French Drain Installation in Kansas City
A yard that never dries out, a soggy strip along the house, beds that wash out every storm. We find where the water comes from and where it can go, then build the French drain that gets it there.
What a French drain is (and what it isn't)
A French drain is a trench with a perforated pipe in it, wrapped in fabric and filled with stone. Water in the soil finds the stone, drops into the pipe, and runs downhill to an outlet. It moves water you mostly cannot see.
The trench
Dug on a steady slope so the water always has somewhere downhill to go. The slope is the part people get wrong, and it is the part that decides whether the drain works.
Fabric and stone
Heavy-duty landscape fabric keeps Kansas City clay from silting up the stone. Clean stone gives the water an easy path to the pipe.
Perforated pipe
The pipe collects the water and carries it the full length of the run to an outlet, away from the house and the low spots.
Not a fix for everything
A French drain moves water through the soil. A sheet of surface runoff is usually better handled by regrading or a dry creek bed. We tell you which one your yard needs.
Signs your yard needs a French drain
Most Kansas City yards that hold water have the same two problems: ground sloped the wrong way and heavy clay that is slow to absorb rain.
Standing water
Puddles that sit for a day or more after rain, in the same spot every time.
A strip that never dries
A band of lawn that stays soft and squishes underfoot long after the rest of the yard has dried.
Water at the foundation
Wet soil along the house after storms, or water collecting where the yard slopes toward the walls.
Washed-out beds
Mulch and soil carried off after every heavy rain, and plants that drown in wet corners.
Where the water goes
A French drain is only as good as its outlet. Before anything is dug, we work out where the water can leave the property, lower than where it starts and away from the house and the neighbors.
Daylight outlet
Where the lot slopes, the pipe simply comes out at a lower point on the surface.
Pop-up emitter
A small cap set flush in the lawn that opens to let water out and closes when it stops.
Dry well
An underground chamber that holds the water and lets it soak in slowly, for lots with no low point to reach.
Is water also coming off a roof or pooling on the surface? A catch basin can collect it and feed it into the same pipe. See the FAQ below.
How we install a French drain
Clear steps, a written estimate, and a drain designed for your yard, not a one-size trench.
Walk the site
We look at the grade, where the water comes from and where it can go, ideally while the ground is still wet.
Written estimate
The route, the outlet, the materials and the price, in writing. Free and no obligation.
Dig and build
811 is called before any dig. Then the trench, fabric, stone and pipe, on a slope that keeps water moving.
Put it back
Turf, mulch and edging restored as part of the job. We clean up and walk the finished work with you.
What affects the cost of a French drain
We do not guess at a per-foot price over the phone, because the same length of drain can be a very different job in two different yards. These are the things that move the number:
Length and depth
How far the water has to travel, and how deep the trench must be to keep a steady fall to the outlet.
The outlet
A daylight outlet is simpler than a dry well. The lot decides which one works.
Access
Open lawn is quicker to work than a route past fences, patios, tree roots or tight side yards.
Restoration
How much turf, bed and edging has to be put back afterward. It is always part of our price, never an extra surprise.
Featured work
Finished Gardens of Eden work from around the Kansas City metro.
See more of our work, including full before-and-afters, on Instagram: @goekcmo
French drains across the Kansas City metro
Based in the Northland, we install French drains in Kansas City, Gladstone, North Kansas City, Liberty, Independence and Lee's Summit.
French drain FAQ
How much does a French drain cost in Kansas City?
Where should a French drain empty?
Do I need a catch basin?
Will installing a French drain tear up my yard?
Does a French drain work in Kansas City clay?
Is a French drain covered by a warranty?
More from Gardens of Eden
Ready to dry out the yard?
Tell us where the water sits. We'll come out, take a look, and put a real number on fixing it. Free, no pressure.