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Heading to the trenches

Yesterday I inspected the trench that one day will become a French drain which keeps water out of our basement on heavy rains only to discover that a wall has partially collapsed. With rain in the forecast for Sunday night and Monday, I have to redig the trench or face having a pool of water that will slowly seep into the basement.

What prevents me from completing the trench? Higher priority projects, time, money and materials. The digging of the trench has to be completed. Long ago I concluded that renting a backhoe or paying someone to complete the excavation would be wiser than digging the rest out myself. I am going all the way down to the footers so that this repair is as long lasting as possible and adds value to the house. I need 2-3 dump truck loads of 3/4inch gravel. Tar for the wall. A thick millimeter plastic or other liner to go on top of the tarred wall. 4 inch heavy PVC with holes drilled in it OR ceramic weeping pipe as the drain. Must debate the pros and cons of wrapping the pipe in fabric as it helps keep sediment from clogging the pipe but the filtering material itself can become clogged and defeat the purpose of the pipe. May be better to have an easily accessible cleanout from the driveway. Need backfill dirt. Additionally I may take advantage of the exposed wall to run an additional waste water pipe to the property waste water main pipe so that sinks, or a washing machine could easily be installed in close proximity to the front wall of the house in the basement or garage. Estimated cost to complete the French drain project: $600-1200.