A French drain is a gravel trench with a perforated pipe that collects water moving through the soil. A channel drain is a grated trough that catches water running across a driveway or patio. Downspout drainage carries roof water underground to a point well away from the foundation.
What you’ll notice
- Downspouts that empty right at the wall, or into a splash block
- Washed-out mulch and holes under the downspouts
- Water sheeting across the driveway toward the garage
- Wet basement walls near a downspout corner
Why it happens
One inch of rain on a 2,000-square-foot roof is about 1,250 gallons. When that comes out of four downspouts beside the foundation, the clay there stays saturated, and the water finds the basement.
What we check on the inspection
- Every downspout and where it discharges
- Existing buried lines (often crushed or clogged)
- Slope from the house to a usable outlet
- Driveway and patio runoff
How it gets fixed
Downspouts tied into solid buried pipe that runs to daylight or a pop-up emitter. French drains along wet runs of yard or the uphill side of the house. Channel drains across driveways and at garage doors. Each line gets a clean-out so it can be flushed.
