Fundamentals Page

Sustainable Landscaping begins with knowledge -- not just about your sprinklers, but about water in your yard, and more importantly, knowledge about draining unwanted water. French Drains can help alleviate potential foundation issues and help return rainwater where it belongs – back in our watershed to be reused. Heads Up Sprinkler Company believes recognizing and correcting drainage issues can positively influence the health of your major in-ground investments ---your home, your sprinkler system and your landscaping.

Correcting drainage issues protects against water seepage into your home, erosion, foundation movement, plant loss, landscaping damages and homeowner worries. Water shows backyard standing water up in 2 basic forms:
1. above ground or Surface Water
2. below ground or Subsurface Water

The collection of water results from:
• poorly drained areas drain pipe
• excess run-off
• over watering
• underground springs
• low-lying or sunken spots
• roof run-off
• aged, clogged older drainage solutions

Drainage problems include: flooding, sedimentation, ponding, negative drainage, erosion, faulty grade, seepage, soil saturation and soil-moisture fluctuation. These problems can create or aggravate a variety of undesirable conditions: including soil scars, slope creep, landslide, soil consolidation, soil subsidence, and soil shrinkage & expansion.

Researching Drainage on the internet, you can find any number of sites proposing various solutions. Heads Up Sprinkler Company has been diagnosing Drainage Problems since 1995. We design Drainage solutions to fit your specific needs. Depending on the problem, we install:
french drain
French Drains – perforated pipe with a protective fabric sock, buried beneath the soil surrounded by crushed limestone directing the water to a SWPPP approved exit point. Used to eliminate both Surface and Subsurface water. Most effective installed in soil and gardens.

Surface Catch Basin Drains – square or circular basins with grates designed to connect in-line with underground drainage pipe, either French Drains or solid pipe. Used to capture surface drain catch-basin drain and eliminate Surface Water, channel the water into an underground drainage pipe that conveys the water to a designated and approved SWPPP point. Most effective installed in gardens, pavestone patios, cemented areas and yards. Available with plastic, metal and decorative grates.

channel drain Channel or Trench Drains – pre-molded plastic or metal troughs between 2” and 6” in width, covered with grates, connected to solid pipe at the end of the drain which runs below ground and conveys the water to a designated and approved SWPPP point. Used to eliminate Surface Water. Most effective installed along edges of patios, sidewalks & walkways, flagstone, driveways and between impermeable surfaces.

Dry River Bed Drains – custom designed open flow channels designed to divert water away from your home from rain or swimming pool spillage. Riverbeds can present powerful features in your landscape. They can be functional as space dividers, vital as drainage conductors, beautiful as decor. Or it can even work double-duty as an edging for a flower garden. Used to eliminate Surface Water. Most effective installed using the contours of your yard and should be presented in harmony with the landscape.

dry river bed drain #1 dry river bed drain #2 dry river bed drain #3 dry river bed drain #4 dry river bed drain #5

Heads Up Sprinkler Company drainage experts are trained to recognize the most common of high-energy discharge zones – roof run-offs. During a rainstorm, roof run-off erodes the soil and creates a long muddy puddle. Sometimes, drainage isn’t the only solution recommended, gutters can help alleviate some drainage issues, but gutter downspouts still require a proper exit path away from the foundation.

It is important to understand that gutters guide roof run-off to a few concentrated points of high- energy discharge where erosion and ponding water will be even more intense. Capturing downspouts and creating a below ground passage for the water to exit the property is key to "thoroughly" tackling the rain water from roofs.

drainage pipe core Once the roof top run-off has been captured & channeled, a planned exit locale for the water is needed. Heads Up recommends that the water exit no less than 10’ from the house foundation (slope, contour and individual yard conditions warranted). North Texas soils require management around the foundation. Providing an exit for the roof run-off to the approved Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan locale is the recommended practice.

Heads Up Sprinkler Company delivers expert drainage solutions because we understand the fundamental component of drainage problems -- our soil. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Natural Resources Conservation Services, our area sits in the North Texas Blackland Prairie -- the dominant soil analysis yields Houston Black clay soil – classic Vertisol. Vertisols are characterized by the presence of a mineral in the clay called smectite. This mineral swells considerably when moist and shrinks when dry. Blackland Prairie is a highly expansive clay. We can help you to recognize & manage your soil conditions.

The Drainage Solutions we design for you encompass a thorough understanding of your property, your yard’s specific water issues, knowledge of your soils, capacity planning information of the drainage materials needed, attention to your landscaping elements and a final presentation you can understand.