Most French drains are buried, untestable, and slowly fill with silt. Ours use smooth-wall PVC and a cleanout so you can watch them work. Where water volume demands more, our patented American Drain takes over.
A French drain is a trench with a perforated pipe and washed stone that collects water from the soil and carries it to a chosen discharge point, away from lawns, crawlspaces and foundations.
It works by giving water an easier path than your soil. Design decides everything: the wrong depth, slope, pipe or outlet and the drain silts up, soaks water back into the ground, or just moves the problem somewhere else.
How a typical installer's French drain stacks up against ours and against the patented American Drain.
This is the simplest way to judge any drain. Pick a system to see what happens to the water.
Typical French drain. Water soaks out through the slots into the surrounding soil. Hundreds of gallons can go in before much of anything reaches the outlet, which keeps the ground wet and attracts roots.
Drain Designs PVC. Water rides the trough in the lower third of smooth-wall PVC and comes out the other end right away. Our cleanout makes this test something you can repeat any time.
American Drain. Water enters from the hose, through the top cap and through the side panels, then flows out the PVC below. Lift the cap and you can watch it happen.
Often the answer is no. Standing water usually comes from a low spot that is getting too much water from somewhere else. Tell us where you see it.
On many homes, downspouts dump hundreds or thousands of gallons into the lowest part of the yard. Each downspout can send roughly 200 gallons per inch of rain. Capturing that water and piping it to a better location often does more than a French drain, at a lower cost.
A foundation drain lets water that would build up against the wall bleed out to a lower point in the yard, or to a sump pump that sends it away. In critical zones along the house, the American Drain adds a removable cap for inspection and an air space at the wall.
Connect each downspout to smooth-wall PVC with an easy-access cleanout and carry roof water well away from the foundation. This is usually the highest-value drainage improvement on a home.
Water running off a driveway, walkway or patio is best caught right where it leaves the hard surface. An American Drain or trough drain along the edge collects it from the top and carries it away, with no pipe run under the driveway.
In clay soil a French drain often needs to be more than 2 feet deep to work. A shallow drain only dries the ground within a couple of feet of it, while a drain at the proper depth can dry out a much larger area. This is where design experience matters most.
Every property is different. An on-site assessment confirms the right system, or combination, before you commit. Request a Quote
Find the sourceWe walk the property, trace where the water comes from, and check the grade with a laser level.
Design the routeDepth, slope and a discharge point that sends water away from the house, never through the driveway.
Trench with the right toolsCompact equipment keeps the trench clean and the disturbance to your lawn small.
Set smooth-wall PVCCommercial-grade pipe in washed stone and fabric, with a cleanout at the high end of every drain.
Hose-test every runWater goes in the cleanout and has to come out the outlet before we close anything up.
Restore and documentWe put the yard back and can give you photos and a drawing of the system for your records.
Real clips from Drain Designs jobs. Muted, and they only play while on screen.
Around $100 per foot
A common average for a French drain. Your number depends on four things, and the gap between an easy run and a hard one can be large. After an on-site assessment you get a written, itemized quote.
Request a QuoteBar length shows relative impact on price. Our systems are designed to cost far less than the repairs and depreciation that poor drainage can lead to.
French drains are often installed by landscapers and general contractors who don't work with subsurface water every day. Some parts of drainage are not intuitive, and that is where most failed drains come from.
“When you run a hose into a typical French drain, hundreds of gallons may soak into the ground before any comes out the other end. When you run a hose into ours, water comes out the other end.”
More in our French drain FAQ and the American Drain vs. French drain comparison.
A French drain is a trench with a perforated pipe and washed stone that collects water from the soil and carries it to a chosen discharge point, away from lawns, crawlspaces and foundations. Despite the name, it is named after Henry French, an American, not the country.
A foundation drain is a French drain placed along the base of a crawlspace, basement or retaining wall before it is waterproofed and backfilled. It lets water that would build up against the wall bleed out to a lower point in the yard, or into a sump pump that sends it away from the house.
It depends on the pipe and the design. Systems built with slotted corrugated pipe can stop working well soon after installation, because the pipe holds water in its ridges and lets it seep back into the soil. A properly designed smooth-wall PVC system with a cleanout is built for a long service life with proper maintenance.
Most of the time, no. French drains work well on flat areas and along foundations, but standing water in a yard usually comes from a low spot that receives too much water from somewhere else, most often the downspouts. Finding and managing that source usually gives you more for your money.
Every drainage system needs some maintenance. A well-built French drain has an easy-access cleanout at its high end. Run water into it and you should see it come out the outlet. If you have a corrugated system that swallows water without much coming out, we recommend replacing it with PVC.
French drains can average around $100 per foot. Depth, access, soil haul-off and length drive the final number. A 2-foot-deep drain can cost about three times as much as a 12-inch drain, and a drain far from truck access costs more to install.
In clay, a French drain often needs to be more than 2 feet deep to be effective. Shallow drains only dry the soil within a couple of feet of the trench.
It depends on your soil, water volume and discharge options. Many designs pair American Drains in critical zones with underground downspout piping and grading improvements. An on-site assessment confirms which system, or combination, fits your property.
Look for a company that specializes in drainage, has strong reviews, and installs smooth-wall PVC with cleanouts you can test. Ask how they will choose the depth and the discharge point, and ask to see the system tested before the trench is closed.
Standing water, soggy turf or a damp crawlspace? A local Drain Designs specialist will find where the water comes from, test any existing drains, and give you a written, itemized quote for the system your property needs.
The American Drain is covered by U.S. Patents 9,045,874 B1; 10,519,619 B2; 11,512,444 B2; 11,840,819 B2; and 12,325,970 B2.
On-site drainage assessment and a written, itemized quote.
