Standing water in the yard, a soggy strip along the foundation, downspouts dumping right beside the house, a low corner that turns into a pond after every storm. These problems get progressively more expensive the longer they wait, because water that cannot leave eventually finds its way into your foundation, your hardscape base, or your lawn’s root zone.
We start by figuring out where water is coming from and where it needs to end up, then correct the slope so gravity does most of the work. Where surface grading alone is not enough, we add the right drainage component, whether that is a swale, a French drain, a catch basin, or downspout extensions carrying roof water well clear of the house.
There is no single drainage product that fixes every yard, which is why we start with the grade.
Grade re-established so surface water moves away from foundations, not toward them.
Shallow shaped channels that carry runoff across the property without looking engineered.
Subsurface collection installed where standing water cannot be graded away.
Roof water piped well away from the foundation instead of dumping at the corner of the house.
Low areas re-sloped and drained so turf stops drowning.
Negative grade along the house corrected to shed water outward.
Water redirected so it stops washing across and undermining patios and walkways.
Swales and grade changes that intercept water arriving from uphill.
Regrading first, almost always. A French drain installed under a grade that still slopes toward the house is treating a symptom. Once slope is correct, a drain becomes a highly effective supplement in the spots grading cannot reach.
Deep enough to be out of the way of mowing and to maintain fall to the discharge point, typically a shallow trench with solid pipe. Solid pipe rather than perforated matters here, since you want roof water carried away, not released back into the soil next to the house.
Often, yes. Many problems are concentrated in a specific area, and we keep disturbance limited to the zone that needs correcting.
Considerably. Northern Illinois clay drains very slowly, so surface grading carries much more of the load and subsurface drains need to be designed with that in mind rather than assuming water will percolate.
No. We design outflow to a legal and appropriate discharge point on your property or an approved location. Shifting a problem next door is not a solution.
Questions? Call us!