Basement Drainage Trench Instructions
- 1). Devise your drainage plan for where the water is going to go when it rains. Draw a diagram of where you want the ditch to start and follow it to where you want it to end. The ditch should follow the natural downgrade of the land, diverting the water to a natural low spot such as a drainage ditch. Remember that wherever the water goes will likely become a pool, so keep that in mind when choosing a route. Don't divert water to your neighbor's yard. Choose a place you don't mind becoming a swamp.
- 2). Dig the trench about 6 inches wide and 24 inches deep, following the grade to the end point. Taper the top so that it is a little wider than the rest of the trench.
- 3). Fill the trench an inch deep with gravel so that there is a flat layer from beginning to end. Place the perforated pipe with the holes on the bottom. The water reaches the pipe sooner if the holes are on the bottom.
- 4). Fill in the rest of the trench with gravel nearly to the top. Use color gravel at the very top if you want to hide the ditch and make it look more like a path than a drainage ditch. If you want spend the extra cash on grating, then you can use it for the top as well.
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