Retaining Wall French Drain Design

Why proper drainage is important for retaining wall performance.
Retaining wall french drain design. In this blog post we ll be discussing french drains and drywells and how to install them correctly. If you re building a retaining wall add a french drain behind the first course of stones or blocks. If you re building a retaining wall on a hillside. The photos we show in this article show a french drain being constructed behind a low retaining wall.
The design of a properly built retaining wall resists the force of the soil behind it and prevents caving buckling or leaning. A drainage system can have many different components including a french drain drywell closed tubing catch basins and pop up emitters. A french drain is a virtual necessity when building a retaining wall on a hill. However retaining walls are built with a certain capacity in mind.
A retaining wall is built to hold back a certain amount of soil. The pipe should rest on the same compacted gravel base or concrete footing that supports the wall. The size of the gravel used can vary from pea gravel to larger. You want to intercept the water in the soil before it reaches any structure that water will corrode or erode.
Otherwise water moving down the hill will build up behind the wall and undermine it. These can be led directly into the dry well. Next the trench should be lined with ground sheeting this is available at most builders merchants. I think you are on the wrong side of that retaining wall.
Install french drains at the foundation perimeter of your house. We re going to keep the good stones and use them for the rebuild. One of the most popular fix to these yard drainage problems is a french drain as part of a drainage system. However if you do this the size of the dry well will have to accommodate more water and the dimensions will be different than if it was needed only for the retaining wall piping.
It should be located on the uphill side of the wall so it can catch water running down the hill and prevent it from undermining the wall. Let me show you what happens after 19 years. About 8 inches to 2 feet deep should be sufficient for many water diverting projects though related systems such as those built around foundations and sub ground living spaces as well as the bases of retaining walls may be deeper. Why you need a french drain behind your retaining wall.
Check out this video for some simple instructions on installing a french drain behind an 18 to 24 tall retaining wall before it is backfilled with dirt. Drain pipes go behind the wall on the side with the surcharge the soil that that wall or foundation is holding back. First you need to dig a trench behind the wall about 15cm wide and as deep as required with a fall off 1 in 100 so that the water flows.