French drains can be handy, but honestly, I've seen them clog up pretty quickly if there's a lot of sediment or debris around. Might be worth considering how much runoff you're dealing with before committing to that route...just something to keep in mind.
French drains can definitely be tricky. When we first moved into our old place, I thought they'd be the perfect solution—our basement was practically a swimming pool after heavy rain. But you're right about the sediment issue. We had a huge maple tree nearby, and between leaves, twigs, and general debris, it clogged up way quicker than I'd anticipated. Ended up having to dig it out and redo parts of it after just a couple years.
One thing that did help us was adding some landscaping fabric around the drain pipe itself. It wasn't foolproof, but it slowed down the clogging quite a bit. Still, knowing how much runoff you're dealing with is key—sometimes you need something more robust or even multiple solutions working together. Anyway, hang in there...remodeling in flood-prone areas can feel like an endless battle, but you'll find what works eventually.
Good call on the landscaping fabric—definitely helps. Another thing is using larger gravel around the pipe instead of finer stuff; it lets water through easier and doesn't clog as fast. Learned that the hard way myself after redoing ours twice...
Wish I'd seen this thread before tackling mine last spring... totally agree on the bigger gravel, but honestly, landscaping fabric can be hit or miss. I've had better luck with geotextile—bit pricier upfront but holds up way longer. Worth considering if you're tired of redoing stuff every year or two.
Geotextile is definitely a solid choice, especially if you're looking at longevity and less frequent maintenance. I've also seen some great results combining geotextile with native plantings to help stabilize the soil naturally—plus, it adds a nice aesthetic touch. Curious if anyone's experimented with rain gardens or bioswales in flood-prone areas... seems like they could complement the geotextile approach nicely, but I'm not sure how practical they'd be in every situation. Thoughts?
