It is not a secret that our area of north Georgia has many sloped or hilly properties, and those slopes and hills can often cause potential issues with drainage on your land. Leaving drainage problems to sit unattended can often have more severe consequences. Excess water in your landscape bed may cause root rot, while a wet lawn may fall victim to lawn diseases.
There are a few ways to correct drainage issues on your property, but two popular solutions are French drains and dry creek beds. Learn about the difference between them and which one may be the best choice for your home, business, or HOA in Woodstock, Roswell, Alpharetta, and surrounding cities in Georgia.
1. Cost: French drains are the more expensive option.
On average, a French drain will cost about $20-$30 per linear foot to install, while a dry creek bed costs around $5-$7 per linear foot. This obviously makes French drains the more expensive option, but take into consideration that French drains require a lot more materials to create and build, while dry creek beds just require rocks of varying sizes.
2. Process: The process to install dry creek beds takes less time and has fewer steps.
While French drains and dry creek beds both start with a trench, the process of installing dry creek beds takes less time and requires fewer steps.To create a dry creek bed, we follow these steps:
- Dig a trench of varying width
- Smooth the dirt down
- Lay down landscape fabric and put pea gravel on top of it
- Begin installing river rock along with larger rocks to create an aesthetically pleasing look and feel to the dry creek bed
Creating a French drain also begins with a trench. After that, we put down tiles to line the bottom of it and then install a perforated pipe to help redirect water away from the area where it has been pooling. The final step is to fill in the trench with gravel to make it look more natural.
3. Aesthetics: Dry creek beds can look beautiful since they are made to look like a river.
Overall, both dry creek beds and French drains can be made to look fairly similar once they are installed. But with dry creek beds, the drainage specialists may have a bit more leeway to create a beautiful-looking area that resembles a river flowing through your yard.
As far as aesthetics go, the dry creek bed usually wins over a French drain.
4. Effectiveness: Both provide effective solutions to solving drainage problems.
At O'Neill Landscape Group, we have found that both French drains and dry creek beds can be effective at solving various drainage problems. Overall, it depends on the area that needs correcting and how large it may be. Our drainage experts will help you choose the best option for your northern Georgia property.
Best of all, these drainage solutions to not interfere with your plumbing, septic or electrical systems.
Experiencing issues with drainage on your lawn? Call us to help.
If you are in Roswell, Woodstock, Alpharetta, or nearby areas of Georgia, and experiencing issues with drainage on your lawn or in your landscape beds, we can help. Call us at (770) 738-9677 so we can come provide you with an estimate!
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