A soggy lawn or a flooded driveway isn't just an eyesore — it's a hazard and a threat to your property. We find where the water's coming from and move it where it belongs.
Standing water and the mud and ice it creates are slip-and-fall hazards for your family and your visitors.
Persistent water drowns grass, kills plantings, and erodes soil — undoing your landscaping investment.
Pooling water makes outdoor areas unusable and can work its way toward your foundation and basement.
Visible drainage problems are a red flag to buyers and can lower the value of your home.
Rain and snowmelt that can't drain away — often because of grading, hardscape, or roof runoff with nowhere to go.
Water moving underground that surfaces in low spots, keeping areas wet even when it hasn't rained.
A broken or leaking buried pipe saturating the ground from below.
The most common questions homeowners ask us about French drains and yard drainage.
In Greater Hartford, French drain installation typically runs $1,500–$8,000 depending on length, depth, the discharge solution (drywell vs daylight vs storm tie-in), and site conditions like roots, ledge, or restoration needs. A short surface-runoff fix can be a few thousand dollars; a long perimeter system around a wet yard can run higher. We provide a written estimate after a free on-site assessment.
A French drain is a buried, perforated pipe surrounded by gravel that collects groundwater along its entire length — best for soggy lawns, wet patches, and water that wants to seep upward. A catch basin is a single inlet that collects surface runoff at one point — best for a low spot in a driveway or where downspouts dump in one place. Most properties need a combination.
Yes — but how it's designed matters more in clay. Clay holds water and drains slowly, so the system needs proper gravel envelope, fabric wrap, and a real discharge path (daylight, drywell, or storm system tie-in). A poorly designed French drain in clay can clog or back up. We assess soil conditions during the consultation and design accordingly.
Most residential drainage work — French drains, catch basins, downspout extensions, regrading — does not require a permit on private property. Work that ties into the municipal storm system, alters wetlands, or impacts a public right-of-way may require permits. We handle the permit research and filing when needed; you'll know during the estimate whether your project requires one.
A typical residential French drain installation takes 1–3 days. Short runs can be completed in a single day. Longer systems with multiple discharge points, restoration work, or hardscape removal can extend the project to a week. We provide a clear timeline as part of the written estimate, including what gets dug up and how the yard will be restored.
Yes, simple shallow French drains are within reach for a confident DIYer. Where it goes wrong: insufficient slope, wrong gravel size, missing fabric wrap, no real discharge, or hitting buried utilities. We get a lot of calls to fix failed DIY systems. If you have surface-only runoff on flat ground, a basic drain can work; for serious groundwater, deep installs, or anything tying into utilities, a professional install pays for itself.
Send a photo of the wet area and get a free estimate. Backed by our 100% satisfaction guarantee.