Yard drainage and French drains in Charleston
Charleston County averages about 45 inches of rain a year, and a lot of the ground it falls on is flat, low and close to the water table. If your yard holds water, we find where the water comes from and where it can go. Then we build the French drain, dry creek bed, downspout line or regrade that moves it there.
We price drainage by the length of the run, how deep it goes and what the water drains into. Send a photo or a video of the yard in the rain, and you get the number the same day.
- We build
- French drains, dry creek beds, downspout lines and regrading
- Materials
- Drainage rock, river rock, perforated pipe and filter fabric
- Warranty
- Two years on our workmanship
- Part of
- Our hardscaping work
Standing water, before and after.
Drainage work that starts at the outlet.
- A look at the yard, in the rain if you can send a video, to see where the water comes from and where it sits
- The outlet found first: the street, a ditch, or a lower part of your lot
- An 811 locate filed so the utility lines are marked before we dig
- A trench dug to a steady fall, lined with filter fabric and filled with drainage rock around a perforated pipe
- Downspouts tied in underground where they feed the problem
- Sod and beds put back over the line, or river rock on top where you want the drain to show
Plus downspout tie-ins and regrading, priced with the job. The outlet sets most of the difficulty.
What yard drainage costs in Charleston: the outlet sets the range.
A drain is a trench with a place to empty. The farther the water has to travel to reach somewhere lower, the longer and deeper the trench, and the more of your lawn we lift and lay back.
Roots, old pipes and buried debris show up in trench work. If we hit any, you hear about it, and the price for it, before we keep digging.
French drain installation: the water needs somewhere to go
A French drain is a trench of washed stone around a perforated pipe, wrapped in filter fabric and laid at a steady fall. Water in the soil drains into the stone, runs into the pipe and follows it downhill to the outlet. The fabric keeps silt out of the stone, and silt is what clogs a drain in the end.
The outlet decides whether the drain works. On low ground near the marsh, across much of James Island, the ground holds water after a hard rain and after a high tide, and a drain there has nowhere lower to send it. We tell you that at the site visit. Sometimes the better fix is raising a bed, regrading the lawn or carrying the water sideways to a spot that can take it.
We send the water to the street, a ditch or a low part of your own lot. We will not run it onto your neighbor’s.
- Inside the trench
- Filter fabric, washed stone, perforated pipe
- Before we dig
- An 811 locate, three full business days ahead, as South Carolina law requires
- Rain
- About 45 inches in an average year, per the SC State Climatology Office
Drainage rock, river rock and dry creek beds
A dry creek bed is a shallow channel, lined with fabric and river rock, that carries storm water across the yard and looks like a garden feature the rest of the week. We set the larger stones along the banks, fill the bed with smaller rock and plant the edges, so it looks like a stream bed.
River rock also works as a ground cover where mulch floats away in heavy rain: along the drip line under the eaves, around downspouts, and in low beds that flood. Under artificial turf we lay drainage rock as part of the base, so the turf drains from the first storm.
Downspouts. Gutters collect a whole roof’s water and drop it at the corner of the house. We run downspouts into buried pipe and carry that water out to the lawn or the street, away from the foundation and the bed below it.
Regrading. Some yards need no pipe, only a better grade. Newer Mount Pleasant subdivisions sit on builder fill that compacts over the first couple of summers and leaves low spots where the water sits. We regrade those spots to shed water away from the house, then lay new sod over them.
When the answer is the county’s ditch
On Johns Island and across the unincorporated county, the roadside ditch is the storm drain, and a silted ditch backs water up into the low yards first. If the stretch holding your water is one Charleston County maintains, a French drain on your side will not fix it. Charleston County Public Works takes work orders for county drainage, and along a state road the ditch is SCDOT’s. We tell you which one to call instead of charging you to fix somebody else’s ditch.
If the problem sits on your side, like a yard that slopes toward the house or a downspout emptying at the foundation, we fix that part and say so on the quote.
- Where we build
- Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, James Island, Johns Island, West Ashley, Daniel Island, Summerville, Hanahan and Goose Creek.
Drainage questions Charleston homeowners ask us.
What is a French drain, and do I need one?
A gravel trench with a perforated pipe that collects water in the ground and carries it away. You need one when water sits in the same place after most rains and the ground has somewhere lower to send it. If there is no lower spot, grading or a dry creek bed may do more.
Where does the water from a French drain go?
To the street, a ditch or a lower part of your own lot. We find that outlet before we price the drain, because the outlet decides whether the drain works.
How long does a French drain last?
Its life depends on silt. Wrapped in filter fabric with a clear outlet, a French drain keeps working for years. One built without fabric clogs far sooner.
Why does water stand in my yard after it rains?
Three causes cover most Charleston yards: the ground sits low, the soil under the grass is compacted builder fill or clay, or the water table sits close to the surface. We check which one you have before we suggest a fix, since each has a different answer.
Who fixes the ditch in front of my house?
The owner of the road. Charleston County maintains ditches in the unincorporated areas and takes work orders through Public Works, SCDOT looks after the ditches along state roads, and the city or town handles its own streets. We tell you which one it is before we quote.
Is a dry creek bed only decoration?
Built on a fall with fabric under the river rock, a dry creek bed carries real storm water across a yard. Between storms it looks like a stream bed, which is why people pick it over a buried pipe where the water can run on the surface.
Will you dig up my lawn?
Along the line of the drain, yes. We lay the sod back or put down new sod, or finish the trench in river rock if you want the drain to show.
Should drainage go in before new sod or turf?
Yes. New sod laid on a yard that holds water drowns. We build the drainage and the grade first, then lay the sod or the turf on top.
Send the puddle, take the price.
A photo or video of the yard in the rain and where the water sits. That is enough for a real number the same day.