Trench drain installation across Indiana
A trench drain is a trench we dig by hand to carry water through your yard and away from the house. It gets covered with river rock at ground level, or hidden under a stepping-stone path so you never see it.
A trench drain is a trench dug by hand that carries water through your yard and away from the house. It is covered with river rock, or hidden under a stepping-stone path. The rock is added to dirt level, not grass level, so you can mow right over the top.
When a yard holds too much water, the ground stays soggy for days after a rain. A trench drain gives that water a way out, from where it collects to where it can leave the yard.
It does not have to show. On some jobs the stepping-stone path goes right back on top and you would never know the drain is there. On others the river rock is the finished look, a stone line through the lawn or along a garden bed.
It goes where the water needs to go: out across the back yard, along a bed, away from the house to the far side of a driveway, or into a drain that is already there, like a concrete drain along a patio.
Mixing it up with a French drain? French drain vs trench drain sorts out which one is which.
A trench drain can also end in a dry well. Here is one job, from the trench to the dry well, step by step.
Signs you need this
What tells you the yard is holding water
- The yard stays soggy for days after a rain.
- Water stands in the same low spot every time it rains.
- Water runs from the yard toward the house instead of away from it.
- A garden bed or path next to the house stays wet.
- Water collects along a patio or driveway edge with nowhere to go.
How we do it
Dug by hand, then covered or hidden
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Walk the yard with you
We look at where the water collects and where it can leave the yard. That sets where the trench starts and where it ends.
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Mark the line
The line runs from the wet spot to where the water can go, around trees, beds and paths, or under a path when that is the better route.
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Dig it by hand
Our crew digs the trench with shovels. No machine in the yard, no ruts, and roots get worked around.
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Set it to carry water
We start at the high point and add 1/8 inch of fall for every foot the drain travels, so water keeps moving along it and out of the yard instead of sitting in it.
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Cover it or hide it
River rock is added to dirt level, not grass level, so you can mow right over the top. Or the stepping stones go back on top so the drain disappears.
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Clean up
The work area is cleaned up before we leave.
Recent work
Trench drains we have put in
BeforeAfter
What it costs
What moves the number
A short trench across one wet spot is a smaller job than a long run across the yard or out past a driveway.
The things that actually move the price:
- How long the run is. The distance from where water collects to where it can leave the yard.
- What it has to go around or under. Trees, beds, walks and driveways all change the route and the time.
- Whether a path goes back on top. Lifting and resetting stepping stones is part of the job when the drain is hidden.
- How much river rock it takes. A longer run takes more stone to cover.
You get one fixed number for a defined scope after the on-site visit. Half holds the date, the balance is due when you have walked the finished job. We do not offer financing.
Often quoted alongside this
What homeowners say
Trench drain questions
Answers before you call
A trench we dig by hand to carry water through the yard and away from the house. It gets covered with river rock at ground level, or a path goes back on top of it.
You will see river rock at ground level, or nothing at all if a stepping-stone path goes back on top. On a lot of jobs, hiding it is the point.
Yes. We lift the stepping stones, dig the trench, and put the path back on top once the drain is in.
Away from the house, to a spot where it can leave the yard. Sometimes that is the far side of a driveway. Sometimes it is a drain that is already there, like a concrete drain along a patio.
Yes. The river rock is added to dirt level, not grass level, so you can mow right over the top.
No. Everything is dug by hand, so there are no ruts in the lawn and we can work around trees, roots and beds.
Where to next?
Free estimate
Let us give the water in your yard a way out.
Send the form and we will reply within about 30 minutes during business hours. The visit and the written quote are free.
- Dug by hand, no machine ruts in the yard
- Fixed written price for a defined scope
- River rock at ground level, or hidden under a path
- Serving all of Indiana from Kokomo and Bloomington