Originally Posted On: https://www.sedonawaterproofing.com/are-french-drains-worth-it/

 

Have you found that rainwater is constantly building up around the foundation of your home? If so, it could be an indication that your gutters and downspouts aren’t working like they’re supposed to.

You might be able to direct rainwater away from your home by repairing or replacing your gutters and downspouts. Doing something as simple as cleaning your gutters and downspouts might also do the trick.

But if it doesn’t, you might want to look into having French drains installed. French drains are slightly sloped trenches that contain pipes and round gravel. They’re designed to divert rainwater away from your home fast.

So, would French drain installation be worth it to you? We would argue that having a French drain system installed would be well worth it for a variety of reasons.

Here are several benefits of French drains that should convince you to look into installing them.

Keeps Moisture Away From Your Foundation

If you let rainwater continue to build up around your foundation all the time, it’s going to turn into a big problem. Before long, you’re going to start to see cracks develop in your foundation.

At first, you might be able to continue to live in your home without worrying about these cracks. But eventually, they could compromise the structural integrity of your home as a whole.

Repairing your foundation when it starts to develop cracks isn’t going to be cheap. You could be looking at spending thousands of dollars to do it.

You might also notice that your home’s value will decrease if you don’t make every effort to protect your foundation. This is one of the top reasons why homeowners should install French drains if water is pooling around their foundations.

Stops Moisture From Getting Into Your Basement

When water begins to pool around your home’s foundation, it’s going to do more than just put your foundation at risk. It’s also going to start to find ways to get into your basement if you have one.

Even if you’ve had basement waterproofing done in the past, you might still find that moisture will make its way inside. It’s going to be able to get easy access to your home through any cracks that start to appear in your foundation.

This will present a whole host of other problems for you. For starters, water in your basement can do damage to anything you store in it. But furthermore, it can also lead to things like mold growth that can do additional damage and possibly even put your entire family’s health at risk.

You can keep moisture out of your basement by strategically placing French drains on your property. They’ll move rainwater away from your home versus allowing it to sneak inside.

Makes Your Yard Drier Overall

As if the foundation issues and basement moisture problems that we just mentioned weren’t enough, there are also other ways in which a lack of drainage around your home will affect you. It can, for instance, result in your whole yard being soaking wet all the time.

Some rainwater will move toward your foundation and potentially make it into your basement. But other rainwater will head out in your yard and soak the ground.

You’re going to have a tough time using your yard when this is the case. You’re also going to struggle to maintain your yard when it’s always wet, as it’s going to be challenging to mow your lawn.

You can make your yard drier almost all the time by installing French drains that will dispose of this water without soaking the soil surrounding your home.

Prevents Excess Moisture From Killing Flowers and Plants

If you have a lot of flowers and other plants surrounding your home, they’re not going to fare well when they’re exposed to too much water. They’ll obviously need a little water to survive, but if they’re always overwatered, all this water will start to kill them.

It’s going to be almost impossible to put a beautiful landscape design into place when you have too much moisture attacking your flowers and plants. Installing French drains will help you make sure they get enough water without going too overboard.

Costs Less Than You Might Realize

Some homeowners shy away from even considering French drains because they’re under the impression it’ll cost too much. But this couldn’t be any further from the truth.

In reality, installing French drains won’t break the bank. As long as you call on the right French drain installation specialists to help you, they will be able to do it for a price you can afford.

It would be worth obtaining estimates so that you can see how much installing French drains will cost. The French drain cost will often be just a small fraction of what it would cost to fix your home’s foundation or clean out a flooded basement.

Installing French Drains Is a Great Idea

Are you dealing with a moisture problem on the exterior of your home that’s putting your foundation at risk? If your gutters and downspouts aren’t to blame for it, installing French drains might be the right move for you to make.

Sedona Waterproofing Solutions can help you put French drains in place and do it at a price you can afford. We also offer a wide range of other foundation, basement, and crawl space waterproofing services that might benefit you and your home.

Reach out to us today to get additional information on installing French drains.