How French Drains Work

I’ll never forget how excited my Dad was when he hired someone to install French drains in his basement 10 or so years ago. I remember thinking, Okay chill, it’s a French drain not a free first class ticket to Paris, France. Having grown up in that house, which is below sea level, I got accustomed to finding an inch or two of water (or more) on the basement floor after a storm or heavy rain. I never thought much of it until I bought my own old house that has a similar drainage problem. Now I don’t only think about installing French drains, I fantasize it (unfortunately they aren’t cheap). This video from Practical Engineering does a great job of explaining how French drains work with some fun historical facts as well. For one, the idea didn’t emerge in France but instead from a 19th century American named Henry French.

Whether you’re trying to protect a multi-million dollar structure or just keep your basement dry, subsurface drains get the water out without getting the soil out too.


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