Standing Water on Your Lawn - Consider French Drains
What Are French Drains?
Occasionally I recommend creating a french drain. It is not high tech and is something a landscaper, excavation company or homeowner can install, depending on what the owner wishes to spend on the project and their willingness to maybe do some or part of the work on their own.
There are different types of french drains, but the one used most often for standing water in yards basically consists of a trench lined with plastic or gravel and filled with a corrugated black drainage pipe surrounded by more gravel and then covered with sand and top oil and either grass or river rock or decorative stone to enhance your landscaping on the surface.
Sometimes the tops are left open on these drains and they are used with river rock and plantings on the surface the the water seems in from the sides and the surface just as well. The idea is to channel water from areas with poor soil or lower elevations to a release point at a lower elevation or drainage ditch. Homeowners can contract with a contractor or do the work themselves often digging by hand or renting a mini excavator, neighbors tractor with backhoe attachment or a bobcat for the day.
To some degree, trenches leading from active downspouts are a form of a french drain as well and help to channel the roof run off water away from the foundation walls. Always good to keep water draining away from the foundation.
Feel free to contact us with any questions or Check out this interesting article for more info.
French Drains: Are They Worth It?
https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/articles/french-drains-are-they-worth-it
tom stachler is a state of michigan licensed real estate broker & builder working and marketing homes, houses, income property and condos in the ann arbor, saline, dexter, ypsilanti, milan and surrounding communities. check out this website for property for sale and other realty related issues or concerns.
