Interesting, I've actually had decent results with pea gravel myself. Maybe it depends on the soil or climate? I did add perimeter drains though—probably made all the difference. Wouldn't trust slope alone in heavy rains...
Yeah, perimeter drains are definitely a smart move. I've seen a few DIY foundations struggle when folks relied purely on slope... heavy rains can be ruthless. Pea gravel's been hit or miss from what I've noticed—probably soil type as you mentioned. Had one project where it worked perfectly, another where we had to redo half the drainage after the first storm. Always something new to learn with these DIY adventures, right?
Totally agree on perimeter drains—seen too many slope-only setups fail. A couple extra thoughts:
- Pea gravel can clog easier than you'd think, especially with clay-heavy soils.
- Geotextile fabric around the drain pipe helps a ton... learned that the hard way myself.
- Also, consider adding cleanouts for easier maintenance later.
Good points on the geotextile fabric—I overlooked that on my first project and regretted it later. Curious though, have you had any issues with the fabric itself clogging over time? I've heard mixed things about it, especially in areas with heavy clay. Also, totally second the cleanouts suggestion. Nothing worse than trying to snake a drain line blindly after everything's buried... learned that lesson the messy way.
I've used geotextile fabric a few times now, and yeah, clogging can happen—especially in clay-heavy soil. One thing that helped me was adding a good layer of coarse gravel around the drain pipe before wrapping it with fabric. It creates a buffer zone, reducing direct contact between clay and fabric. Also, make sure the fabric isn't overly fine; medium-weight seems to strike a good balance between filtration and drainage. Learned this after some trial and error myself...
