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- Building a French drain can be time consuming if you need it to cover a lot of ground. For shorter French drains, you can dig it with a shovel, but if you need the French drain to go quite a distance, you might want to rent a small backhoe or Ditch Witch to do the majority of the work for you.
- French drains are used to control excess standing water in an area where excess standing water is not wanted due to the type of plant in the area. The French drain can be used to carry water from one area of the garden to another or to the yard. French drains help save on water usage, since they move extra water from one place to a place that may need extra water. They are generally used in areas with poor-draining soil such as clay.
- Dig a trench 2 feet deep. The trench should be about a foot wide. Line the bottom of the French drain with small stones about an inch in diameter. The layer of stones should be about 4 inches thick. Fill the French drain to three-fourths of the way up with gravel, making sure to leave about 8 inches between the layer of gravel and the top of the French drain. Add a layer of sand so that there is only 4 inches between the top of the layer of sand and the top of the French drain.
- Add loam to the fill the French drain to the top of the ditch. Cover the loam with sod. If you do not want to purchase sod, seed the top of the French drain with local grass seed, then sprinkle a layer of loam over the top of the grass seed so it will germinate and grow.
If you fill the French drain completely to the top, the gravel should not settle too much, giving you a dip in the ground. If you are using sod, the sod may be a bit higher than the level of the ground, but it will settle the inch or so it needs over time. - When you water the plants near the French drain, excess standing water will have a place to drain so as not to drown the plants or cause root rot. Once the grass becomes established, unlike other types of drains, you will not be able to see the French drain.
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