Yard Drainage in Greater Boston

Why a patio company went and got certified in drainage

Because water is what kills hardscape in New England. Not the pavers, not the freeze — water. A patio that sinks, a wall that leans, a driveway that heaves: go look underneath and you will find water that had nowhere to go.

We have been building on that principle since 1989, and the certification just puts a signature on it. If you want the long version of how bad water wrecks a patio, we wrote it up in why your patio pools water.

Signs you have a drainage problem

• Water stands in the same low spot for a day or more after rain
• Grass will not grow in one patch no matter what you do to it
• Moss, algae, or a permanent soft spot underfoot
• Mulch or soil washing across a walk or onto a patio
• Water running toward the house instead of away from it
• Downspouts dumping right at the foundation
• A damp basement wall on the same side the yard slopes from
• Pavers that have settled into a dish, or a wall starting to lean

That last one is usually a drainage problem wearing a hardscape costume. If your patio is already moving, start with the installation checklist or our patio repair page.

What we install

• French drains — perforated pipe in stone, wrapped in fabric, pitched to a real outlet
• Dry wells — for lots with nowhere downhill to send water
• Regrading — often the actual fix, and the one people skip
• Catch basins — where water collects and needs a way in
• Channel drains — across garage aprons, driveways, and patio edges
• Curtain drains — to intercept water coming from uphill or a neighbor
• Downspout extensions and buried leaders — get roof water away from the foundation
• Sump discharge lines — take the pump’s output somewhere sensible
• Permeable paving — surfaces that let water through instead of shedding it. See permeable vs. regular pavers and our paver driveway page.

How we find where the water is actually going

Anyone can trench a pipe. The part that decides whether it works is figuring out where the water comes from and where it can legally and physically go.

We walk the whole lot, not just the wet spot. We shoot grades to see the real fall from house to property line, look at where the roof water lands, check what the neighbors’ grade is sending you, and dig a test hole to see what the soil actually is — because heavy clay and compacted fill behave nothing alike. Then we find the outlet. That is the constraint everything else has to work around, and on a tight city lot it is sometimes the reason a French drain is the wrong answer entirely.

Only then do we tell you what it needs. Sometimes that is a few hundred feet of work. Sometimes it is moving two downspouts and regrading a corner, and we say so.

What moves the price

We publish real numbers on our patio and hardscape pricing, but drainage is the one service where a per-foot number would mislead you. Two yards on the same street can differ by thousands. What actually drives it:

• Where the outlet is — a daylight outlet at the property line is cheap; no outlet means a dry well or a pump
• How far the water has to travel and how much fall you have to work with
• What is in the ground — ledge, clay, old fill, roots, or somebody’s abandoned pipe
• Access — whether a machine can reach the back or it is wheelbarrow work through a gate
• Restoration — putting the lawn, patio, or planting beds back the way they were
• Permits, if the job is near wetlands or ties into a city drain

You get a written estimate with the scope spelled out before anything starts. No allowances that grow later.

What we do not do

Outdoor drainage only. We do not do interior basement waterproofing, sump pumps inside the house, or foundation sealing.

Worth saying though: a lot of basement water starts outside. Grade sloping back toward the house, downspouts emptying at the foundation, a window well with no drain. Fixing that outside is often what solves it, and it costs less than an interior system. If your problem is genuinely inside, we will tell you to call someone who does that work rather than sell you a trench.

Where we work

Out of Medford, across Somerville, Cambridge, Medford, Malden, Everett, Brookline, Arlington, Belmont, Watertown, Winchester, and Boston proper.

In Somerville, drainage and stormwater overlap with the city’s Green Score rules — see our Green Score page if you are building or repaving.

Common questions

Why is water pooling in my yard?

Almost always one of three things: the grade runs toward the low spot instead of away from it, the soil is heavy clay or compacted fill that will not take water, or the water has nowhere to go once it gets there. Around here it is often all three on the same lot. Finding which one you have is the whole job - putting pipe in the ground before you know that is how people spend money twice.

Will a French drain fix standing water?

Sometimes. A French drain moves water that is already in the ground to somewhere else, so it only works if there is a lower place to send it. On a flat lot with no outlet, a French drain fills up and sits there. In that case a dry well, a regrade, or a pump is the honest answer. We will tell you which one your yard needs before we quote it.

Do I need a permit for yard drainage work in Massachusetts?

Usually not for regrading or a drain line that stays on your property. You do need approval if the work is near wetlands or a stream, if you are tying into a city drain, or if you are opening the street or sidewalk. Somerville and Cambridge also care about how much runoff a property throws off. We check your town before anything gets dug and tell you what filing, if any, the job needs.

Can you fix water getting into my basement?

We work outside only. A lot of basement water starts outside - grade sloping back at the house, downspouts dumping at the foundation, a window well with no drain - and fixing that outside is often what solves it. But we do not do interior waterproofing, sump pumps inside the house, or foundation sealing. If that is what you need, we will say so rather than sell you a trench.

What time of year can drainage work be done?

Most of the year. Spring and fall are easiest because the ground is workable and you can see exactly where water runs. We can dig through summer without trouble. Once the ground freezes hard, excavation gets slow and expensive - so if you have watched water pool all season, the time to call is before winter, not after.