Start Here: Work Out What Your Yard Actually Needs
Four observations narrow almost any wet yard down to one or two causes: how long water stays, where it collects, whether the ground stays soft underneath, and where your downspouts discharge. Make them during the next rain, then run the Solution Finder.
Before you spend anything
Drainage work is expensive to undo. A trench in the wrong place costs several thousand dollars and leaves the problem where it was. The good news is that four observations — none of which need tools or a contractor — eliminate most wrong answers.
Make them during and just after the next soaking rain.
1. How long does the water stay?
Note when the rain stops, then check the same spot a few hours later, the next day, and two days after.
Gone in a few hours is normal. Still there at 24 hours is a drainage problem. Still there at 48 hours points to grading, compaction, or clay. Wet in dry weather is groundwater — a different problem from all of the above.
2. Where exactly does it collect?
One identifiable spot, a broad area, along an edge, against the house, or arriving across a boundary. This decides the shape of the fix — a point drain, a line drain, or interception at the boundary — more than anything else does.
3. Is the ground still soft underneath?
Two or three days after the surface dries, push a screwdriver into the wet area. Normal resistance means the soil is fine and you have a surface problem. If it slides in easily and the hole starts to fill, the soil itself is saturated, and that needs a different tool entirely.
4. Where do the downspouts discharge?
Walk the perimeter during rain. A 2,000 square foot roof sheds roughly 1,240 gallons per inch of rain, delivered at a handful of points. Downspouts discharging within a few feet of the house are the most common single cause of a wet yard, and the cheapest to fix.
Free, no sign-up, nothing stored
Yard Drainage Solution Finder
Eight questions about your yard's conditions. You'll get the approaches that fit, ranked by how well they match, plus what to check next and the questions worth asking a contractor.
What it won't do: diagnose your yard or design a system. Neither is possible without standing on the property. It narrows the field so you're not choosing between eight options with no way to judge them.
If you already know what you're seeing
| What you're seeing | Go to |
|---|---|
| Puddles that sit for a day or more | Standing water in your yard |
| Fine normally, floods in storms | Backyard flooding after rain |
| Wet ground against the house | Water pooling near the foundation |
| Wet patch near a downspout | Downspout drainage problems |
| Water crossing a property line | Runoff from a neighbour's yard |
| A drain that has stopped working | Clogged yard drain |
| Water pooling on a patio or driveway | Patio and hardscape drainage |
Or go straight to all eight systems compared.
What this site is and isn't
It is written for homeowners trying to understand their own property well enough to make a good decision — and to tell whether the advice they're being given fits their situation.
It does no drainage work itself, and its guidance is never for sale — no one pays to change what a page says or to rank in its recommendations. Every cost is a planning range. Every solution page states what that solution will not fix.
It also cannot see your yard. Drainage depends on grade, soil, rainfall, layout, utilities, and local rules, and nothing written in advance substitutes for someone standing on the property. What this site can do is make that conversation a much better one.
FAQs
How long does the Solution Finder take?
About three minutes if you already know your yard's behaviour. If you haven't yet watched what happens during rain, it's worth making the four observations above first — the answers are considerably more useful when the inputs are observed rather than guessed.
Will it tell me exactly what to install?
No, deliberately. It returns the approaches that fit your conditions, what to investigate next, and what to ask a contractor. A specific design needs measured fall, a confirmed outlet, and someone assessing the soil on site. Any tool claiming to design a system from eight questions is overstating what it knows.
Do I need to know my soil type?
It helps but isn't required — there's a "not sure" option, and the finder will suggest a perc test if soil turns out to be the deciding factor. That test takes a hole, a bucket of water, and an hour, and it's the single most informative thing you can do about your own ground.
What if my yard has more than one problem?
That's normal rather than unusual, and the finder handles it — clay soil, construction compaction, and badly placed downspouts routinely occur together. Where several apply, work in order of cost. Roof water and grading are cheap and account for more than most people expect.
By Under Your Home Team · Last reviewed 2026-08-09