems

If water is currently seeping through the foundation and into the home, it may be time to invest in an interior French drain.