Using old soaker hose for small French drain?

I just had this idea and would appreciate opinions. Especially if it’s a bad idea!

I live in an urban area. South Florida, to be exact. At the end of my concrete driveway the water pools and I’ve been thinking about making a small French drain to move that water a few feet (4-6’) into the swale. My budget is tight so if I can cut a few corners and still improve the drainage, I’m fine with a less than optimal solution. It’s not a huge amount of water that pools even when we have massive amounts of rain.

I was going to trench along one side of the driveway near the end and possibly try to just use gravel for the base with larger river rocks (and landscape fabric). I just now started to wonder if I could use sections of an old soaker hose that has split in a few places and headed for the garbage bin and repurpose that to go under the larger rocks? Most people use 3-4” pvc with holes or similar large diameter pipes. Could several sections of the soaker hose (I think 1/2” diameter) serve the same purpose? Any downside to trying it? I really just need to move the water a few feet so it’s not a massive project.

I’m trying to get code enforcement off my back for several smallish to moderate issues. I’m spending my limited funds on mostly native, low maintenance plants (I’m refusing to sod my lawn just because it’s “the norm”). So if anyone can advise me on the drainage issue that would be one less thing to focus my energy on.

Thanks

It's worth a try. I think soaker hoses "sweat" water when they are under water system pressure. I suspect water will gravity flow downhill in them. They probably won't work in a siphon system because air will get in.

As Douglas commented, much will depend upon the type of soaker hose. Old style ones used to have holes punched in them…..I haven’t seem them around in decades.   I doubt if the more modern ones will work.  I would also be concerned about the weight of the back fill collapsing the hose and stopping the water flow.

Water is weird stuff. My gut feeling is that 1/2" pipe will have too much resistance compared to a 3" pipe.

It sounds like you don't need much, so maybe try asking on some place like F...b..k if people have some scraps they'd like gone?

Overall, getting puddles moved into swales sounds like a great idea - hopefully you'll find something that will work.

(Tongue in cheek... tell the code enforcement guys you don't mind planting grass so long as they'll give you permission to buy a goat/sheep to mow it for you!  Luckily, I'm on what's called "agricultural land reserve". At the moment I have a portable shelter with 5 chickens in it as my "front lawn fertilization committee"! I move them every day to a new patch of grass.)

I appreciate your input!

It is the ‘new’ kind that’s porous throughout. As I was wandering the isles of the big box store after I posted this question, I did think about the backfill crushing the hoses. I thought of that while I was walking past the same kind of paver bricks I have stacked at home and imagining those bricks on each side and on top of the hoses. Basically making a 3 sided tunnel to support the river rocks.

I know I’m probably overthinking this and the $20 pvc is the most straightforward solution. I’m just trying to figure out if it’s worth the hassle to reuse something I already have and avoid buying another plastic product (I know the hose is a type of rubber/plastic compound but it’s bound for the landfill anyway if I don’t use it here). I know it’s going to be up to me if I want to gamble with the untested method or not. But if anyone has a reason why I absolutely should not try it, I’m all ears.

FYI Jay, I envy your chickens! We can’t have them in my city (although, I know people who do). We have dozens of feral peacocks in my neighborhood which are WAY worse neighbors than a few hens. If egg prices keep going up I might have to see what peacock eggs taste like. lol

Kel,

There is another possible option.  I have several hundred feet of perforated flexible 4” black drainage tubing.  I got it for free. Check dumpsters at landscaping companies, construction companies, construction sites etc.

John, i like the idea. The only reason it might not be practical for me is that my vehicle is a 50cc scooter. I did just come home from the big box store with a big bag of composted cow manure, a plant, and 2 x 60” rake handles. So, I’m not saying it’s impossible….but I do have to decide what I’m going to try to schlep around and how I’m going to make it work (I took the side streets earlier just in case the rake handles weren’t as secure as I thought. Made it home safe but drove 30mph instead of 40). This is another reason using materials on my property is appealing.

I like the thinking, but remember volume multiplies by pipe radius (3.14159 x radius squared), so a 1/2” will move .785” sq vs a 4” pipe moving 12.56”sq. The friction will also be much higher in the soaker hose. I would also foresee it becoming forever garbage that will break down but not decompose biologically in the soil.

Woody debris filled trenches will apparently greatly outlast pipe or gravel in functional drainage lifespan. Ancient Roman woody debris backfilled drainage structures in Britain functioned for over a thousand years. The British literature on these around many old castles uses a term for bundled sticks that could be considered offensive in the US (“f@&&%t drains”). I have used these with good results in my property and designs, but would not use them within 10ft of a structure as they will decompose and settle. This is also a consideration for foot traffic safety as it can form an ankle turner. If these are overriding concerns, I would still forego the pipe if possible and use drainage rock and the pavers to form a cavity. A cleanout could even be devised with a removable paver.

If you can get the slope right then a soaker hose or pvc pipe might not be necessary.

With the right slope, I feel gravel and large rocks would be enough.

Ben, we were getting along so well… you just had to ruin that with math? It caused my brain to make the same sound as a needle scratching a record (I can send anyone under 40-ish a WAV file with a synth version if you need a reference). lol

I’m already obsessed with the hollow tree idea! All my terracotta pots are holding my cactus collection so I ruled that old-school idea out. But a hollow tree is super old-school and absolutely fits my aesthetic perfectly!! I’m thinking about bromeliads on the side branches that would be sticking up a foot or so…. I even have a mango tree (not the good one) that needs to come down. Living here in this godforsaken swamp I’m sure it would need to be replaced every couple of years as it turns into compost. If things go my way I’ll be living in the desert southwest before the tree finishes rotting. I’ll

Ha! I just read back through this thread and realized bundles of logs were mentioned as a way to keep water flowing. But when I saw that earlier today my mind read it as a hollow log. Suddenly I’m imagining it planted with bromeliads and all kinds of extra stuff.

This is how I get myself in trouble and lose focus, turning a fairly small project I don’t have time, energy, or money for into a very elaborate project that would take even more time, energy, and resources! I’m not sure where the line is between “big ideas” and “attention deficit.”