French drains can be DIY-able if you're comfortable with some digging and basic plumbing, but honestly, it's pretty labor-intensive. I've done it myself once—worked fine, but next time I'd probably hire pros just to save the hassle and ensure proper grading.
We had a similar experience when we moved into our rural place—thought we'd save some cash by DIY-ing the French drain. It worked out okay, but man, my back still remembers that weekend! Ended up refinancing last year and used some equity to hire pros for landscaping and drainage improvements. Worth every penny. Curious, did your rural loan perks cover any home improvement projects, or was it strictly for the purchase itself?
We looked into something similar when we got our rural loan a few years back. From what I saw, most of those rural loan perks are geared strictly toward the initial purchase, not really improvements afterward. We had clients who thought they'd squeeze some upgrades in at closing, but it didn't pan out. Best bet usually is refinancing later or a separate home improvement loan—sounds like you made a smart move using your equity instead. DIY drainage sounds intense...my knees hurt just thinking about it.
"DIY drainage sounds intense...my knees hurt just thinking about it."
Haha, seriously—been there, done that, got the muddy boots to prove it. Did you run into any unexpected issues with the drainage setup, or did it go smoother than expected?
Did a DIY french drain last summer—thought I'd planned for everything, then hit a buried tree stump halfway through digging... talk about unexpected detours. Curious if your project threw any curveballs like that?
