How We Drained Water Away From This Des Peres Foundation and Garage
Storm water at this Des Peres home was heading two ways: along the foundation and across the driveway into the garage, where it kept collecting. In about two working days we put in a French drain along the house and a channel drain at the garage entrance, both tied into buried PVC pipe.
Storm Water Collecting in the Garage and Along the Foundation
During storms, water collected beside this Des Peres home and moved two ways. Some ran along the house toward the foundation. The rest came across the driveway and kept collecting inside the garage after every heavy rain. Nothing needed rebuilding; the homeowners needed the water caught and sent to the right place before it reached either spot.
Why One Drain Couldn’t Handle Both Water Paths
The water at this house was arriving in two different ways. Along the foundation, it was moving through the ground beside the house and needed to be caught below the surface. At the garage, it was surface runoff running across the concrete driveway, which has to be caught on top, before the door.
Changing the slope of the yard alone wouldn’t give the water a place to be collected at either spot, and one type of drain wouldn’t handle both paths equally well. So the plan used two drains, each matched to how the water moved there, sharing one buried line to carry it away.
A French Drain Along the Foundation, a Channel Drain at the Garage
We dug a trench along the foundation and set a gravel base in the bottom. Perforated pipe went on top, and its small holes let water in along its length. Clean drainage stone and filter fabric surround it to keep soil out. That layering is the part of French drain installation nobody sees once it’s covered.
At the garage, we put a channel drain across the entrance: a narrow trough with a grate that catches water running across the driveway before the threshold. Both drains tie into buried PVC pipe that carries the water away in one line, and river rock now covers the strip beside the house.
The completed project included:
- French drain along the side of the home, in a trench dug beside the foundation
- Perforated drain pipe on a gravel base, with clean drainage stone and filter fabric
- Channel drain across the garage entrance
- Buried PVC pipe connecting both drains and carrying the water away
- Decorative river rock over the finished French drain
- Installation in about two working days
A Collection Point on Each Water Path, and One Route Away
This Des Peres home now has a set place to catch water on each path. The French drain collects it along the foundation, the channel drain stops runoff at the garage door, and buried pipe carries it away. That’s how we plan drainage solutions: around the way water actually moves.
Most of the work is out of sight. What you see is a clean river rock strip beside the house and a grate across the garage entrance. In their review, the homeowners said we “designed and installed a system that deflected water away from the house.”
How to Tell If Water Is Reaching Your House Two Different Ways
Watch your house in the next hard rain and check two places: the ground along the foundation and the edge of the garage floor. If water collects beside the house or runs across the driveway into the garage, note where it comes from. That tells you which kind of drain each spot needs.
Water moving through the ground and water running across pavement usually need different drains, and one fix rarely handles both. If you see either at your house, that’s the time to call. We work with homeowners in Des Peres and across St. Louis County, and we’ll walk the property with you.