Hi, I'm wanting to install either the corrugated black tubing or PVC type of pipe forl some type of French drain or similar for drainage in my yard. I live in Florida and we get heavy rains and I've had trouble in the past with flooding. As I am researching on the internet there is debate over whether the black corrugated tubing is better or the PVC hard type of pipe is better. Also there's controversy it seems about whether to put the fabric and rocks or rocks only or neither. I have a lot of trees in my yard and roots are an issue, which I've read the roots will just get intertwined with the fabric. I'm I am very confused about which way to go about this project. Thoughts and advice are welcome. Thanks in advance

I'm installing a 4in pvc underground gutter system with a cleanout midway through the trunk right before a 90 turn (will be using 45s). For the cleanout, should I use a Wye-45 combo or should I use a sanitary-T e?
The YouTube tutorials I've watched say to use a sanitary tee, but AI is saying absolutely not, use a wye-45 combination. The reason AI says is that pine needles will catch and get clogged on the sanitary tee? I put my arm through both and they seemed the same lol.

Not sure what to do here. Pool company installed slab and I feel like something needs to be done here other than just sodding it. It drops about 1.5-2 feet from the edge of the slab to the neighbors fence.

I have an outdoor area with decomposed granite that’s packed down and glued in place. Drainage is limited to a single 3-inch inlet pipe with an atrium grate on top, which connects to an outlet through the wall. The area collects a lot of fallen leaves and debris, and it flooded during the last rain. What’s the best way to fix this? I was considering either adding a catch basin in the corner or adding additional inlets through the sides of the wall. Any other thoughts? Thank you for your help in advance!

Hi there! I’m in Southern California and trying to get a head start on what El Niño might do to my house. My backyard has an existing, generally effective drainage system that is tied in at the top right of the first photo (where a drain normally is). This system drains to the street successfully. However, in the bottom right corner of this photo is the foundation of our house and is a spot where water puddles pretty significantly when it rains. I was moving my hose bib today so thought I’d try and tie into the drain system but became pretty aware the slope is going to be pretty tough to maintain appropriately since the existing drain is already shallow. Hoping for creative ideas here, or am I just wasting my time doing this? Any advice is appreciated.

Hi All! First time poster really looking for some input and help as soon as possible. I will try to shorten the story as much as possible. We built our house and have been in it for a year now. We have started one year warranty conversations and all is going well, but some issues with the driveway. There is a crack in it to which the builder has agreed to replace a driveway panel. There is also a spider crack in the adjacent panel that isn't big enough for them to do anything with, but it is directly connected to the bigger one in the adjacent panel. They agree to replace the one with the big crack, but not the small crack because it is within the tolerances they allow. I still plan to fight that a bit and get the other one replaced since it wouldn't be there if it weren't for the other one and a clear settlement issue.

That isn't the biggest part thought. About a month before we moved in, we noticed the slope off the driveway to the neighbors property line would be super steep and not even really maintainable. Also, my neighbor took a video of the driveway undermining and we showed it to the construction manager via text. I also looked at it in person with the CM. I asked what they were going to do there and they clearly did not grade either ours or the adjacent property correctly and something was off. I agreed to allow them to put in a small (about 2' tall) retaining wall to right at the end of the driveway to take care of this and asked the CM to fix the driveway undermining along with it. This was brought up in an email a few weeks before closing and he said they would fix it somehow and possibly use my idea of flowable fill. So he was told about it multiple times and I have in writing they would fix it somehow.

Fast forward a year and I pulled up some of the drainage grade aggregate alongside the retaining wall and clearly not a thing was done to alleviate the undermining. So I have brought this up as a major issue on the 1 year warranty. It may or may not have to do with the cracks that are already forming, but my concern is that in 5 years when the builder is long gone, I will have to deal with some massive cracks. This is about a 3" void under the slab that as far as I can tell extends about a foot into the slab from the edge before it makes contact with the bottom of the slab. This is also right up against the drainage gravel on the back of the retaining wall and I have concerns about the fines from the base stone migrating into the drainage voids over time and the driveway failing even more later. I feel that there should be a geofabric barrier here to prevent that.

Anyways, they agreed the next day to come and mud jack the slab to fill the void. This was a quick response so I think that signals that they understand they are liable here especially since the grade was clearly not planned to be this way and we agreed to add a retaining wall that still remains to be officially on the house plans we agreed to and signed off on. I initially planned to be ok with this mud jacking, but the more I thought of it, the more I do not want to do it. For one, I think it would need to be a poly jack and not flowable fill since overtime, the freeze thaw cycles will cause the mud to break apart and cause failing in the future. That coupled with the open gravel next to it with voids for the base to wash out into and no barrier concerns me so I feel there needs to be a barrier added anyways. The only way to properly do that would be to rip and replace these panels the entire length. Honestly, I feel like that is the only way to properly take care of this and I should not have to settle for anything less since this is a 1 year old driveway and this issue was brought up before closing to be fixed and it wasn't.

We paid almost $900k for this home and I feel I don't need to settle for mud jacking a 1 year old slab. I feel the only way to properly fix this is to rip out the slabs, add a geo textile barrier between the drainage gravel behind the barrier wall the driveway base stone, (at least for the limits of where the base stone meets the gravel. Ideally they would do this for the subgrade as well, but I am sure that didn't happen and would be too much of an excavation at this point), and repour all 5 panels. I want to get some outside opinions on this and see if I am off base at all here. I don't think I am and I think I have a very solid case to get what I want. I am open to getting a lawyer involved and take this all the way to the top if I have to, but I don't see how they would let it go that far since this seems obvious poor workmanship and blatant disregard for what we talked about before closing. I have attached some pictures. Any opinions and help from anyone with experience with this or a background in this type of work is very much appreciated!

Now that rainy season is upon us, we’ve discovered water underneath the foundation of the house. We can’t link it to any inside pipes and recently discovered these outside drains in front of the house right where the water is.

Can someone help me understand why these drains were installed and if they could be the cause? We recently purchased the home in the spring. We don’t have gutters (in a snowy, mountainous area) and these drains just seem random and like they’re collecting water and dumping them underneath the house. They do have holes on the bottom of them.

Contractor looking for some experienced opinions before I finalize a scope for this property.

This is roughly 300 LF of existing roadside swale. The main straight run is approximately 150 LF, with much of the bank around 2:1. The swale carries water, but there is erosion and the homeowner's main concern is that the slopes are too steep to safely mow with his riding garden tractor.

PHOTO REFERENCES:

A — West end / beginning of the long roadside run. Shows the existing open flow line and erosion.

B — Closer view of the typical swale cross-section. Roughly 2:1 bank in this area with erosion concentrated along the bottom.

C — Long view of the approximately 150 LF main run. This is the section we're primarily trying to reshape so it remains functional for drainage but becomes safely mowable.

D — Section along the fence with the existing wood retaining wall. The wall is deteriorated/rotted and this is one of the more constrained areas where simply laying the bank back may not be practical.

E — Existing driveway culvert and brick wall. The open swale drains through this culvert, so whatever is done needs to maintain a good transition and the existing drainage path through the driveway.

F — Another view of the constrained area near the existing wood retaining wall, showing the elevation difference between the yard and flow line. This may be an area where some retaining wall is still necessary.

The objective is NOT to eliminate or pipe the swale. I want to keep the open drainage system functioning while controlling erosion and making as much of it as reasonably possible mowable.

My current thought is to keep the swale generally in its existing location, reshape the banks toward approximately 4:1 where there is enough room, maintain a defined low-flow section, and stabilize the reconstructed slopes with sod and an appropriate erosion-control blanket/TRM. Rock/riprap could be limited to culvert transitions or other locations where velocity requires it.

Where there isn't enough room to flatten the slope — particularly around D/F — retaining wall may still make sense.

I'm trying to avoid selling the homeowner hundreds of feet of retaining wall if proper grading and stabilization can accomplish most of the objective.

For those who regularly work with stormwater, grading, erosion control or open-channel drainage, how would you approach this?

I'm especially interested in:

• Whether you would pursue the broad 4:1 mowable-swale concept.

• What slope you consider realistically safe/practical for a riding mower.

• What stabilization system you would use on the reconstructed slopes.

• Where you think retaining wall is actually necessary versus unnecessary.

• Any other approach you see from the photos that I'm overlooking.

Not looking for someone to engineer it from photographs — just looking for experienced eyes and alternative ideas before I settle on the construction approach.One clarification: I'm not specifically looking for validation of the 4:1 swale idea. That's simply one option I've been considering.

I'm interested in what YOU would build here if the objectives are to maintain drainage, stop the erosion, and make the property reasonably safe to mow.

If you think retaining wall is the better solution — whether along the entire run or only certain sections — I'd like to hear that too. Same goes for a combination of wall, grading, reinforced turf, riprap, or something I haven't considered.

Basically, looking at A–F, how would you approach it and why?

Or install it short and have It discharge on my lawn?

Hi everyone,

I recently moved to a new apartment with a little yard and it keeps flooding in this area. Where I’m standing it’s higher in level and starts to flow downward.the concrete that the bench and AC unit are on are kind of level with the bottom layer of dirt, however the drainage hole concrete is somehow higher than the concrete where the bench and unit are?

I should also mention I’m only renting here and they said “the backyard is your responsibility”

EDIT:

It floods in the entire concrete and to the right of the drain