French drains are the most typical draining systems that people have installed around their homes. This is because it's an extremely flexible system that is successful in making sure water keeps away from foundations and goes where it is supposed to go, which is away from your home. However, French drains have come a good distance from just being ditches with gravel thrown into them.

A home-owner can do whatever it is they must do with a French drain in order to keep it unobstructed and to keep water away from a foundation.

But what happens to a foundation if the water is not kept away?

Well, what you will find is a growing number of cracks. These cracks spring from water in two different ways. The 1st way is that it seeps into the ground and penetrates the parts of your house foundation that is under the ground. This is how basement walls become wet and is a big contributor to basements being musty and damp. Another issue is when the soils underneath the home take on water. There are certain soils that can expand up to 35%, which is a considerable change. The wetting and drying of these soils causes a lot of pressure on the basis of the home, which is what can lead to cracking of the foundation. Finally , that cracking can cause walls to crack and thousands of dollars leaving your wallet.

A French drain is a reasonable way to keep these things from occuring to your home. You have French drains with hollow pipes beneath the gravel so that water does not seep into the ground and expansion does not compromise the drain. There are also different variations in structure, depending on what your wishes are.

The first drain variation is the filter drain, which takes care of draining groundwater. The second is the collector drain. The collector drain is in charge of draining both groundwater and surface water, but this is a type that can need a filter to keep surface waste from going underground. The 3rd type is the dispersal drain that diverts the wastewater from a septic tank. The 4th type is the fin drain and it consists of a punctured pipe with a vertical section called a "fin." This type is narrower than your common French drain and is also cheaper to build.

As for which French drain you decide to go with, it depends on how water is affecting your home and what kind of budget you are working with. At least there are options so that you can find the ideal system for your own situation. That way you don't have to fork over thousands of dollars in foundation repairs when the damages could have been avoided. And if you do have to have foundation repairs now, the excellent news is that installing the French drain style of your preference will keep you from being forced to do repairs again in the near future. Actually, you may not need to do repairs ever again. That is quite a lot of money saved.
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