French drain - What to do next? (lawn, landscaping, front yard)

[BlueClouds]

Hi,

After contacting several landscaping companies, we hired the only one that quoted the job and showed up to work to put a French drain on one side of our house in Central Texas (this was advised by the home inspector before the purchase of the home, earlier this yr due to water pooling in the area / neighbors home is higher and has no gutters).
The total length of the drain is about 60 feet and it end at a catch basin draining on the lawn about 5 feet from the sidewalk.
The landscaper (Mr. X) finished the job...did not line the trench with landscaping fabric and did not place gravel on the bottom of the trench. I have watched a bunch of videos and they all lined the trench and added gravel.
It became obvious in the middle of day one that Mr. X did not have any experience with this type of project. Lesson learned and it has been painful

Please advise on:
1. Can we leave the trench as is or do we have to line it and place gravel? How much time do we have?
2. Mr. X broke the main water line to the house during his trench prep. He fixed the pipe (took only 2 hrs ) He has placed lots of rocks in that area (or at least on the top layer). Is this OK or do we need to place dirt around the pipe.
3. MR. X took sections of the plastic drain pipe, wrapped it around the bottom of the gutter downspouts located on the side of the house and (I think) he positioned the other end into the French drain. There are rocks covering most of the area here. The drain pipe sections split open on the side since they didn't fit and so he used zip ties to keep them on. Do these need to be replaced?

Help!
Thanks

[Hollytree]

I wouldn't pay him the final payment until he lines the trench and puts gravel in it and also fixes the zip tie situation to your satisfaction. This should not involve any more expense than what you've already agreed. I do hope you haven't paid him off!

[Threerun]

Originally Posted by BlueClouds

Hi,

After contacting several landscaping companies, we hired the only one that quoted the job and showed up to work to put a French drain on one side of our house in Central Texas (this was advised by the home inspector before the purchase of the home, earlier this yr due to water pooling in the area / neighbors home is higher and has no gutters).
The total length of the drain is about 60 feet and it end at a catch basin draining on the lawn about 5 feet from the sidewalk.
The landscaper (Mr. X) finished the job...did not line the trench with landscaping fabric and did not place gravel on the bottom of the trench. I have watched a bunch of videos and they all lined the trench and added gravel.
It became obvious in the middle of day one that Mr. X did not have any experience with this type of project. Lesson learned and it has been painful

Please advise on:
1. Can we leave the trench as is or do we have to line it and place gravel? How much time do we have?
2. Mr. X broke the main water line to the house during his trench prep. He fixed the pipe (took only 2 hrs ) He has placed lots of rocks in that area (or at least on the top layer). Is this OK or do we need to place dirt around the pipe.
3. MR. X took sections of the plastic drain pipe, wrapped it around the bottom of the gutter downspouts located on the side of the house and (I think) he positioned the other end into the French drain. There are rocks covering most of the area here. The drain pipe sections split open on the side since they didn't fit and so he used zip ties to keep them on. Do these need to be replaced?

Help!
Thanks

Your question would be better answered in the 'House' subforum, however I will say that what was done is NOT a French drain. There needs to be space under the perforated pipe backfilled with gravel to promote proper drainage. The depth required depends on you soil type- clay soil needing more depth, loam much less.

There are connections available from the terminus of the gutter downspout to standard perforated drain pipe. Sounds like he didn't do that.

The catch basin also needs a substantial amount of below excavation and gravel fill- depending on whether or not a perforated basin was used.

I wouldn't pay the contractor until it was done right.

[MarianRavenwood]

Without the fabric membrane and gravel, water will carry silt and soil into the pipe and eventually clog it. How long you have to fix it will depend on how much rain you get. But it's not an emergency. You should still seem some effectiveness for the next year or so (maybe longer if your area is very arid).

Not sure about funneling your downspouts into the drain. Logically you want to channel the downspout water away from this area, so as not to make the problem worse. But it seems like channeling the water directly into the french drain pipe would overwhelm its capacity, and then it won't be able to take on water from below as it is intended to. Seems like it would be better to reroute the downspouts further away, or into a rain barrel.

Anything you can do about the neighbor's lack of gutters?

[BlueClouds]

Originally Posted by MarianRavenwood

Without the fabric membrane and gravel, water will carry silt and soil into the pipe and eventually clog it. How long you have to fix it will depend on how much rain you get. But it's not an emergency. You should still seem some effectiveness for the next year or so (maybe longer if your area is very arid).

Not sure about funneling your downspouts into the drain. Logically you want to channel the downspout water away from this area, so as not to make the problem worse. But it seems like channeling the water directly into the french drain pipe would overwhelm its capacity, and then it won't be able to take on water from below as it is intended to. Seems like it would be better to reroute the downspouts further away, or into a rain barrel.

Anything you can do about the neighbor's lack of gutters?

Thank you for the responses and advice. I thought that is the case with the fabric and gravel being an important part of the system. Now we have to figure out our next step, it's good to know we have some time . It's been very stressful and we are disappointed in the landscaper to say the least.
Unfortunately, we are not going to be able to ask this neighbor to get gutters. They are nice folks, yet very cheap and DIY type.

[ersatz]

Originally Posted by MarianRavenwood

Without the fabric membrane and gravel, water will carry silt and soil into the pipe and eventually clog it. How long you have to fix it will depend on how much rain you get. But it's not an emergency. You should still seem some effectiveness for the next year or so (maybe longer if your area is very arid).

Not sure about funneling your downspouts into the drain. Logically you want to channel the downspout water away from this area, so as not to make the problem worse. But it seems like channeling the water directly into the french drain pipe would overwhelm its capacity, and then it won't be able to take on water from below as it is intended to. Seems like it would be better to reroute the downspouts further away, or into a rain barrel.

Anything you can do about the neighbor's lack of gutters?

MarianRavenwood is right. Eventually that drainage is going to silt up and you will have to have it dug up and fixed.

I had much the same problem you originally did. I got quotes from several landscapers and went with the cheapest. Fortunately, they were experienced (I asked for details on their previous jobs) and they did the job right. The entire run is lined with landscaping fabric and gravel plus perforated catchment basins in several spots. I had my downspouts directed into the french drain plus my central air conditioning condensate drain. Several landscapers proposed to add pumps in their proposals and drain the system into the county-owned street gutters. The landscaper I used followed the natural topography of the yard so as to drain in the back of the property and to me, that made more sense. To my inexperienced eye, the yard looked flat but the landscaper said there was about a 2% drop over 200 feet. The french drain he installed has held up well for two years, even through torrential downpours lasting several hours. He installed two pop-up drains along the run. In a heavy rain they spew out water like a broken fire hydrant, but I no longer have the large amounts of water that used to pool around my property for days at a time.

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by ersatz

MarianRavenwood is right. Eventually that drainage is going to silt up and you will have to have it dug up and fixed.

I had much the same problem you originally did. I got quotes from several landscapers and went with the cheapest. Fortunately, they were experienced (I asked for details on their previous jobs) and they did the job right. The entire run is lined with landscaping fabric and gravel plus perforated catchment basins in several spots. I had my downspouts directed into the french drain plus my central air conditioning condensate drain. Several landscapers proposed to add pumps in their proposals and drain the system into the county-owned street gutters. The landscaper I used followed the natural topography of the yard so as to drain in the back of the property and to me, that made more sense. To my inexperienced eye, the yard looked flat but the landscaper said there was about a 2% drop over 200 feet. The french drain he installed has held up well for two years, even through torrential downpours lasting several hours. He installed two pop-up drains along the run. In a heavy rain they spew out water like a broken fire hydrant, but I no longer have the large amounts of water that used to pool around my property for days at a time.

Congrats. On silting, there is another solution in less common use. Install an input and output header on any length of drain tile. Periodically, hire a company to come in and force water into the input at significant pressure and simultaneously remove the output water. The silt is akin to the sludge in a septic system. Remove the sludge periodically and the septic system continues to work as designed.

[PhinneyWalker]

I am so sorry this has happened to you. I would be FURIOUS. Can you describe this contractor??

I hope you have not paid him, and I suggest you file a complaint with the BBB and the city. This "contractor" is obviously not qualified to do this work. I made a similar mistake many, many years ago with the first house I ever bought. I was very young and foolishly paid a man $2K to buy everything needed to do landscaping around my house. Long story, but the upshot was the landscaping was never finished, and what was finished turned into a nightmare, and I never saw a penny of my $2K again, so I completely and truly empathise with your situation.

[PhinneyWalker]

Originally Posted by MarianRavenwood

Without the fabric membrane and gravel, water will carry silt and soil into the pipe and eventually clog it. How long you have to fix it will depend on how much rain you get. But it's not an emergency. You should still seem some effectiveness for the next year or so (maybe longer if your area is very arid).

Not sure about funneling your downspouts into the drain. Logically you want to channel the downspout water away from this area, so as not to make the problem worse. But it seems like channeling the water directly into the french drain pipe would overwhelm its capacity, and then it won't be able to take on water from below as it is intended to. Seems like it would be better to reroute the downspouts further away, or into a rain barrel.

Anything you can do about the neighbor's lack of gutters?

I would talk to a good lawyer about both the contractor and the neighbour's lack of gutters as the water from their property is harming the OP"s property. That could be considered a nuisance and actionable.

[GrandmaChris]

My DH did our own French drain - exactly as needed - trench, fabric membrane and gravel before the perforated pipe it goes from our back yard - to the culvert in the front yard. Works great.