French Drain Vs Trench Drain

While designs over the years have varied modern french drain systems usually feature a trench into which a perforated pipe is laid and then covered with gravel.

French drain vs trench drain.

Explaining french drains. Trench drains provide safety and are great for high traffic areas. Trench drains while french drains are more designed in a more subsurface fashion trench drains are used when hardscape areas meet or hardscape and landscape areas meet or areas where there are. If a trench drain will be a permanent fixture home or business owners can tailor the grating color to better suit its surroundings.

Most descriptions of a french drain involve a slotted or perforated pipe a trench geotextile fabric and gravel backfill. Trench drains are usually lined with concrete and sloped appropriately to take advantage of gravity. Surface drains vs french drains. Unfortunately this fact oftentimes is overlooked.

To operate properly the drain must have adequate slope and a place to open onto the ground into a drain pipe or somewhere else where water can exit. They are usually put on streets near restaurants and big buildings to ensure non slippery and dry walking areas. French drains are actually an american innovation invented in the 19th century by a new england farmer named henry flagg french. In other words these drain systems for yards are ideal for properties that have to deal with.

A french drain is a trench covered with gravel rock containing a perforated pipe that redirects surface water and ground water away from an area. French drains come with an underground barrier trench made with a gravel bed which provides an easier route for the water to travel. Even you do not know what trench drains are you must have seen them at least once. There s a lot of confusion between french drains and trench drains because they sound so similar and because the french drain does incorporate a trench.

A french drain can have perforated hollow pipes along the bottom see images to quickly vent water that seeps down through the upper gravel or rock. A clogged french drain pipe can lead to flooded basements and other problems. The two types of drains most commonly used to tackle excess water problems are surface drains and french drains. While french drains deal with water that s underground trench drains divert excess water away from the surface.

However unlike the french drain the trench drain is a surface drainage structure. If trench drains channel water that has pooled on the surface of your yard away from your house french drains manage ground water or water that doesn t necessarily pool on the surface but rather seeps through the ground immediately. What is a trench drain.