Anybody ever install a french drain in their yard?

[Larry Wadman]

Thanks for the responses
Jim
There will be several trenches totaling about 180 feet in my back yard . The back yard is on a small hill ,at the bottom of the hill is a stone wall,below the stone wall is a flat area of yard between the house & the wall of about 30' by 90',where the water problem is. It doesn't appear to be surface water but water from under the ground.
I'm in New Jersey where all costs seem to be very high.
What depth & width would you recommend for the ditch?
What size stone would I use (research says anywhere from 1" to 3"?) I would use a #57 washed gravel (no fines).
How do you figure out how much stone to order? gravel will weigh about 125 lbs/cf. I fiqure 2.1 tons per yard when double handling is involved due to waste.



Thanks again
Dennis

Width will depend on bucket size. I would say about 1' for a 4" pipe. Rent a mini excavator to dig and a skid steer to move the gravel (or a shovel and wheel barrow works also. Depth should be 12" minimum. If you run heavy loads over your yard the you will have to go with a heavier pipe. Set your pipe to drain.

[paul cottingham]

My father used to dig those by hand. In fact he did quite a bit of our farm by hand and by himself, at the age of 65. And he was a tiny little guy to boot.

To be fair he really enjoyed hard physical labor, so it can be done if you don't mind sweating.