Home & Garden Maintenance & Repairs

How to Troubleshoot a Trench Drain

By Home & Garden Last updated Wednesday, June/12/2024

1). Dig a trench along the side of your foundation wall with the shovel. Dig down to the layer of stone that is covering the trench drain.
2). Scoop the gravel out of the trench and deposit it in a pile. Remove enough of the gravel until the drain pipe is exposed.
3). Examine the pipe for any signs of leaks. Make sure that any filter fabric over the pipe is unclogged. Remove the filter fabric from the pipe to prevent this occurrence again.
4). Measure the depth of the pipe from front to the back with the tape measure. The depth of the pipe needs to increase at the back. If the pipe is virtually level, water will fail to drain out of the pipe.
5). Remove dirt from beneath the pipe to increase the drainage angle, if necessary. This will allow water to drain away from the foundation properly.
6). Fill in the trench with the gravel and then cover it with the dirt.

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