Best 9 Reasons for Installing a French Drain in Your Yard

Have you ever heard about French drains? If you know little or nothing about it, this article is right for you. Today, we’ll discuss all you need to know about French drains. Also throughout the article, we’ll emphasize the top reasons for installing a French drain.

What is a French Drain?

Henry Flagg French invented the French Drain in 1859. In simple words, a French drain is a pipe that goes underground to channel the rainwater away from your yard or basements. The trench is covered with gravel or small rocks.

Why should you Install a French Drain?

One of the best reasons for installing a French drain is if you have yard flooding problems or water infiltration to the basement. Without doubts, a French drain is the most efficient and simple drainage system to deal with water or moisture surplus.

We all know how disturbing it is to wake up one morning and find your yard and/or other areas of your property flooded.

But with the proper French Drain Installation, not even the heaviest rains will flood your property.

How Does a French Drain Work?

The wide pipe that goes underground is perforated so it allows water to fall into the pipe. The pipe must have a downward angle. This will allow gravity to do the job of taking the excess of water away from your property.

When building French drains, the right procedure is to cover them with gravel.But it’s not only because gravel looks great; the reason why gravel is used is because it allows water to flow easier in comparison to soil.

Top Reasons for Installing a French Drain in Your Property

1- Removes Water/Moisture Surplus

Well, of course, one of the best advantages of installing a French drain is the control of water surplus.

A French drain will do an excellent job removing the excess of water and moisture from the foundations of your building and the surplus of water from yards.

If your house is built at the bottom or side of a hill, one of the wisest things to do is to install a French drain. A French drain will keep your home dry, your foundations strong, and your yard in the right shape.

With a French drain, you will never face problems related to home and yard flooding due to heavy rains. So avoid all the mess that the surplus of water can create in your property by installing a French drain.

2- Keeps Your Foundations Strong

We all know that water despite looking inoffensive can cause considerable damage to your property if being left wild or unattended.

We also know that the foundations are a vital part of the structural stability of your house. Thus, you must pay attention to them.

Since your foundations have a lot of responsibilities upon their shoulders, it is paramount to keep them in the best shape possible with regular maintenance.

One of the reasons for installing a French drain is that it keeps water away from your foundations and away from the rest of your home as well.

In simple words, we’ll tell you what happens when there is an excess of water near your home foundations.

First of all, water paddles in your yard will soften the soil, weakening the strength and the stability of your home’s foundations.

Some of the direct effects of water on foundations are shifting and cracking of surfaces. Excess of water can turn your home foundations into a weaker, insecure, and unstable structure.

So, with an efficient French drain system, you can divert water away from your home, keeping your foundations always strong.

3- Keeps Your Soil Together

One of the most important reasons for installing a French drain is that it prevents or mitigates soil erosion.

During heavy rains, your soil can fall into the grasp of erosion. If you don’t have an efficient drainage system to take water away from your yard, you will have to deal with erosion problems in your yard. If erosion affects your soil, your plants will have fewer nutrients and moisture.

Also, an eroded yard will ruin the look of your landscape. Of course, you don’t want any of this to happen. Without a doubt, a drainage system will help you to prevent soil erosion.

So, it’s clear that protecting your yard against erosion is one of the main reasons for installing a French drain.

A correctly installed drain will work as a protective underground barrier for your yard. Its primary job is to divert excess of water away from your yard.

With a French drain, not a single part of your beautiful yard will be saturated with water. But it won’t deprive your soil of water. Instead, a French drain will keep a balanced moisture level in your garden’s soil.

And as we mentioned earlier, having a working drainage system will prevent water from washing your garden’s topsoil.

4- Helps to Keep Your Home Safety

One of the best reasons for installing a French drain is that it makes your property safe.

What is the most likely scenario if you have standing water in your yard? In simple terms, it can put your loved ones, friends, and visitors in danger.

It’s impossible for children to stop playing. But if your yard is muddy or has puddles, it is not safe at all for your children to play there.

Also, people might slip and fall or have any other accident when walking over or nearby muddy areas. That’s why we recommend installing an underground drainage system to keep your loved ones safe.

5- French Drains are Barely Noticeable

Because drainage systems operate underground, most of the time they go unnoticed.

And as we mentioned earlier, once you or our professionals laid the big pipes and gravel, you can cover them with grass, permeable pavers, and beautiful pebbles.

Your drainage system will do an outstanding job keeping your yard protected from water damage. And the best thing is that you won’t even notice the French drain is there.

6- Removes Toxic Substances Efficiently

When your home doesn’t have the right drainage system layout, flash floods can happen. And do you know what rainwater carries toward your yard? Well, a flash flood brings contaminated water to your lawn. And if you don’t have an efficient outdoor drain system, all these contaminants will stay still in your yard.

So, one of the best reasons for installing a French drain is that you don’t have to worry about contaminated water in your yard. Our outdoor drainage system will remove these toxic materials away from your yard.

If you are having flood problems, the best option you have is to call Mi Jalisco Landscaping LLC at (804) 491-5747 so that we can start the installation of a yard drainage system as soon as possible.

7- Improves the Air Quality

One of the best reasons for installing a French drain is that it enhances the air quality in your property.

A French Drain Keeps your Home Basement always Looking Good!

When water flows into your basement, it can create dangerous breathing conditions. For instance, an excess of humidity is the perfect setting for mold and mildew growth inside your home.

We all know that having these fungi growing at home is extremely dangerous. For instance, this can lead to many respiratory problems, allergies, and other health issues.

So what is the job of a French drain? Well, its role is to prevent water from entering your home. Also, it will prevent damage to your home foundations, which saves you a lot of trouble.

By preventing water from entering your house, it will keep the air in the indoors safe and clean for your loved ones to have a healthy life.

8- A French Drain is an Eco-Friendly Option!

Nowadays, going green has become a lifestyle. And guess what! Installing a French drain is a practical and eco-friendly way to divert water from your lawn.

There is an excellent variety of eco-friendly materials to build a reliable and affordable French drain. Call our expert landscaping team at (804) 491-5747, and we’ll provide you a free estimate for the installation of an efficient outdoor drainage system.

9- Other Advantages of Installing a French Drainage System

If you are thinking to install this type of drain system, here are some other advantages of installing a French drain in your yard.

• A French drain has no moving parts. So, this means that it’s less likely for this type of house drainage system to break down or stop working.
• When installed by a highly qualified landscaper, a French drain will last for many years.

What Are the Drawbacks of Installing French Drains?

Even though installing a French drain provide a lot of benefits like keeping your yard neat, healthy, and safe for your loved ones, they aren’t entirely without issues.

• Since they’re buried in the ground, it can be challenging to repair French drains when they develop problems or stop working.
• It can be expensive to install French drains deep in the ground around existing structures.

In case that you need expert help for installing outdoor drainage systems, Mi Jalisco Landscaping is the team you need for all your landscape drain systems. Call us today at (804) 491-5747, and we’ll be more than glad to help you!