Excavation & sitework · French drains
French drain installation.
A French drain is a gravel filled trench with a perforated pipe that collects water below the surface & carries it to a safe outlet. GeothermalKC digs, lays & backfills French drains for homes, acreage & light commercial sites, & GeothermalKC can carry on with the regrading, walls & hardscape the drainage makes possible.
When a French drain is the right fix
Standing water in a yard, a soggy strip along a foundation or a slope that keeps sending water toward the house usually has one of two causes: water sitting on the surface, or water moving through the soil. A French drain handles the second. It intercepts water below grade & gives it somewhere better to go.
Surface water often needs grading or a swale instead, & many projects need both. GeothermalKC looks at where the water comes from, where it can legally & physically discharge, & how much fall the site has before recommending a drain.
One company from the first dig to the finished build, with compact excavation equipment suited to tight residential access, for projects across the Kansas City metro & surrounding counties.
What the work includes
- Laying out the route & confirming a usable outlet & enough fall
- Utility locates before any digging
- Excavating the trench with a compact excavator
- Filter fabric, washed gravel & perforated drain pipe placed in the trench
- Connecting downspout lines where they are part of the plan
- Backfilling, hauling or spreading spoil, & rough restoring the surface
Excavation & build
From drainage to the finished project
Fixing the water is often the first step of a bigger job. Once the drain is in, GeothermalKC can build what the wet ground was holding back.
Request Consultation- Regrading & restoring the yard
- Retaining walls & steps
- Patios, walks & driveways
- Foundation & basement exterior work
- Additions & outbuildings on the dry ground
How a French drain project runs
Consultation request
Send photos of the wet areas, the downspouts & where water ends up after rain.
Site walk
The water is traced, the fall checked & an outlet chosen that works for the property.
Written scope
Route, depth, materials & restoration are spelled out before work is scheduled.
Dig, lay & backfill
The trench, fabric, gravel & pipe go in, then the trench is closed & the spoil handled.
Walkthrough
The drain route & discharge point are shown so they can be kept clear.
Typical projects & exclusions
Typical projects
- Yards with a clear low point or daylight outlet
- Water along foundations, patios or driveways
- Acreage & light commercial sites with room for a compact excavator
Not included
- Interior basement drainage systems
- Drainage that needs an engineered stormwater plan
- Discharging onto a neighbor or into a street without approval
Common questions
How much does a French drain cost?
Length, depth, soil, access & the distance to a usable outlet drive the price more than anything else, so GeothermalKC does not publish a per foot figure. A written scope & price for the specific route follows the consultation.
How deep does a French drain need to be?
It depends on what the drain is meant to catch. A drain that intercepts shallow ground water in a yard can be fairly shallow, while one protecting a foundation often needs to go deeper. The depth is set during the site walk, together with the fall to the outlet.
What are the downsides of a French drain?
A French drain needs somewhere to send water, enough fall to move it, & protection from silt so it does not clog. Where those are missing, grading, a swale or a surface drain may work better. The consultation says so when that is the case.
Where should a French drain not go?
Not through buried utilities, septic fields or tree root zones without a plan, & not anywhere it would discharge onto a neighboring property or into a street without approval. Utility locates are completed before digging.
Can I install my own French drain?
Short, shallow drains are a common DIY project. Longer runs, deeper trenches & sites with tight access are where a compact excavator & an experienced operator save time & protect the rest of the yard.
Project consultations
Request a Consultation
French drains & the build that follows, across the Kansas City metro & surrounding counties. Consultation requests with the location & photos of the site are the quickest to schedule.