What Is a French Drain? Do You Need One to Protect Your Home?

When water is consistently saturating the soil around your foundation, the soil expands and pushes against your foundation’s walls. In addition, moisture build-up around your foundation can cause your concrete to erode and crumble.

Water is one of the leading causes contributing to foundation failure. If water around your foundation is left unattended, it can cause significant damage, safety concerns, and financial difficulties for homeowners. 

In order to avoid this, foundation repair companies typically recommend the installation of a French drain system. This will help clear out moisture, ensuring that your foundation stays dry, so you can sleep well at night knowing your home’s foundation is in great condition. 

PierMagic, the leading team for home foundation repair in Kansas City can provide a seamless French drain installation to protect your home from water-related foundation problems, as well as add value to your home in the process. 

What Is a French Drain?

Essentially, a French drain operates like a trench, which is often dug along the perimeter of your foundation to direct pooling water to a new location away from your home. Gravel or stone is often used to line the trench, so that water drains slowly into a pipe that is positioned away from your home. In some cases, your gutter downspouts are routed directly into your French drain system.

How Do You Know You Need a French Drain?

Many of us don’t recognize the need for a French drain until we’ve seen the obvious effects of poor drainage. After a rainfall, your yard might have several large puddles of standing water. However, you might not notice this until your children or pets have been splashing in it, and they come back into the house, dirty and muddy. You thought your yard was already dry from last night’s rainstorm, but now you’ve got laundry and cleaning to do, and you’re starting to get concerned about this water, as it’s dangerously close to your foundation. Unfortunately, some homeowners don’t notice the signs that a drainage solution is necessary until after the damage has already been done. 

If you’re concerned about water getting into your home, the following questions will help you determine if water is already affecting your home’s foundation:

1. Does your basement flood or have water coming through cracks in the basement walls? 
2. Do you notice water in your basement after a storm?
3. Have you noticed any of these signs in the past, even if they haven’t occurred more recently?
4. Is your home in the Kansas City area, which is prone to significant droughts followed by heavy rainfall?
5. Do you notice standing water anywhere in your yard?
6. Does your yard take time to dry out after a big rainfall?

If you can answer yes to any of these questions, contact PierMagic, the leading company for home foundation repair in Kansas City. 

Why Rely on a Home Foundation Repair Expert for French Drain Installation?

As simple as this process may seem, the installation of a French drain system should be left to experts, and is not typically a DIY job - especially if your goal is to ensure that water and moisture are completely removed from your foundation. 

In addition to installing a French drain, we suggest ensuring proper soil grading around your foundation, basement waterproofing methods such as epoxy crack sealing, and additional measures depending on your situation. 

When you work with our expert team of technicians for home foundation repair in Kansas City, we can ensure that a combination of effective solutions is used to completely waterproof your foundation. 

One of the features that makes us a leading home foundation repair service is that we offer a wide variety of services, so you don’t have to worry about working with additional contractors. Your individualized solution is done by a single, trustworthy, knowledgeable company. 

What Other Drainage Solutions Can PierMagic Provide Besides French Drains?



Besides the installation of a French drain system by our highly experienced foundation specialists, we can provide several other drainage solutions, depending on your needs, including sump pump and back-up sump pump installation, floor drains, and more. 

If you’re noticing any of the signs we’ve mentioned above - water coming through cracks in the basement, standing water in the basement, a basement that floods easily, or standing water or a sopping-wet yard - you may not necessarily need French drain installation, but you might learn from us that another drainage solution is necessary. 

PierMagic can offer a free assessment of your drainage needs. Our expertise with home foundation repair in Kansas City is second-to-none because we have committed ourselves to studying and providing solutions for the climate and conditions that are unique to Kansas City and its homes. When it comes to developing a drainage solution, we bring our expertise straight to you, ensuring that your home remains the valuable investment you want it to be. 

Work with a local home foundation repair business and get the benefits of our high level of experience. Call PierMagic at (816) 765-4800 or send us a message online. Tell us what drainage problems you’re noticing, and we’ll get back to you quickly with the solution you need.