Hardscape Service
Drainage Solutions
French drains, channel drains, regrading, and downspout fixes that move water away from your home.
Home & Hardscape designs and installs drainage solutions for homeowners throughout Metro Detroit and Southeast Michigan. If water is pooling in your yard, running toward your foundation, flooding your basement, or washing out your landscaping, we find the source and fix it properly.
Why Drainage Problems Need To Be Addressed
Standing water and poor drainage aren't just inconvenient — they cause real damage over time. Water that pools against your foundation eventually finds its way inside. Saturated soil weakens retaining walls and shifts hardscape. Chronic wet spots kill grass and landscaping. In Michigan, water that freezes in the wrong place damages concrete, brick, and stone every winter.
Most drainage problems are solvable. The key is diagnosing where water is coming from and where it needs to go before choosing a solution.
Diagnose
Common Drainage Problems We Solve
Water Pooling In The Yard
Low spots in the yard collect water after rain and snow melt. The fix depends on the cause — sometimes it's a grading issue, sometimes it's a soil permeability problem, and sometimes the yard simply has no outlet for water to drain to.
Water Running Toward The Foundation
The ground around your house should slope away from the foundation — at least 6 inches of drop over the first 10 feet. When it doesn't, or when hardscape directs water toward the house, basement water intrusion follows.
Downspouts Draining Against The House
One of the most common and overlooked drainage problems. Downspouts that terminate at the foundation dump hundreds of gallons of water directly against your home during a rainstorm. Extending them underground is one of the most cost-effective drainage fixes we do.
Water Washing Across Driveway Or Patio
Improperly sloped driveways and patios pool water on the surface or channel it in the wrong direction. A channel drain or re-sloping the surface solves most of these.
Wet Or Flooded Basement
Often the result of combined problems — poor grading, inadequate downspout drainage, and saturated soil. We address the exterior drainage contributors; if the issue is also a foundation crack or interior water intrusion, we refer to the appropriate specialist.
Erosion On Slopes
Sloped yards without proper drainage channels or ground cover lose soil every time it rains. Retaining walls, swales, and French drains address the water movement that causes erosion.
Systems
Drainage Solutions We Install
French Drains
A perforated pipe buried in a gravel-filled trench that intercepts groundwater or surface water and redirects it to a lower point or a storm drain connection. The most common solution for yards with chronic wet spots or water moving toward a foundation.
Channel Drains
A linear drain set flush with a driveway, patio, or walkway surface that captures surface water running across hardscape and directs it underground. Common at the base of sloped driveways and along patio edges.
Catch Basins
A below-grade collection box with a grated top that collects surface water from a low point in the yard or driveway and connects to an underground pipe that carries water away. Often used in combination with downspout extensions.
Downspout Extensions
We connect downspouts to underground PVC pipe that carries roof runoff away from the foundation and daylights it at a lower point in the yard or connects to a storm drain. A straightforward and high-impact fix for foundation water issues.
Swales
A shallow, gently sloped channel graded into the lawn that directs surface water across the yard to a lower point or storm drain. A low-cost solution for yards where regrading water flow is all that's needed.
Dry Creek Beds
A decorative drainage channel lined with river stone that manages surface water while looking like a landscape feature rather than a utility. Works well on sloped properties where water needs to be moved across a visible area.
Regrading
Sometimes the fix is simply moving soil to change the slope of the ground. We regrade areas around foundations, in low spots, and along property lines to direct water away from structures and toward appropriate outlets.
Pricing
How Much Do Drainage Solutions Cost?
Drainage costs vary widely based on the scope of the problem. Common project ranges:
- Downspout extensions (underground)$300 – $800 per downspout
- French drain (50 linear feet)$1,500 – $4,000
- Catch basin installation$800 – $2,000 per basin
- Channel drain in driveway or patio$1,000 – $3,000
- Regrading (small area)$500 – $2,500
- Dry creek bed$1,500 – $5,000
Many drainage projects involve more than one solution — a catch basin that connects to a French drain that outlets at the property edge, for example. We scope the full system during the site visit and provide free on-site estimates with itemized pricing before any work begins.
How We Build
Our Drainage Assessment Process
Drainage problems are often misdiagnosed when only the symptom is treated. We start every project with a thorough site assessment before recommending any solution.
Site Visit & Water Tracing
We walk the property during or after rain when possible, or assess grading and slope patterns to trace where water originates and where it goes.
Outlet Identification
Every drainage system needs somewhere to send water. We identify viable outlets — storm drain connections, daylight points at lower elevation, or dry wells — before designing the system.
Solution Design
We recommend the combination of solutions that addresses the root cause, not just the visible symptom.
Installation
We install the drainage system with proper pipe slope, clean gravel fill, and outlets that won't create new problems elsewhere on the property.
Surface Restoration
We restore any lawn, mulch, or hardscape disturbed during installation.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Let's Talk About Your Project
We respond within 24 hours. No pressure, no obligation.