drain tile...in your yard...

Phill Latio

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Just a thought..

If a farmer can put drain tile in a field and basically drain it wherever they want (ahem, ahem) can a guy that lives in the country put drain tile throughout his yard that feeds into the ditch?

My house sits on a nice big bed of clay, so on heavy rains and or years with massive snow drifts the water will soak into the ground and just sit there. Not that I ever would do it but curiosity got me thinking, why couldn't I put drain tile from my house and stretch it to the ditch down hill about 100 yds away?
 


pluckem

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It is pretty common practice when the need is there. Even in town many homes will have tile that run down toward the street. Sometimes they are called french drains. I will likely put in one or two on a near future build.
 

guywhofishes

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It is pretty common practice when the need is there. Even in town many homes will have tile that run down toward the street. Sometimes they are called french drains. I will likely put in one or two on a near future build.

aren't french drains typically much shallower?

- - - Updated - - -

more of a shallow barely sub-surface trench?
 

Wallike

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I see where you're headed with this. When it comes to 'water rights' and 'water drainage' scenarios I've learned there can be big differences in locals as to which jurisdiction has the say. I lived in CO for a while and putting your storm drain water on someone else's property was a no-no in one county and okay in another. You could also not put your sump pump water into the city sewer drain as it had to be directed into a city storm sewer. I bet you'll have to contact your county as to what is 'legal'.
 


pluckem

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aren't french drains typically much shallower?

- - - Updated - - -

more of a shallow barely sub-surface trench?

I don't think the depth is critical to the name of any system. I used the term French Drain because if one sticks that into google you will get hundreds of drain tile applications, photos, and designs mostly related to applications around homes and buildings which is what the OP was wondering about.

The tile is installed as deep as it needs to be. If we are talking about around a house or yard put 4" of top soil over it and plant some grass.
 

Phill Latio

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It is pretty common practice when the need is there. Even in town many homes will have tile that run down toward the street. Sometimes they are called french drains. I will likely put in one or two on a near future build.

Yeah im talking more like BIG drain tile throughout the whole yard, not just around the house. Talking acres not square footage
 

Kentucky Windage

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Just a thought..

If a farmer can put drain tile in a field and basically drain it wherever they want (ahem, ahem) can a guy that lives in the country put drain tile throughout his yard that feeds into the ditch?

My house sits on a nice big bed of clay, so on heavy rains and or years with massive snow drifts the water will soak into the ground and just sit there. Not that I ever would do it but curiosity got me thinking, why couldn't I put drain tile from my house and stretch it to the ditch down hill about 100 yds away?

Because you aren’t a farmer, therefore you aren’t worthy of such things. Also, you’re not going to do it anyway so it doesn’t matter. Haha
 

Bed Wetter

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As long as you’re not using Curtail on broadleaf weeds, wear proper PPE during application of pesticides, don’t keep chickens within city limits, and have a Rx for that electric lettuce you’re growing... I don’t see why not.
 

Phill Latio

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. Also, you’re not going to do it anyway so it doesn’t matter. Haha

So my next question in regards to this is...what would the price difference be between doing this as opposed to excavating around the whole house and putting drain tile in here? I feel like it would be much more expensive to go this route (10k) than doing the yard....
 


WormWiggler

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Interesting that this came up today. I just googled DIY horizontal drilling. Previous owner set house on side of hill, backward is a pretty steep drop to a waterway but front yard is a catchpan that doesn't drain well. Couple that with a driveway installed at a grade but not to road and we have a seldom empty mud puddle at the end of the cement portion of the driveway, it is obviously sinking along with the sidewalk to to shop. Possible Plan A is mudjack driveway pad & sidewalk to get things back to original. Then finish concrete to asphalt street with a drain pipe letting fluid cross. I don't think this will enough so I have contemplated the highly red neck "fish pond" in the front yard to collect the rainwater with an over flow via previously mentioned horizontal bored drain to back yard. Big stumbling blocks are well line needs to be crossed and SW water delivery line near there too.
 

Phill Latio

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can you just grade the yard?

the short answer is no. Its already graded properly. House sits on highest point. Problem is when it rains, a lot (6-8+ in a few days time, which happens every couple years. Or when we have 12' high drifts surround the house that are 40yds long and 20 yards deep) no amount of grading will keep water from soaking into the earth. Again, its heavy clay under the topsoil so when this rain soaks down to the clay it will just sit there when the water table is high. So we could be bone dry for over a month after that and water will still be seeping in and the sump pit still fills up. If I could get that rain into drain tile before it hits the clay and run it into a ditch where it would be taken down hill from that I would be in good shape. Or so I think...??
 

Kentucky Windage

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So my next question in regards to this is...what would the price difference be between doing this as opposed to excavating around the whole house and putting drain tile in here? I feel like it would be much more expensive to go this route (10k) than doing the yard....

I don’t know. I don’t sell or install drain tile for a living.
 


Auggie

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Typical drain tile is 20-60ft spacing. That's dependent on your drainage coefficient. Most drain tile system run around 3/8in water per 24hr period.
First you need to determine your drainage coefficient (in water per 24hr). From there, you need to figure out your soil texture or do a percolation test. Web soil survey can help, bit I'd contact a professional soil classifier. The $500-1,000 you spend in that will help insure your project does what you want it to do.
For installation, 5-3ft is common. Maybe around the foundation you could go with one line very deep and one fairly shallow. A ditxhh-whitch might dig the trench you need for the tile. If you have a ditch, just make it so the lines drops off the water there. Otherwise, you'll need a sump. That can get expensive.
 

Jigaman

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I have a 3 acre lot in the RR valley and know your struggle. I have one corner of my yard that is a little lower and every couple years with a heavy rain or wet spring I get a swamp that just wont drain. I use a sump pump to pump the water a couple hundred feet to the ditch. kind of a hassle but cheap and effective and isnt needed very often.
 

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