Yard drainage solutions collect and redirect surface water with grading, swales, catch basins, channel drains and dry wells so rain leaves the lawn and moves away from the house. Northern Virginia homeowners need them when clay soil sheds stormwater faster than it soaks in, leaving ponding, washed-out mulch or water standing against the foundation.
Water pools because the ground no longer slopes the way it should, and clay will not absorb the difference. Builders backfill foundations with loose soil that settles over the years, so a yard that once shed water now tilts toward the house. Add a patio or a shed, and a summer thunderstorm has nowhere to go.
The standard to aim for is simple: soil should fall about 6 inches over the first 10 feet from the foundation, and every low spot needs a path out. Poor drainage work ignores that. A catch basin is set beside the puddle instead of at its lowest point, or mulch is heaped against siding to fake a slope.
We correct the surface first, because a properly shaped lawn cannot clog, and add pipe only where grade alone will not work. Water held below the surface is a different problem, solved with a French drain, and roof runoff needs its own buried downspout lines.
Most properties need two or three of these working together, not one product.
We reshape soil so the surface falls away from the house and toward an outlet, rebuilding settled areas with compacted fill and topsoil while keeping soil clear of the siding.
A swale is a broad, shallow, grassed channel that steers runoff around the house. Shaped gently, it mows like ordinary lawn and has no pipe to clog or grate to clean.
A grated box set at the true low point collects ponding water and sends it through solid pipe to a discharge point. A sump below the pipe traps sediment for cleaning.
A long, narrow grated trench set in concrete across a driveway, garage apron or patio edge intercepts sheet flow before it reaches a door, then pipes it away.
A buried chamber surrounded by stone stores runoff and releases it slowly. In clay it empties slowly, so we size it conservatively and add an overflow.
We follow the water from where it lands to where it can safely leave.
We walk the yard, ask what happens in a heavy storm, and take elevation readings to map where water arrives from, where it stalls and where it could exit.
You receive a plan showing new grades, any swales, basins, pipe routes and the discharge point, with a written price and the reasoning behind each piece.
Virginia 811 marks utilities before digging. We check for drainage easements on your plat and help with HOA or county submissions when the scope requires them.
Soil is cut and filled to the planned elevations and compacted. Basins, channel drains and solid pipe go in on a measured slope before finish grading.
We run water across the new grades and into each inlet, confirm it reaches the outlet, then restore disturbed areas with topsoil and seed or sod.
A short clip of rainwater flowing down a concrete driveway and dropping into a grated channel drain in front of garage doors, keeping the threshold dry.
The right choice depends on whether the yard has natural fall to an outlet.
| Re-grading or swale | Catch basin and pipe | Dry well | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solves | Water moving toward the house | Ponding in an enclosed low spot | Runoff with no downhill outlet |
| Needs downhill outlet | Yes, across the surface | Yes, at the pipe end | No, but needs an overflow |
| Maintenance | Mowing only | Clear the grate and sump | Keep sediment out of the inlet |
| Performance in clay | Unaffected by soil type | Unaffected by soil type | Limited; drains slowly |
As of 2026, typical Northern Virginia market ranges for residential surface drainage work vary widely with scope. These are regional planning figures, not our prices:
Whole-yard projects that combine several of these can run from $5,000 to $20,000 or more. The number moves with the volume of soil moved, machine access, pipe length to the outlet, concrete or paver cutting, and lawn restoration.
Request an on-site estimate to have your yard measured.
Before you decide: French Drain vs. Catch Basin · All cost and pricing guides · How we price a project · How our estimates work · Yard Drainage Diagnostic · Pre-Winter Drainage Checklist
Walk the yard during a steady rain and look for these.
Tell us what you are seeing. We will look at the site, explain the options in plain terms and give you a written estimate.
Whether a drainage project needs a permit depends mostly on how much ground it disturbs. Counties and cities in Northern Virginia regulate land disturbance above a set area, and the threshold differs by jurisdiction, so check with yours before large re-grading.
Two rules apply almost everywhere. You may not redirect runoff so that it damages a neighboring property, and recorded drainage easements, common along rear and side lot lines in newer communities such as Ashburn, South Riding and Bristow, must stay open. Many HOAs review grading changes, and sending water to a curb or public storm drain typically needs approval.
Older neighborhoods in Vienna, Annandale and Springfield tend to have decades of settled backfill. If a new paver patio is planned, settle the drainage before the base goes down.
First find out why it stands. If the spot is lower than everything around it, fill and re-grade it or install a catch basin piped to an outlet. If water arrives from uphill, a swale can turn it aside. If soil stays saturated without puddles, a French drain is the tool.
A widely used standard is about 6 inches of fall over the first 10 feet from the foundation, roughly a 5% slope. Where lot lines or walks make that impossible, a swale or drain placed closer to the house can carry water away instead.
Only within limits. A dry well relies on surrounding soil to absorb stored water, and Northern Virginia clay absorbs slowly, so it can stay full between storms. It suits modest volumes where no downhill outlet exists, and it should always have an overflow.
Sometimes, if enough foundation is exposed. Siding and wood framing should stay several inches above the soil, commonly about 6 inches, to avoid rot and insect entry. When there is no room to raise the soil, the grade farther out has to be lowered instead.
They do different jobs. A catch basin takes water from the surface through an open grate and moves it quickly in solid pipe. A French drain collects water from within the soil through perforated pipe. Match the tool to the water.
Sometimes, but not without checking. Cutting a curb or tying into a public storm drain typically requires approval from the county, city, VDOT or the HOA, depending on who maintains the street. Otherwise, a pop-up emitter in the lawn is the usual alternative.
Long-form guides on yard & foundation drainage from the crew that does the work, with Northern Virginia costs, timing and permit detail.
Standing water beside a foundation in November becomes ice in January. Walk the house stop by stop, from gutters to low spots, with the measurements that matter and the fixes that can still be built this winter.
A puddle at the corner, a bowl along the wall, a yard that slopes toward the house. Each one has a different cause and a different fix. Learn to read yours with a ten-minute walk in the rain.
A dry well stores water and hopes the soil takes it. A French drain collects water from the soil. A catch basin collects it from the surface. On Northern Virginia clay, picking the wrong one is the most common drainage mistake.
All guides in this category · Planning guides · Glossary · FAQ
A French drain is a gravel-filled trench with a perforated pipe, wrapped in filter fabric, that collects water moving through the soil and carries it to a safe outlet.
Downspout drainage is buried solid pipe that carries roof water from each downspout, and the discharge from a sump pump, to a pop-up emitter or other outlet well away from the house.
A paver patio is an outdoor floor of concrete, porcelain or natural-stone units laid over a compacted stone base instead of a poured slab.
Sod installation replaces a failed lawn with mature tall fescue turf rolled out over graded, amended soil, giving a finished lawn in a day or two.
Tell us about your property and what you want to fix or build. We will visit, measure and send a clear written estimate. We serve Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Arlington counties.
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