Keep water out of your basement and use it to water your flower beds!

#spring #diyprojects #backyard #landscape #diy

Let me start with a DISCLAIMER, because I know a lot of people are going to watch this video and get angry. If your property has large amounts of water that you're trying to get away from the foundation, spend the money and hire a professional to do it right. This is not a solution for major drainage issues.

For this project, all that I wanted to do was run my downspouts under my flowerbeds to keep the mulch from getting washed away. I would not attempt this type of French drain if I had to drive a mower over the yard where the PVC pipe was buried. Overtime that will destroy the pipe which could give you bigger issues in the long run.

However, I think it's important to state that a lot of homes that were built with cinderblock foundations will benefit from simple and easy hacks like this. The first step would be to make sure the grading of your lawn slopes away from your house. That will handle 75% of your issues . You don't want water dripping down your siding and puddling around the foundation. Your cinder blocks are porous and will allow that water to seep in to your basement, which will potentially enable mold growth if not taken care of with a dehumidifier or sump pump.

This project really only cost me $3.67 at Home Depot. There were two large pieces of PVC pipe left at this house when we moved in. The prior homeowner was using that pipe at the bottom of the downspout, to divert water away from the foundation. My landscaper was getting annoyed that he had to mow around these two pieces of PVC pipe every week. Since I was designing some flowerbeds anyway, I chose to use this pipe to divert water away from the house using a French drain method.

It was simple, anyone could do it, and it was budget friendly.