Excavation & sitework · French drains
French drain installation in Kansas City.
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 across the Kansas City metro.
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.
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
Signs a French drain is needed
The clearest sign is ground that stays wet after the rain has stopped. Water that runs across the surface during a storm points to grading or a swale; water that keeps seeping up a day later is moving through the soil, which is what a French drain intercepts.
- Standing water in the same low spot for a day or more after rain
- A soggy strip or spongy ground along a foundation, patio or driveway
- Damp basement walls after heavy rain, with saturated soil outside
- Moss, algae or thin grass in a wet band across a slope
- Downspouts that empty into a part of the yard that never dries out
- A slope above the house that keeps feeding water toward it
How a French drain is built
Clay heavy soil is common across the Kansas City metro, & water moves through it slowly. That makes the details matter: the fabric keeps fine clay & silt out of the stone, & the pipe needs a steady fall the whole way to the outlet so water does not sit in the line.
- Route & outlet: the line runs from the wet area to an outlet with a continuous downhill fall
- Locates: Kansas 811 or Missouri 811 marks are in place before any digging
- Trench: dug with a compact excavator to the depth & width set at the site walk
- Fabric: filter fabric lines the trench to keep soil out of the gravel
- Gravel & pipe: a bed of washed gravel, the perforated drain pipe, then more gravel over it
- Close: the fabric folds over the top, & the trench is finished with gravel or backfilled & rough graded
Outlets & permits
Every French drain needs somewhere to send the water. The usual outlets are a daylight point lower on the same property or a pop up emitter in the lawn. A connection to a curb, street, storm inlet or ditch in the right of way generally needs the city's approval, & water cannot be sent onto a neighboring lot.
Permit rules differ across the metro. Some cities handle drainage & right of way permits separately from building permits, & some ask owners to check with City Hall before any grading or excavation. GeothermalKC confirms what the property's city requires during the consultation, & many of the town pages under Service areas name the local permit office.
What comes next
After the drain
Drainage often comes first on a site. Regrading is part of the same job, & finished patios, walks & outdoor living are designed & built by All Under One Roof, the design build firm under the same ownership.
Request Consultation- Regrading & restoring the yard to grade
- Building pads on the dry ground
- Patios & walks by All Under One Roof (opens in a new tab)
- Outdoor living spaces by All Under One Roof (opens in a new tab)
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, outlet, permits & 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 that stay wet after rain, with a clear low point or daylight outlet
- Water along foundations, patios or driveways
- Slopes that keep sending ground water toward a house
- 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.
What are the signs a yard needs a French drain?
Ground that stays wet long after rain, standing water in the same low spot, a soggy strip along a foundation or damp basement walls after heavy rain. Water that only runs across the surface during a storm usually needs grading or a swale instead.
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.
Where does the water from a French drain go?
To an outlet with enough fall to carry it: usually a daylight point lower on the same property or a pop up emitter in the lawn. A connection to a curb, street or storm inlet needs the city's approval, & water cannot be sent onto a neighboring lot.
Does a French drain need a permit in Kansas City?
It depends on the city & on where the water goes. Rules differ across the metro, & a connection to a curb, street, storm inlet or right of way generally needs the city's approval. GeothermalKC confirms the requirements for the property's city during the consultation, before work is scheduled.
Can downspouts connect to a French drain?
They can share a route, but roof water usually runs in its own solid pipe rather than into the perforated drain, because a heavy roof flow can overload the drain & push water back into the soil it is meant to dry. The written scope shows how the downspouts tie in.
Will a French drain fix a wet basement?
It can help when water reaches the foundation through saturated soil outside, because an exterior drain intercepts that water before it gets to the wall. Interior basement drainage systems & foundation repair are separate jobs that are not included.
How long does a French drain last?
A drain built with filter fabric, clean gravel & enough fall, with its outlet kept clear, can work for many years. The usual causes of failure are silt clogging the stone, a crushed or blocked outlet & roots, so the walkthrough shows where the outlet is.
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 across the Kansas City metro & surrounding counties. Consultation requests with the location & photos of the site are the quickest to schedule.