What Is A French Drain System?

Installing a French drain system in your basement is a fantastic step towards dealing with troublesome water issues. Whether you’re facing seepage, cracks or leaks, a well installed French drain can provide a vital part of the solution. But what exactly are they?

What Is A French Drain System? 

A French drain system sits under your basement floor and serves to provide an easy path for water to follow. The idea is that, because water always takes the path of least resistance, you can decide where this path leads. They consist of a few common components:

• A perforated drainpipe
• Gravel
• Drainage channels

First, the channel is dug into your basement floor by a qualified basement waterproofing company and some gravel is put down. The pipe is then placed in the new trench and covered over with the rest of the gravel. This can then be covered with concrete or things like cove diverters.

When the groundwater in the soil around or under your home rises, it finds its way into the pipework. From here, it’s diverted away from your basement to somewhere it can do no harm, reducing the pressure on your walls, floor and other waterproofing measures. The gravel holds everything in place and offers a certain level of protection against debris finding its way into the pipes. This means French drains are an effective and long-lasting solution to water intrusion problems.

Interior vs Exterior 

Similar systems can be installed both inside and outside the perimeter of your foundations. As the names suggest, interior goes inside, exterior goes outside. Both are incredibly effective ways of controlling where problematic water flows.

Interior systems allow you to deal with rising groundwater and help remove water that has found its way in. Exterior solutions help with stopping it finding its way in in the first place, cutting hydrostatic pressure on your walls and avoiding pooling against the exterior of your home.

Either, or even both, is a vital tool in the war against water intrusion.

Benefit 1: Prevents Basement Flooding And Water Damage 

While no method of waterproofing is ever 100% fool-proof, French drains get pretty close.

Water always follows the path of least resistance and French drains offer just that. Whether it’s heavy rainfall, snowmelt, standing water or even flooding, a French drain works just as well, avoiding water seeping in.

This means that they offer long-lasting protection against the effects of water intrusion including:

• Damp
• Mold and mildew growth
• Damage to finishings like plaster and wallpaper
• Cracks forming and structural issues

Benefit 2: Reducing Hydrostatic Pressure 

Hydrostatic pressure is the term which describes the force of water and soil pushing on your walls. Left unchecked, this can force the water through even the tiniest channels in the concrete of your basement. Hydrostatic pressure is also a leading causes of cracks and leaks in your basement.

As rainfall gathers, this pressure is increased and the chances of intrusion go up with it.

French drains work to alleviate this pressure. By providing an easier path for the water, away from your foundations, the force is vastly reduced, meaning your walls and floors stay dry. A professional French drain installation will also help avoid the attendant issues like crack formation, foundation settling and other potential structural issues.

Benefit 3: Improves Indoor Air Quality And Prevents Mold Growth 

Mold thrives in damp environments and there are few environments damper than an unprotected basement. Not only will mold and mildew utterly wreck anything they’re growing on (including all those things you’ve stored down there), they can present some pretty serious health risks.

Not only does the risk of mold growth mean you’re not getting the full use of your basement space, it can damage air quality in the rest of your home too. Thanks to the chimney effect, the humid, spore-ridden air in a moldy basement will circulate around the home. It will take with it the risk of things like allergies, respiratory problems and general ill health.

French drains help to reduce these risks. By moving the water that would otherwise provide the ideal breeding ground for molds away, your family’s health is protected.

Benefit 4: Increased Home Value And Marketability 

Ask yourself this: which home would you pay more for; the one with the damp basement or the one with the dry, liveable space? Well, it turns out all your potential buyers think the same thing.

A properly waterproofed basement can command a premium on the market, uplifting prices by as much as 25%. They offer buyers peace of mind that what they’re spending their hard-earned money on is a real investment.

With a French drain system, potential buyers will see an extra, liveable space in your home. That could be a home cinema, workshop, gym, the possibilities are endless and that’s an attractive feature. More than this, with comprehensive waterproofing in place, buyers will be reassured that structural issues and water damage aren’t things they need worry about.

Benefit 5: Long-Lasting, Low-Maintenance Protection 

Perhaps the biggest selling feature of French drains vs other waterproofing efforts is how simple they are. When installed correctly and using good quality materials, a French drain doesn’t have many elements which can go wrong. This means that they can provide top-notch protection against water intrusion with a minimum of interference for years to come.

On the rare occasions that maintenance is required, a well installed system makes this easy. Access hatches allow you to check for and clear any clogs that may form and clear them away with minimum fuss. Otherwise there’s not really much else that can go wrong.

This means that French drains offer fantastic cost-effectiveness over time. Once installed properly, you can leave them for years at a time, unlike most other tools in the waterproofer’s arsenal.

In conclusion, the question isn’t really “are French drains worth the cost and effort?”. It’s “Can I afford to pass up these benefits?”. When it comes to high-impact, low-effort solutions, French drains really are hard to beat.