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Hi shuttrbg22,
Can you post a street and city name so we can get an aerial view? You may be sitting on a wet piece of property and and perimeter drain may be an act of futility.
Hi sacredgrooves,
This is your business so please don't take this the wrong way.
Instead of covering the pipe with a sock,try this: when you dig your trench and lay the pipe, lay landscape cloth or the most modern equivalent on the outside of the trench all the way down to the bottom of the trench and lay it over the dirt pile(secure with blocks or whatever),then place the gravel, then fold the cloth back over the gravel and fold or adhere against the foundation or wall and fill the trench. Dirt gets into the gravel easier w/o such protection and will clog the sock! There are already cases when the gravel gets filled and the system breaks down: nobody is happy. Even improperly installed cloth can be an issue.
You are going to "dig" this handbook: Building Envelopes Program Home Pagefoundation/ORNL_CON-295.pdf
If that does not work just google builder's foundation handbook and click on the pdf.
Joe Carmody is brilliant!
That is a really good idea, thanks! I will grab that book as well, great post!
Thanks for all the great advice. I started digging and am half way done. The trench is on the high side of the crawl space set back a few feet from the perimiter. The good news is after one day the trench is half way full of water. I am still gonna put the perforated pipe and gravel in but it seems like the water would drain just with the trench sloping down. I was going to put plastic down over the surface as well but I now feel like the french drain will work so well I wont need it. I will post some pictures when the project is complete.
I would still lay plastic over the entire crawl eventually...even if the dirt is dry, there is still a large amount of moisture evaporating up into your structure and every little bit helps. It is a pain in the arse, but you might as well knock it out if you're going to be used to being miserable crawling around down there anyways! Just get one of this big roles of the white plastic (6mil or higher) and duct tape and try to keep it in as few pieces as possible, taping the seams (with 1' overlap at least).
Fun is an understatement. I'm 6'2". The crawlspace is 2-3 feet at the high end. Ever dug a trench on your stomach?
Yep. I am also 6'2 and my company installs french drains (among other things) in crawlspaces. I tend to let the employees do the work though.
It is miserable, no doubt!
Trench looks good. Are you bringing in gravel too? If so, masonry sleds for mixing mortar (plastic low walled tubs) and attach some rope. Get a couple friends. Have one loading them at the door and two pulling the sleds to and from the trench.
That is a great idea for a sled. I was trying to figure out such a method. I am using the 50 pound bags of 3/4" rock from Home Depot. So far I have dragged 15 bags (750 pounds!) one bag at a time. It is 30 feet to the entry. I estimate I will need another 15 bags minimum. I hit my head 2.5 times on average per trip to the entry point.
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