Install Information for Drain Tile Materials

Create a building plan to figure the quantity of tiles and other materials you'll need. Make a scale drawing with paper and pencil of your yard and circle the waterlogged areas and places where puddles remain. Draw a direct line through these places to a safe outlet, such as a dry creek bed or street gutter.

Walk through the yard and use a tape measure to measure the exact distance of the drain pipes you'll need to cover.

Dig the channel for the drain tiles with a shovel. Unearth an expanse 8 to 12 inches wide to a depth of 18 inches, making the walls curve at the bottom. Start at the beginning of the channel and dig down a 1/4-inch decline for every 12 inches of distance to slope the channel.

Install clean gravel along the bottom of the channel and spread it even with a shovel. Pour a 6-inch layer and tamp it down with a hand tamper. Gravel provides a sturdy base for the tiles and creates a barrier between the tile and the dirt below.

Center the tiles along the length of the gravel and turn the perforations down. Use elbow connectors to attach pipes where the channel curves. Turn the straight stem of T connectors to face up and use them to join pipes along straight sections. Place a drain grid over the open side of T connectors and the beginning of the drain pipe.

Pull a drain sock around the tiles as you set each pipe in place. The socks are fine mesh fabric designed to allow water to seep through while blocking small bits of debris.

Shovel an additional 4 inches of gravel over top of the drain pipe.

Disguise the system by filling in the remaining canal with a mix of sand and dirt. Plant Bermuda grass or other flood-resistant grass over the dirt.