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MaterialNest

User-designed French drain takeoff

French Drain Grade and Material Planner

Plot optional station depths from measured ground elevations, then calculate quantities from the planned trench and selected products.

Enter the designed material group

Read the planned layout

Record quantities from a layout you already selected.

This schematic is an input checklist, not a drainage design. Measure each homogeneous run, then document the exact products used for that material group.

1. Runs

Split at a fitting or any change in the already-designed layout.

2. Envelope

Use the selected gravel width and height for every run in this group.

3. Products

Record actual pipe OD, stock, fittings, fabric, and supplier facts.

MATERIAL CROSS-SECTIONDIMENSIONS ONLY · NOT TO SCALEPIPE ODGRAVEL-ENVELOPE WIDTHENVELOPE HEIGHTFabric, pipe, and fittings are recorded separately.

User-designed yard-drain takeoff

Enter measured runs and exact products

Split runs wherever a fitting, envelope, pipe, or design changes. These inputs carry no hydraulic or suitability meaning.

Choose an entry path

Preliminary estimate: This planning path draws the entered grade line but does not approve drainage design, route, outlet, or products.

01Trench segments

0 of 200 runs

One material group supports no more than 200 straight runs.

No designed trench segments entered.

01BOptional elevation and trench-bottom profile

02Scope, gravel envelope, and pipe

One homogeneous material group; not necessarily the excavation width
Start another calculation if the envelope changes
Do not enter nominal or inside diameter

Why gross and pipe-adjusted gravel volumes differ

03Gravel purchasing

Use 1 unless an exact supplier source documents another conversion
The label declares the exact price basis; display conversions do not change it.

04Pipe and fittings

04BUser-selected fittings

Check exact drain pipe and adapter specifications. The verified catalog is limited; undocumented combinations remain unknown and require exact-product evidence.

No fitting, adapter, or cleanout purchase lines entered.

05Open-ended rectangular fabric wrap

Prefabricated drain-bundle takeoff is outside this calculator's supported scope

A product-neutral bundle model cannot establish effective installed coverage, included pipe or filter components, connector requirements, cutting permission, or residual reuse. This calculator will not infer those facts.

The trench and stock takeoff runs locally; its measurements are not uploaded.

Designed elevations and selected solid-pipe routes

Designed yard-drain elevation worksheet

Designed yard-drain elevation worksheet

What this worksheet covers

Record designed invert stations and measured checks in one datum; reconcile fall, grade and sloping pipe length.

Checks entered measurement consistency; never chooses slope, diameter, capacity or discharge destination.

Import a saved measurement

Select a source, then an existing field with the same measurement unit. Add region or station rows first when needed. Confirm physical meaning and datum; importing a number does not approve a design or replace the rest of the required measurements.

Invert stations

0 of 100 supported rows

Enter the measured layout and selected product information, then calculate. Exact schedules and a drawing appear here.

Selected solid-pipe route takeoff

Selected solid-pipe route takeoff

What this worksheet covers

Reconcile named inlet, outlet and branch ports, documented engagements, final pipe cuts and physical stock.

Already-selected ordinary yard solid-pipe parts and material quantities only. No route, depth, outlet, grading, capacity or hydraulic design.

Import a saved measurement

Select a source, then an existing field with the same measurement unit. Add region or station rows first when needed. Confirm physical meaning and datum; importing a number does not approve a design or replace the rest of the required measurements.

Selected pipe and cutting-rule source
Pipe stock lengths

0 of 8 supported rows

Selected route components

0 of 40 supported rows

Measured straight segments

0 of 80 supported rows

Entered restoration allowances

0 of 20 supported rows

Enter the measured layout and selected product information, then calculate. Exact schedules and a drawing appear here.

One homogeneous group

All runs share one envelope, pipe OD/product, and fabric product. Start another calculation when any of those change.

Documented purchase evidence

Supplier conversions, density basis, package volume, stock, joints, fittings, and fabric remain reviewable.

Review before purchase

The result keeps its entered scope, product records, assumptions, and exclusions available for checking.

What this release supports

Up to 200 straight runs in one homogeneous material group; one optional station profile from ground endpoints and a chosen bottom slope; an explicit gross-envelope or modeled OD-cylinder gravel policy; documented supplier volume, mass, or package data; pipe stock, fittings, and fabric.

Use the yard-drain field record to keep surveyed ground elevations, outlet datum, and the selected gravel policy together before entering a station profile.

Conservative product boundaries

Separate pipe couplings are inferred only from a product rule you confirm. Fabric roll-width slitting is never assumed without exact-product permission. Prefabricated drain-bundle takeoffs are outside this calculator's supported scope.

When to start another record

Start another calculation when the envelope, pipe product or outside diameter, or fabric product changes. The station profile adjusts one run and leaves other runs at their entered envelope height; its arithmetic and limits remain in the printed assumptions.

Measured trench grade and purchase behavior

The loadable record demonstrates a 50 ft run with station depths. The second shows how a gentler ground fall increases the envelope even when the planned bottom keeps falling at 1%.

1. 50 foot run with 6 in falling ground

Loadable record: Load the 50 ft example: the ground falls from 0 to −6 in, the bottom target is 1%, and stations are 10 ft apart. The start envelope depth is 18 in.

Checked result: The planned bottom also falls 6 in, so each station remains 18 in deep. The unchanged volume gives 150 gravel bags, 5 pipe sections, 4 selected straight couplings, and 1 fabric roll.

2. 50 foot run with only 3 in falling ground

Illustrative setup: Keep the example's 50 ft run, 18 in start depth, 1% planned bottom drop, 1 ft envelope width, and 0.5 ft³ bag yield; change end ground elevation to −3 in.

What it demonstrates: The bottom falls 6 in while ground falls 3 in. The final depth is 21 in, average depth 19.5 in, and gross gravel envelope 81.25 ft³; round 162.5 bag equivalents up to 163 bags.

Calculation record for this tool

The optional station sketch shows the bottom falling through entered ground elevations and adjusts gravel on that one run. A drawn fall cannot establish an achievable outlet, pipe invert, safe excavation, drainage capacity, or permission to discharge. Confirm the surveyed grade, utility locations, fabric fit, and final design with the responsible site professional before digging.

Formula version
1.3.0
Core method
For an optional profiled run, the calculator interpolates ground height between endpoint elevations and lowers the trench bottom at the chosen planning slope. It averages the resulting start and end depths for that run's gravel envelope, then applies the existing pipe-stock, fitting, and fabric takeoff rules.
Measurement datum
Every straight segment is measured along the already-selected route and must be split wherever envelope, pipe, fitting, product, or design conditions change.
Rounding and allocation
Envelope volume and conversions retain precision. Bags, pipe stock, fittings, and fabric rolls round only under the exact supplier or product records entered for the selected scenario.
Known exclusions
The station view is geometry only; capacity, rainfall, pipe sizing, feasible outlet, discharge, excavation design, permits, utilities, and structural or high-risk applications are excluded.
Review the complete methodology

Grade and drain-material checks before digging

  • Treating the trench bottom as level when the yard grade changes; a reverse-slope pocket can hold water even if the purchase volume looks reasonable.
  • Assuming pipe displacement is always subtracted instead of explicitly selecting and reviewing the gross-envelope or OD-cylinder-adjusted policy.
  • Using this takeoff for foundations, basements, retaining walls, driveways, septic work, erosion control, or application approval.

Station grade and envelope questions

Why must a route be split into separate segments?

Pipe allocation and joint counts depend on uninterrupted recorded runs. Split the route anywhere a fitting, envelope, pipe product, or already-selected design condition changes.

Does gross-envelope mode subtract the pipe volume?

No. Gross-envelope mode preserves the entire entered trench envelope. Use the separate OD-cylinder-adjusted policy only when that matches the selected purchasing method.

Does a 1% line prove the outlet will work?

No. It is an adjustable planning line from the entered start depth. The station table shows the depth implied by that line and interpolated ground, but it does not survey the actual route, establish the pipe invert, or validate a lawful discharge point.

Continue this material workflow

  • Paver patio calculator — Estimate a separately designed pedestrian surface and its selected material layers.
  • Aggregate ordering planner — Reconcile selected gravel volume with documented density, supplier minimums and delivered quote terms.

MaterialNest extended the yard-drain geometry in September 2026 to include a one-run station profile; hydraulic and excavation decisions still require site review. Editorial and correction policy.