Why we often start with a foundation swale, not a French drain

Water in the basement does not always mean the fix starts in the basement. Anthony looks at the outside of the house first.

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River rock foundation swale along the front of a gray house, beside a flagstone path

If you are looking for something to do instead of a French drain, or before one, Anthony often suggests a foundation swale. A French drain catches water once it is inside the basement. A foundation swale is a hand-dug trench that follows the house without sitting against the wall, leads water away, and gets covered with river rock. The point is to turn the water away before it can pile up at the foundation and overwhelm it.

That is the main drawback of a French drain on its own. It works on water that has already come through. To put one in, we cut a strip of the basement floor next to the wall, hand-dig that edge, and lay drain track in the corner. The water it catches goes to the sump pump.

None of that stops the water from getting to the house in the first place. A swale does. So when the water is coming from outside, we would rather deal with it out there first, then see what, if anything, still gets in.

Outside first

The order Anthony works in

Look at where the water comes from

Rain comes off the roof and down the yard. We find where it ends up sitting against the house, and on which sides.
Lead it away with a swale

The swale follows the line of the house without touching the wall, and carries the water away from the foundation instead of letting it soak in right there.
See what still gets in

If the basement stays dry after that, there is no need to cut the floor. If water still comes in at the walls, a French drain is the next step.

What a swale is

Rock on top, a trench underneath

The trench runs beside the foundation, never tight against it, and takes water off toward a spot away from the house. River rock fills in over the top. What you see when we leave is a line of river rock along the side or front of the house.

It is not dug flat. The trench drops 1/8 inch for each foot of length, beginning at its highest end, so water heads away from the walls and not back toward them.

Our crew digs it by hand. There is no machine in your yard, and roots and plants you want to keep get dug around so they are not harmed.

When a French drain fits

When the basement still needs a drain

A swale is not a promise that the basement will never see water again, and we will not tell you it is. What it does is take a lot of the water away before it gets to the wall.

If water still shows up along the bottom of the basement walls after the outside is handled, that is when we talk about a French drain. It catches what still gets in and carries it to the sump pump. Some houses end up with both. If you are still sorting out the names, here is how a French drain differs from a trench drain.

Either way, the visit is free and the price is fixed and in writing for the work we agree on. You pay half to get on the schedule and the rest once we have walked the finished job together. We do not offer financing.

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