Southeast Michigan site work

Drainage and French Drains

Find out where the water comes from and where it can legally go. Those two answers decide the system, not the other way around.

A drain without an outlet is a buried trench. The discharge point comes first.

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Describe the parcel and the scope and we will respond with the questions that make the review useful.

Searching for french drain installation near me usually starts with standing water: a wet basement wall, a yard that will not dry out, or a low area that holds after every storm. The system that fixes it depends on where the water is coming from, which is a different question from where it is sitting.

Surface water, roof water, and groundwater behave differently and need different work. Surface water is often a grading and swale problem. Roof water is a downspout and discharge problem. Groundwater needs subsurface collection with somewhere for the water to go under gravity or with a pump.

This drainage planning page covers excavation-scale collection and conveyance. It is not lawn maintenance, and it does not offer a waterproofing guarantee on an existing structure. Drainage and French drains planning.

Investigate the source before choosing the system

A useful drainage visit starts with observation rather than a product. Where does water enter the property, where does it pond, how long does it stay, and what changed recently? Roof discharge dumped beside a foundation, a neighbouring grade that now drains toward the house, a filled-in swale, and a failed or crushed old line all produce similar symptoms with different fixes.

The outlet is the constraint that shapes everything else. A French drain has to discharge somewhere legal and lower: a daylight outlet on a slope, a storm connection where one is permitted, a drain the property has a right to use, or a sump and pumped discharge. On a flat lot with no outlet, the honest answer is a different strategy, not a longer trench.

Drainage scope components

Water source

Surface runoff, roof water, groundwater, or off-site flow. The diagnosis decides the system, and getting it wrong means installing the wrong fix correctly.

French drain or swale

Subsurface perforated pipe in stone and fabric, or a shaped surface channel. Subsurface collection suits groundwater and confined areas; a swale moves surface water and costs less to maintain.

Outlet feasibility

Elevation to a daylight outlet, availability of a permitted storm connection, or a sump and pump. Confirmed before the trench is designed.

Downspouts and sump discharge

Whether roof leaders and sump lines are tied into the system, carried separately, or discharged at the surface away from the structure.

Discharge constraints

What is permitted at the discharge point. Sending water to a neighbour, a road ditch, or a county drain without approval creates a durable problem.

Restoration

Trench lines across lawn, drive crossings, and landscape beds, restored to a stated condition with the settlement expectation explained.

How a drainage and french drains project is planned

1. Observe and measure

Walk the site, note where water enters and stands, check downspouts and sump discharge, and shoot elevations between the problem and any candidate outlet.

2. Confirm the outlet

Verify that the discharge point exists, is lower, and is permitted. Where none exists, say so before proposing a system.

3. Design the run

Route, depth, pipe, stone, fabric, cleanouts, and crossings. Cleanouts are worth the small cost because they make the system maintainable.

4. Install

Excavate, bed, place pipe and stone with fabric separation, connect roof and sump lines where in scope, and backfill.

5. Restore and explain

The surface is restored, the discharge point is shown to the owner, and what the system does and does not control is stated plainly.

Site constraints and approvals to confirm

Discharge is the regulated part. Connecting to a storm sewer, a county drain, or a roadside ditch usually requires permission from the municipality, the drain commissioner's office, or the road authority, and discharging onto adjoining property can create liability. Confirm the discharge arrangement for the exact address before installation.

Groundwater control is not waterproofing. A perimeter drain can reduce hydrostatic pressure and intercept water, but a basement with cracks, failed coatings, or an inadequate footing drain may still need interior work by a specialist. No page-level promise about a dry basement is made here.

Excavation near a foundation requires care about depth, footing bearing, and backfill. Deep trenches carry the same protective-system requirements as other excavation work, and undermining a footing is a structural issue, not a drainage one.

Official sources — confirm current requirements with the office named for the parcel.

EGLE soil erosion and sedimentation control overview — Part 91 earth-change thresholds and program scope
EGLE inland lakes and streams permits — Water and wetland review for work near regulated waters
MISS DIG 811 information for excavators — Current ticket mechanics and excavator responsibilities

Service area and next step

Drainage work is performed across Southeast Michigan for residential lots, rural parcels, and small commercial sites, usually alongside grading or after construction changed how the site sheds water.

Send photographs taken during or right after rain, the location of downspouts and any sump discharge, and a note on where the ground falls. If there is a ditch, drain, or lower area nearby, mention it: it may be the outlet.

Related pages: Contact Us, All excavation services.

Related planning guides

Questions to carry into the review

Will a French drain fix my wet basement?

It may reduce water reaching the foundation, particularly where roof discharge, surface grade, or groundwater is the cause. It is not a waterproofing system, and a basement with structural cracks or failed interior drainage may need a different specialist. The honest sequence is to diagnose the source first, then decide what the exterior work can and cannot achieve.

Where can the water actually be discharged?

Somewhere lower and permitted: a daylight outlet on the property, a storm connection if the municipality allows one, or a pumped discharge. Directing water onto a neighbour's land or into a public ditch or county drain without approval can create liability, so the discharge point is confirmed before the system is designed.

What is the difference between a French drain and a swale?

A French drain is a buried perforated pipe in stone that collects water below grade. A swale is a shaped surface channel that carries water across the site. Groundwater and confined areas usually need the pipe; broad surface flow is often handled better and more cheaply by reshaping the ground.

How long does the trench line take to settle?

Backfilled trenches settle as the material consolidates, and lawn over a drain line often needs topdressing in the first season. Where settlement matters, such as across a drive or walk, the backfill and compaction are specified differently, and that should be in the scope.

Ready for a more specific conversation?

Send the parcel address, photographs of the site and access route, any site plan or soil evaluation, the date the site is needed, and the condition the next trade expects.

Call (734) 476-1098