Surface Drains Stop Yard Water Before It Reaches the Crawl Space

Surface Drains: how it works and when it's the right call.

A French drain is installed by digging a trench sloped away from the problem area, lining it with gravel, and laying a perforated pipe inside before covering it with more gravel. Water in the soil moves into the gravel and the pipe, then travels along the slope of the trench to a discharge point away from the home. French drains work well across a range of soil types and stay mostly hidden below the surface once installed, which is why they are a common choice for directing water away from a foundation or crawl space. A catch basin instead collects surface water directly through a grated inlet set into the yard at a low point, then carries it away through connected underground piping. Catch basins handle heavier surface runoff well, but the grate needs periodic cleaning to keep debris from blocking it, and the basin itself has a limited storage capacity before it can back up during an especially heavy rain. Epp Foundation Repair evaluates the yard's grading, soil type, and how water actually moves during a rain before recommending a French drain, a catch basin, or a combination of both, since some properties benefit from using each where it fits best. Yard drainage is the outer layer of a crawl space encapsulation plan.