What this actually is
A French drain is a gravel-packed trench with a perforated pipe in it, set below the level you are trying to keep dry, that gives groundwater somewhere easier to go than through your wall.
The hard part is not the trench. It is working out where the water is actually coming from, where it can legally and practically be discharged to, and what grade the line needs to hold over its whole run. Get that wrong and you have buried an expensive pipe that does nothing.
We survey the lot, establish the flow, and design the run before anyone puts a shovel in the ground. Depth, fall, outlet and filtration. On most Philadelphia row properties this is combined with regrading, downspout extension and a sump discharge line.
Signs you have this problem
How the work runs
Where the water arrives, where it pools, where it can be taken to. Elevations shot across the whole run.
Depth, fall, pipe size, filter fabric and outlet. Combined with regrading and downspout work where the lot allows it.
Trench, bed, perforated line, washed stone and fabric. Utilities located and protected before we dig.
Outlet to daylight or to a pumped discharge, then backfill, regrade and restore the surface.
We run water through the finished system and show you it moving before we leave.
What is included
Watch
Questions people ask
Exterior drainage stops water before it reaches the wall, which is always the better outcome, but it needs room to excavate and somewhere legal to discharge. Interior drainage with a sump manages water that has already arrived. On a tight city lot the answer is often both, and the assessment is what tells us which.
Yes. An exterior line is an excavation. We photograph everything first, protect what can be protected, and restore the surface as part of the scope. We will tell you honestly at the assessment what the yard will look like afterward.
A typical residential run is three to five working days, weather permitting. Longer runs, difficult access and utility conflicts extend that, and we tell you which of those apply before you sign anything.
Ask about this
Someone who knows drainage & french drains comes back to you the same working day.
Related work
An interior drain line and a pump that keeps up. Sized to your building, fitted with a battery backup, discharged somewhere it will not come back.
What we fix Major projectCracks, movement, failing parging and chronically wet walls. Repaired, then waterproofed so the repair holds.
What we fix Major projectExtraction, structural drying, removal of what cannot be saved, and rebuild. Documented to a standard an insurer will accept.
What we fixNext step
We will tell you straight away whether this is something we can take on at your address.
Greater Philadelphia · Northern Delaware
