Curtain Drains
If a home's yard is located at the bottom of a steep hill or incline, then curtain drains are often installed somewhere along the edge of the incline. Curtain drains are created by digging a trench in the yard some distance from the foundation. Once dug, a pipe is laid in these trenches. Stone covers the pipe and fills in the area, appearing as a stripe of stone in the yard. While these drains are an effective way to limit water pooling in the yard, they don't stop water from reaching the foundation from other directions around the house, nor do they stop water from reaching the foundation from the sky or passing through the ground beneath the drain. In short, they're a poor way to keep a basement dry. Water will continue to build around the foundation, and it can still easily make its way into your basement. And while curtain drains prevent pooling on the short-term, these drains can clog with dirt and roots quickly and are not a reliable first line of defense.
