North Texas gives you two problems at once: heavy clay that will not let water through, and rain that arrives several inches at a time. The result is the yard everybody here knows — a low spot that holds water for days, a side yard that never dries out, a mushy strip along the fence, and water standing where you would rather it was not: against the foundation.
Yard drainage work is earned by diagnosis, not by digging. Before we quote a trench we find out where the water comes from, where it is trying to go, and whether it is actually rainwater at all — because a surprising number of “drainage problems” in this area are an irrigation zone running too long on clay.
Signs you have a yard drainage problem
- Water still standing more than a day after the rain stops.
- Turf that stays spongy underfoot while the rest of the yard is dry.
- Moss, algae or persistent bare mud in the same spot every year.
- Mulch and soil washed out of beds and across the walk after a storm.
- Gutters discharging straight down beside the foundation.
- A side yard between houses that never dries.
- Water sheeting across a patio or driveway toward the house instead of away from it.
- Mosquitoes breeding in a low spot that holds for days.
Why it is worse here: clay
Much of northeast Tarrant County sits on expansive clay. It absorbs water slowly, swells when wet and shrinks when dry, and that movement is hard on slabs, walks and anything buried. Water that sits against a foundation keeps one side of the slab wet while the other dries out — which is precisely the condition that moves a slab. Getting water away from the house is a structural concern here, not a cosmetic one.
Clay also means a simple gravel pit does not drain. Water has to be collected and carried somewhere with a usable outlet, which is the part of this trade that takes judgement.
What we install
French drains
A perforated pipe bedded in washed stone and wrapped in fabric, set at a working slope so subsurface water collects into the pipe and is carried away. Done properly that means real fall from end to end, the right stone, the right fabric, and an outlet that actually daylights. Done badly it is a gravel trench that fills with silt and quits in two seasons.
Surface drains and catch basins
Grated inlets set at the low points to take water off the surface quickly and move it to a solid line. The right answer when water is sheeting and pooling rather than sitting in saturated soil.
Channel and trench drains
Linear grated drains across a driveway apron, a patio edge or a garage threshold — where a single point inlet cannot catch a wide sheet of water in time.
Downspout collection and extensions
Your roof is the largest water collector on the property, and most drainage complaints start with gutters dumping beside the slab. Tying downspouts into a buried solid line and carrying them out to a pop-up emitter or a daylight outlet is frequently the cheapest fix with the largest effect.
Dry creek beds and swales
Shaping the ground to carry water on the surface, visibly, where a buried pipe is not the right tool. Done well it reads as landscaping and works hardest in the storms that overwhelm pipe.
Pop-up emitters and daylight outlets
Every drain needs somewhere to go. We identify the outlet before we price the system, because a drain line with nowhere to discharge is just a buried bathtub.
Grading and corrections
Sometimes the fix is dirt, not pipe — re-establishing fall away from the slab, correcting a bed that has been built up above the walk over years of mulch, or breaking a berm that traps water in a corner.
Drainage and irrigation are the same conversation
We get called for drainage and find irrigation, and the other way round, often enough that we check both every time:
- A zone running long on clay cannot soak in, so it runs off and pools — and looks exactly like a drainage fault.
- A leaking valve or a cracked lateral keeps one area wet with no rain at all.
- Water standing over a zone drowns it, and the dead turf gets blamed on the sprinklers.
- Drainage trenching cuts irrigation lines when whoever is digging does not know the layout.
Because we hold the irrigator license and build these systems, we can test the zones, rule the sprinklers in or out, and dig without taking the irrigation down with us. Cycle-and-soak scheduling is often part of the answer, and it costs nothing.
Where the water is allowed to go
An outlet has to be somewhere sensible — a street, an alley, a swale or a low point on your own property that can take it. Piping your water onto a neighbour’s lot or into somewhere it will collect against their slab is how drainage work turns into a dispute, and some cities and HOAs have their own rules about discharge, alley cuts and work in easements. We will tell you what the realistic outlet is on your property before anything is dug, and if there is not a good one we will say so rather than bury a pipe that ends in the middle of the lawn.
How a yard drainage job works
- Look at it, ideally wet. Where it stands, how long, and where it comes from. Photos of the yard during the last storm help enormously.
- Check the irrigation. Run the zones, look for leaks and runoff, rule the system in or out.
- Find the fall and the outlet. Shoot grades, find the real low points, and establish where the water can legitimately discharge.
- Plan and estimate in writing. What gets collected, what gets piped, where it comes out. Free, with no trip charge.
- Install and restore. Trench, bed, pipe, backfill, and put the turf back — keeping clear of irrigation lines and lighting cable.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if I need a French drain or a surface drain?
Why does my yard hold water for days after it rains?
Can standing water damage my foundation?
Will the drain damage my sprinkler system?
What does yard drainage cost?
Do you fix drainage you did not install?
Related pages
Customer reviews
What people say about the work.
Next step
Stop guessing where the water is coming from.
Drainage diagnosis, French drains and surface drainage across northeast Tarrant County, under Texas Irrigator License LI#0030401.