Drainage and Grading

Standing water usually comes from one of three things: improper grade pitching water back toward the house, compacted clay soil that will not absorb runoff, or downspouts dumping concentrated volumes in one spot. Northern Illinois has heavy clay in much of DeKalb, Kane, DuPage, and Cook counties, which makes drainage a common issue. Our fixes range from regrading and downspout extensions to French drains, dry wells, swales, catch basins, and pop-up emitters — chosen based on what is actually causing the water.

Simple solutions like buried downspout extensions or short gravel drains typically run $800 to $2,000. Mid-range French drain systems with one or two catch basins in a standard yard run roughly $3,000 to $7,000. Larger, complex systems with significant excavation, multiple drains, or pump-assisted runs can range $10,000 to $15,000 or more. Clay-heavy Chicagoland soils tend to push installs toward the upper end of these ranges because excavation takes longer. We quote after diagnosing the source, not by linear foot alone.

A French drain is a gravel-filled trench with a perforated pipe at the bottom, wrapped in filter fabric, that collects subsurface water and routes it to a safe outlet. It is the right call when you have chronic saturation, surface water that lingers for days, or wet basement walls fed by yard runoff. It is not the right call when the actual problem is grading or a single downspout — those have simpler, cheaper fixes. We diagnose first, then recommend.

In most cases, yes. We use targeted trenching that stays as narrow as the job allows, route lines through bed edges or along property lines when possible, and stage the work to protect lawn and plantings. For mature landscapes we plan access routes carefully and restore disturbed turf with fresh sod or seed. A properly designed system disappears once the grass grows back — you should only see the discreet drain inlets and pop-up emitters.

Yes. Regrading and drainage are often the same conversation. Lawns should slope away from the house at roughly a 2% to 5% pitch for the first ten feet, and a yard that does not is fighting itself no matter how many drains you install. We assess grade as part of every drainage diagnosis and recommend regrading where it will actually solve the problem — sometimes it is the whole fix, sometimes it works alongside a drain system.

Spring through fall, with a sweet spot in mid-spring and early fall when the ground is workable but not saturated. We cannot effectively trench frozen ground, and mid-summer droughts can mask the very problems we are trying to diagnose because the soil temporarily dries out. If your basement is taking on water or you have visible erosion, do not wait for ideal weather — call us and we will work the season we have.