Guides
Yard drainage guides
Start with the question you have. Each guide answers it first, then explains the clay, the rules and the work behind the answer.
The complete guide
How do you fix yard drainage problems?
Fix a yard drainage problem in four steps: find where the water comes from, give it a route, confirm a legal outlet, then choose the collector that suits the source. Roof water needs downspout lines, surface puddles need grading or a basin, and water held in the soil needs a French drain. In Plano, the outlet is usually the street.
Read the complete guideHow drainage works here
The clay, the rules and the work itself: what you need to know before anyone digs.
- LearnDo French drains work in clay soil?Plano's clay moves water at a crawl, which changes where a trench goes, how much stone it holds and what keeps it from silting up. What works here, and why some clay drains quit.
- LearnHow does drainage affect foundation movement on clay soil?Plano's clay swells when wet and shrinks when dry, so where storm water lands around a slab matters. What drainage can do about it, and when the house itself needs a foundation professional.
- LearnDrainage easement rules in Plano: what can you build in one?The strip along your side or back line may be yours on paper and reserved for water in practice. How to find it, what tends to block it, and how to plan around it.
- LearnIs it a floodplain problem or a yard drainage problem?A flooded back yard by a creek and a flooded back yard on a flat lot look alike from the patio. Where the water came from decides who can fix it, and what a yard drain can and can't do.
- LearnHow long does a French drain last?A drain's life is set less by the pipe than by what gets into the stone and what blocks the outlet. The signs one is failing, the upkeep that keeps it going, and when to repair rather than rebuild.
- LearnWhat does Texas law say about a neighbor's water runoff?Natural runoff from a higher lot and water a neighbor has redirected are two different problems. How to tell them apart, write it down, and protect your yard without pushing water back.
- LearnWhat does Plano's drainage design manual mean for homeowners?The city's Stormwater Design Manual is written for engineers, but a handful of its rules decide what you can do in your own yard. Here they are in plain words, with the numbers.
- LearnWhat happens during a drainage installation?From the first look at the yard to the last walk along the route. What we do at each stage, what we ask of you, and what the lawn looks like when we leave.
Related services:French drainsFoundation drainageSide yard drainageStanding waterDrain repair and cleaningYard gradingYard drainage systems
Choosing the right fix
Side-by-side answers for the choices people weigh: which drain, which outlet, and when a common fix won't work.
- Decision GuideShould you use a channel drain or a French drain?Both are long and narrow, and both end in pipe to the street. One sits in concrete and catches water on the surface; the other sits in soil and gathers water below it. How to choose, and when to use both.
- Decision GuideDo dry wells work in clay soil?A dry well only works if the ground around it can take water away. In Plano's clay, that takes days per pit. The arithmetic, the one place it differs, and the outlets that work instead.
- Decision GuideDo you need a French drain or a catch basin?One works below ground and slowly, the other at the surface and fast. A simple timing test tells you which problem you have, and some yards need both on one line.
- Decision GuideWhere do you drain a French drain in Plano?The outlet decides the design, so we choose it first. Every option a Plano yard has, what each one needs, and how to pick when the lot is flat.
Related services:Channel drainsYard sump pumpsCatch basinsFrench drains
What drainage costs in Plano
Our typical ranges, what sits inside each price and what moves it.
- Cost GuideHow much does catch basin installation cost in Plano?What a catch basin with its own short pipe run costs in Plano, why a second basin on the same line costs less, and what makes a basin dearer.
- Cost GuideHow much does a channel drain cost in Plano?Why a channel drain in concrete costs more per foot than a trench in the lawn, what the price covers, and how patio, garage and driveway runs add up.
- Cost GuideHow much does drainage work cost in Plano?Our typical ranges for each kind of yard drainage job in Plano, what moves a price within them, and the public figures that sit inside one.
- Cost GuideHow much does a French drain cost in Plano?What a foot of French drain pays for in Plano clay, what pushes a run toward the top of our range, and how a few common layouts add up.
- Cost GuideHow much does underground downspout drainage cost?What it costs to bury a downspout line in Plano clay, what the price covers from the adapter to the outlet, and how several downspouts add up.
- Cost GuideHow much does yard regrading cost in Plano?What it costs to re-slope a Plano yard so water runs away from the house, why big yards are priced by the square foot, and what adds to a regrade.
Related services:Catch basinsChannel drainsYard drainage systemsFrench drainsDownspout drainageYard grading
What to do right now
When the yard is wet and you want to know what to check first.
Related services:Standing water
Rather have it answered for your yard?
The guides explain how drainage works across Plano's clay. Your yard has its own fall, outlet and rules. At Clay Plano Drainage Company we walk it, measure the fall and send a written estimate. The drainage assessment sorts out how urgent the water is, and the cost estimator shows our typical range for the job.
Get an estimate for your yard
Tell us where the water stands and when. We walk the yard, measure the fall and send a written estimate.