Drainage, Grading & French Drains
Standing water, a soggy lawn or a damp basement is almost always a grading problem. Water goes where the ground sends it.
This is the most common problem we are called about, and the one most often treated as a lawn problem when it is really a grading one. Before anything is dug, it is worth knowing which source you are dealing with — the fix is different for each.
- Roof water — downspouts discharging against the foundation
- Surface water — ground falling toward the house instead of away
- Neighbouring ground — water arriving from higher land
- Melt — a season of snow releasing into ground still frozen underneath
Why break-up is the real test
A system that copes with summer rain has not been tested. Break-up is the test: a lot of water released over a short period into ground that is still frozen below the surface. Anything designed for that behaves in July as well. The reverse is not true.
The cheapest thing worth doing first
Often it is simply carrying roof water properly away from the foundation. It is worth ruling that out before anything more ambitious is considered.
What this includes
- French drains
- Foundation drainage
- Downspout drainage and buried lines
- Dry wells and catch basins
- Grading corrections
- Erosion control and water management
How a project runs
- 01 Consultation We come out, walk the property and listen to what you want the space to do.
- 02 Plan and quote A plan and a price you can look at and change before anything is dug.
- 03 Build Drainage and grading first, then hardscape, then soil and planting — in that order.
- 04 Walkthrough We hand it over in person and explain what it needs to stay the way it looks.
Frequently asked questions
Will a French drain fix my wet yard?
Sometimes. It has to daylight somewhere useful — a French drain that ends nowhere just moves the puddle. Often re-grading is the more durable answer, with no pipe to block later.
My basement gets damp in spring. Is that a landscaping problem?
Frequently, yes. If the ground falls toward the house or the downspouts discharge at the foundation, water is being delivered to the wall. That is fixable outside.
Can drainage be added to a finished landscape?
Yes, though it is less disruptive designed in from the start. We will tell you honestly what has to be lifted to do it.