# About our drainage work > What Clay Plano Drainage Company takes on, how a drainage job runs from the first visit to the walk-through, how we price it, where we work and how to reach us. URL: https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/about/ Yard drainage in Plano and 20 nearby cities: what we take on, how a job runs and how we price it. Water standing in the yard after every rain, or sitting against the slab? At [Clay Plano Drainage Company](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/) we plan and install yard drainage across Plano and 20 nearby cities in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Rockwall counties. Here is what we take on, how a job runs and how to reach us. ## What do we work on? Water on home lots and commercial sites: finding where it comes from, giving it a route, and making sure that route ends somewhere the city allows. The work covers: - [French drains](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/french-drain-installation/) - [Yard drainage systems](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/yard-drainage/) - [Side yard drainage](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/side-yard-drainage/) - [Catch basins](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/catch-basins/) - [Downspout drainage](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/downspout-drainage/) - [Channel drains](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/channel-drains/) - [Yard grading](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/yard-grading/) - [Foundation drainage](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/foundation-drainage/) - [Drain repair and cleaning](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/drainage-repair/) - [Standing water](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/standing-water-in-yard/) - [Yard sump pumps](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/sump-pump-drainage/) - [Commercial drainage](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/commercial-drainage/) We don't repair foundations, gutters or plumbing. If a visit raises a foundation question, we say so and stick to the drainage around the house. ## What happens on the first visit? We don't recommend a drain until we know where the water comes from and where it can go. On the first visit we: - walk the yard and look at where water stands, where it enters and where it runs - check where each downspout lets out, and which way the ground falls - probe the soil, so we know what the trench will meet - measure the fall to a legal outlet: the curb, a pop-up emitter, an existing line or, on a flat lot, a pump - send the route and the price in a written estimate ## How is the work done? We trench narrow and to grade. Sod is cut in strips and set aside, soil goes on tarps, and silt controls keep it out of the street. Where the drain collects water we set washed stone and pipe in filter fabric, and we add cleanouts where lines join or turn so the system can be cleaned later. Before any backfill we run water through the whole system and fix any low spot while the trench is open. Then the sod and sprinkler lines go back, and we walk the finished job with you. ## The rules we work to - **Water stays on the right side of the line.** The City of Plano's Stormwater Design Manual does not allow lot-to-lot drainage, and Texas Water Code section 11.086 bars diverting surface water in a way that damages a neighbor's property. Every route we plan ends at the street side of the lot, an easement or an approved outlet. - **Measured fall.** Plano side and back yards need at least 1% fall. We measure it along the whole route before we dig and check it again in the open trench. - **Texas811 before anyone digs.** We call Texas811 so buried lines are marked, then paint our route in white. - **The permit, arranged as part of the job.** A curb outlet or other work in the public right-of-way takes a city permit, in Plano the Engineering Permit for public infrastructure. We arrange it, and it shows on the estimate as its own line. - **Built for clay.** Houston Black clay takes in water at roughly 0.03 inches an hour. We wrap the stone in filter fabric so clay fines stay out, and we run solid pipe where the drain carries water rather than collects it. Our [terms](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/terms/) set out how the work is arranged. ## How do we price a job? We price every yard from its own route after the site visit, and you get a written estimate that shows each run, basin, outlet, permit and restoration line. Our typical ranges are public: a French drain runs $25 to $60 per foot, a catch basin with a short run $500 to $1,500 per basin. The [Plano drainage cost guide](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/guide/drainage-cost-plano/) lists every one, and the [cost estimator](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/tools/drainage-cost-estimator/) applies them to your yard. A broken section of an existing drain is priced after a camera finds it. ## Where do we work? Plano and 20 nearby cities in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Rockwall counties. Each city has its own rule about where water may go and who issues the permit for a curb outlet, and the [service areas page](https://clayplanodrainagecompany.com/service-areas/) lists the one that most often changes the job. ## How do you reach us? Call [(469) 551-8518](tel:+14695518518) during business hours (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat-Sun 9am-2pm), email [office@clayplanodrainagecompany.com](mailto:office@clayplanodrainagecompany.com), or send the form at the bottom of this page. Tell us where the house is and where the water stands, and send photos or a short video from the last rain if you have them. ## How we run a job ### Call You tell us what you see, where it pools and when. ### Look We walk the yard, measure the fall and find a legal outlet. ### Mark We call Texas811 for locates and paint our route in white. ### Build We trench to grade and set stone, fabric, pipe and outlet. ### Test We run water through the system before any backfill. ### Restore We put back sod and beds and repair crossed sprinkler lines. ## Ask about your yard Tell us where the water stands and when. We walk the yard, measure the fall and send a written estimate.