Typical French drains consists of gravel, with coarse sand placed on top of it and sometimes a drain pipe may also be included in the design.

French drains are very easy to install, they are not very expensive and they are also very easy to maintain.

Here are some easy steps to help you install your French drains.

1. You will have to begin by determining the best place to install your French drains and start digging a trench in the appropriate place.

There is no set law that states what the depth and width of the trench should be, so you can decide how wide and how deep you would like it to be.

The standard size for most trenches is usually around five to six inches wide and about eight to twelve inches deep, but again this is not a set law so this decision is entirely left up to you to decide.

2. You must ensure that there is enough slope to allow the water to flow freely, and also make sure that it is positioned to flow in the right direction.

This is a very important decision for ensuring that you have a proper functional French drain design system. If you feel that it is necessary to grade the land in order to get a better water flow then do not hesitate to do this.

3. After you are satisfied that the trench has been dug to the right size and width and it is facing the right direction you can now add some gravel to within a few inches of the surface of the trench and then place some coarse sand on top of the gravel about three or four inches should be adequate.

The reason that the sand has to be coarse is so that it will allow the waiter to drain properly.

4. Finally you are now ready for the last step which is to turf the trench. You can do this using various types of turfs; for instance you may want to use turfs that can be seeded into the sand or you can choose turfs that spread or you may even decide to lay sod over the sand.

If you are going to be using a drain pipe in your French drains system you will have to use the same procedure as above with one exception and that is you will have to first lay an inch or two of gravel at the bottom of the trench so that the perforated drain pipe will be resting on it.

Wrap the drain pipe in a filter fabric and continue filling in the trench with gravel around the pipe, making sure that at least one inch of gravel is surrounding the pipe on all sides. As you can see French drains are not difficult to create.