French Drain

Popularized by Henry Flagg French (1813–1885) of Concord, Massachusetts, a lawyer and Assistant US Treasury Secretary, in his 1859 book Farm Drainage, a French drain is a trench filled with gravel or rock containing a perforated pipe that redirects surface water and groundwater away from an area.

The new house has drainage issues in the back which have contributed to damage to the bonus room door and floor. So one of the first things we did was install a French drain along the back of the house. We'll eventually install gutters, but a French drain was a cheap fix.