Tile drainage can fall into three basic categories of drains; a French drain, curtain drain, or tile drain. They all have different applications. A French drain is used to drain surface and ground water away from an area. A curtain drain is often used around the perimeter of a sceptic field. Tile drains are used in open land areas such as pastures, farm fields, and paddocks, etc. All three types of drains are a specialty for CEC Excavating.