Definition

• Drain tile is 8- or 10-inch flexible pipe with holes along one side. This pipe can be spliced to other sections and to Ts and elbows. It usually has a cloth stocking around the outside, which keeps dirt and debris from entering the inlet holes on the top. Drain tile catches water through the top side of the pipe and channels it away from the area in which the pipe is installed.
  
  

Preparation

• Remove 16 inches of soil from the part of your landscaping area that will receive drain tile. Do not count the topsoil in this calculation. Remove the topsoil, and set it aside on a plastic tarp. Dig a 6-foot-long, 16-inch-deep trench leading away from your landscaping, and connect it to the landscaping hole already dug.
  
  Route your drain tile away from trees--you don't want to damage major roots--and keep the direction of the water flow aimed away from building foundations and footings.
  
  The purpose of your drain tile is to catch water and drain it to an appropriate area, such as a field or dry well. Form a dry well by digging a 48-by-48-inch hole at the where the drain tile will enter, filling it with 36 inches of gravel and then covering the top with soil. The drain tile should rest about 24 inches from the bottom of the hole.
  
  

Tiling

• Add 4 inches of gravel in the bottom of the hole, and then set the drain tile, holes up, on top of the gravel and leading out of the hole and down the trench. Add end caps to the drain tile to prevent dirt from filling the pipe.
  
  Cover the entire tile with gravel until there are 2 inches of gravel over the top of the tile. Add the fill dirt back on top of the drain, then the topsoil, and replant or plant your landscaping.