Installing Downspouts and a French Drain

This is how we do our downspouts. We take them to a pop-up emitter, you can see this french drain is complete and ready for the sod. We surround the pop-up emitter with filter fabric and we will cut a hole for it in the sod.

When it rains, this emitter will pop up and the water will run out and onto the grass before entering the french drain. Any shingle gravel or other debris will end up in the grass and not in the french drain system.

If you directly connect your downspout pipe to your french drain you’re going to end up with a system filled with debris. If you want a maintenance-free system, this is the way to do it.