Metro Atlanta receives over 50 inches of rain a year, more than Seattle, and most of it lands on red clay — among the worst-draining soil in the country. Water that would soak away in sandier ground sits on the surface here, and once it finds a path toward your foundation it keeps taking it.
Drainage is not one product. It is picking the right combination for your site: regrading to change where water goes, a French drain to collect and carry it, catch basins at the low points, a dry creek bed where you want it to look intentional, and proper downspout routing so roof water is not being delivered to the base of your wall.
Do you need this?
If any of these sound like your property, this is the service:
- Water stands in the yard for days after a storm
- The lawn is spongy, mossy or will not grow in patches
- Water runs toward the foundation, crawl space or garage
- Mulch and soil wash across the driveway every heavy rain
- Downspouts dump straight onto the ground beside the house
- Mosquitoes breed in a low spot every summer
How the job runs
- 1
Find the actual source
We walk the property and work out where the water is coming from. Very often the visible puddle is downstream of the real problem, and fixing the puddle alone just moves it.
- 2
Pick the right system
Regrading, French drain, catch basins, channel drain, swale, dry creek bed or downspout routing — usually two or three working together. We explain what each does and why yours needs what it needs.
- 3
Locate utilities
Georgia 811 is called before excavation. Drainage lines run at depths where hitting something matters.
- 4
Excavate to fall
Trenches are cut to a consistent slope so water actually moves. A flat drain line is a buried problem.
- 5
Install properly
Perforated pipe, correct gravel, filter fabric to stop clay silting the system up. Clay migration is what kills cheap French drains in Georgia within a few seasons.
- 6
Discharge and restore
Water is taken to a safe, legal outlet — never onto a neighbour. Trenches are backfilled, graded and the surface restored.
What affects your price
Typical range for drainage work in metro Atlanta. A single short French drain sits at the bottom of that; a full system with multiple basins, long runs and hard digging sits at the top. Length of run, depth, soil, access for the machine and how far the discharge point is are the main drivers.
We quote after seeing the site, and the price we give you is fixed and in writing. Estimates are free and there is no obligation.
Get a free quoteWhy it's different in Georgia
Red clay is the whole story here. It holds water, it moves when wet, and it silts up any drainage system that was not built with proper filter fabric. A French drain installed the way you would install one in sandy soil will clog in a few seasons in Georgia. That is why we detail it differently.