French Drain Installation in Buffalo, NY

French drain installation is one of the most requested earthwork jobs around Buffalo, and for good reason. A French drain is a trench lined with filter fabric, filled with stone and fitted with perforated pipe that collects water and carries it to an outlet. On flat lots with clay soil, it gives water a path where none exists. When 95.4 inches of snow a year melts, often onto frozen ground, that path is the difference between a dry yard and a pond.

Finding the source

Before we design anything, we figure out where the water comes from. Surface runoff from a neighbor, roof water dumped at the foundation, groundwater perched on clay, and settled grades all look the same when the yard is soaked. A swale or downspout line may solve it for less than a full French drain.

The outlet is everything

On a flat lot, the hardest part is finding somewhere for the water to go. Options include a ditch or the street where your municipality allows it, a storm connection with approval, or a dry well where the soil can absorb water. Dense clay absorbs slowly, so dry wells need conservative sizing. HomeGuide notes drainage permits run $100 to $375 and more for a public storm connection.

Curtain drains

A curtain drain runs across the high side of a yard to catch water moving toward a house or patio. It is the right fix when water arrives from a neighbor's lot or from higher ground.

Downspouts

Underground downspout lines carry roof water to the outlet instead of releasing it at the foundation. With about 40.68 inches of precipitation a year plus snowmelt, they are one of the most effective fixes for wet basements.

Costs

HomeGuide lists exterior French drains at $10 to $35 per linear foot and $500 to $8,800 installed on average; a 100-foot yard drain runs about $1,000 to $3,500.

Interior systems

Interior basement drains and sump pumps are a waterproofing trade. We handle the outside and will tell you plainly if your problem needs an interior system.