I need a french drain and have watched a million youtubes to prepare, also had a irrigation guy come look at it. He said it would be at least 5k for his company to do it, so considering I can do it for guesstimating $600-$1000 in materials I am going that route.
I believe I have for the most part every little aspect of what I plan to do clear in my mind, after weeks of research under no rush. Except one thing, how to correctly slope the drain. Never having done this I have no experience with that. I understand it is supposed to be 1% or also 1" per 100 inches or roughly 8 feet. I have seen a method of using two shovels stuck in the ground and a string level to gauge slope. But I am unclear how consistent it needs to be. Does EVERY inch have to be sloped and how would this be enforced? For example if I have two point 8 feet apart and the lower point is 1" lower there's my 1% slope, but how do I ensure the entire 8 feet length is gradually sloped? Just eyeballing it for example seems like a terrible idea.
Also the drain guy I had out mentioned a laser level for this purpose, he mentioned that if I do it myself be sure to level properly or I could end up with standing underground water causing mosquito issues.. I bet I can get a cheap one on Amazon, but I have zero idea how mechanically a laser would work to ensure that consistent slope. Trying the old standby "find youtubes about it" didnt yield much help this time for once.
I would use either laser or the line level way it doesnt matter to me. Just if a laser is pretty cheap and easy I'd rather use whatever method is simplest obviously.
I've made a few posts here over the yrs (on another account, this just prompted me to login via google), and always ask to explain it to me like I'm 5. I'm NOT handy and dont assume I understand even the most basic concept!
I believe I have for the most part every little aspect of what I plan to do clear in my mind, after weeks of research under no rush. Except one thing, how to correctly slope the drain. Never having done this I have no experience with that. I understand it is supposed to be 1% or also 1" per 100 inches or roughly 8 feet. I have seen a method of using two shovels stuck in the ground and a string level to gauge slope. But I am unclear how consistent it needs to be. Does EVERY inch have to be sloped and how would this be enforced? For example if I have two point 8 feet apart and the lower point is 1" lower there's my 1% slope, but how do I ensure the entire 8 feet length is gradually sloped? Just eyeballing it for example seems like a terrible idea.
Also the drain guy I had out mentioned a laser level for this purpose, he mentioned that if I do it myself be sure to level properly or I could end up with standing underground water causing mosquito issues.. I bet I can get a cheap one on Amazon, but I have zero idea how mechanically a laser would work to ensure that consistent slope. Trying the old standby "find youtubes about it" didnt yield much help this time for once.
I would use either laser or the line level way it doesnt matter to me. Just if a laser is pretty cheap and easy I'd rather use whatever method is simplest obviously.
I've made a few posts here over the yrs (on another account, this just prompted me to login via google), and always ask to explain it to me like I'm 5. I'm NOT handy and dont assume I understand even the most basic concept!
