Finding where the water comes from
Before we dig, we figure out where the water is coming from: a neighbor’s yard uphill, your own roof, a spring, or ground that slopes the wrong way. The fix depends on the cause, and a drain in the wrong place won’t help.
Fixes we use most
- Regrading so the ground slopes away from the house, at least 6 inches over the first 10 feet
- Downspout drains that carry roof water in solid pipe away from the foundation
- French drains to catch water moving across the yard and carry it away
- Channel drains across patios and driveways
- Dry creek beds that move water through the yard and look like a natural stream bed
- Dry wells where there is no lower spot to send water
Why Atlanta yards stay wet
Georgia red clay soaks in rain slowly, so heavy summer storms run off the surface. On sloped lots that water flows downhill until it reaches something flat, often a patio, a basement wall or the back lawn. Good drainage design slows water down, spreads it out or pipes it away before it gets there.
Buffers and permits
Work close to streams is limited by local stream buffers, typically 75 feet in metro Atlanta cities, and in some places by the Chattahoochee River corridor. Large regrading jobs may need a land disturbance permit, which we check for before we start.