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Yard Drainage Fixes

Yard Drainage Cost Calculator

Cost guides give you one national average for “yard drainage.” No yard needs that. A wet yard usually needs two or three specific fixes — a buried downspout here, a basin there, a short French drain — and the useful number is what that plan costs. Build it line by line and get a planning range for the whole job, DIY or installed. Every figure matches the ranges on the site's solution pages and the costs and hiring guide; none of them is a quote.

Start from a typical situation
Your planAdd the fixes your yard actually needs. Each line is priced from the ranges on its solution page.

  • Includes basin, grate, ~30 ft of outlet pipe, gravel bed. Usually extra: runs past ~30 ft, concrete cutting, restoration. About this fix →

Site factors

Planning range for this plan

$760–$2,300

LineBasisRange
Catch basin with a short pipe run1 basins · installed$600–$2,000
Extra outlet run20 ft of solid pipe$160–$300
Total planning range$760–$2,300
Get comparable quotes for this plan →Check a quote you already have →

What this doesn't tell you

These are planning ranges, not quotes, and they cannot be — the two things that move drainage pricing most are how far the water has to travel to a real outlet and what the digging hits on the way, neither of which is visible from here. Regional labour rates, permits, utility locates and hauling spoil sit outside every range. Use the total to tell whether a quote is in sensible territory and to ask better questions, not to budget to the dollar.

How to read your results

  • Each line is priced from the range on its own solution page, times the quantity you gave it. “Installed” is a contractor doing the work; “DIY” is the materials you would buy. Some fixes have no DIY figure because they are not realistic without a saw, a machine, or both.
  • Site factors scale installed work only. No machine access and heavy clay or rock are the two things contractors price hardest, because they turn a two-hour dig into a two-day one.
  • The outlet run is the most commonly forgotten cost. Each fix includes a modest run; add the distance from the fix to the place the water can actually leave.
  • Cheapest first is the order to try things in, not just the order to price them. Roof water and grading fixes resolve a surprising share of wet yards before anyone trenches.

Every planning range the tool uses

Installed ranges per unit, and DIY materials where the job is realistic. All planning estimates, not quotes — each links to the page that explains what the fix is and when it is the wrong answer.

FixUnitInstalledDIY materials
Downspout extensions (above ground)per downspout$40–$100$10–$30
Buried downspout line to a pop-up emitterper downspout$400–$1,200$80–$200
Catch basin with a short pipe runper basin$600–$2,000$150–$400
Yard French drainper linear ft$10–$35$4–$8
Channel drain in new pavingper linear ft$30–$80$10–$25
Channel drain cut into existing concreteper linear ft$70–$150not a DIY job
Dry wellper well$1,500–$3,500$150–$800
Regrade a low spotper spot$500–$1,500$50–$200
Regrade around the house perimeterproject$1,000–$3,000$150–$500
Larger regrading with fill and machineryper sq ft$0.40–$2not a DIY job
Swaleper sq ft$0.50–$1$0.10–$0.50
Dry creek bedper linear ft$20–$50$15–$40
Rain gardenper garden$1,000–$3,000$100–$700

What moves the number

Distance to a usable outlet, above everything. Then whether a machine can reach the route, what the soil is, how deep the trench has to go, and how much lawn or paving has to be restored afterwards. Regional labour rates shift the whole table up or down; the site's ranges lean on Southeast pricing. Retaining walls are priced separately in the retaining wall calculator, because the wall itself dominates the cost and the drainage rides along with it.

Turning a range into a decision

Use the total to tell whether a quote sits in sensible territory, then make the quotes comparable: give every bidder the same list of fixes and quantities, and ask each one where the water discharges. The contractor outreach kit writes that message for you, the quote comparison guide shows how to line the answers up, and the quote analyzer reads a quote you already have for the scope items it skips. If the plan is more than the yard is worth to you, the cheap fixes page is the honest fallback.

Frequently asked questions

How much does yard drainage cost?
Anywhere from under $200 for downspout extensions to $10,000 or more for a whole-yard system, which is why one average is useless. Typical installed planning ranges: a buried downspout line $400 to $1,200, a catch basin $600 to $2,000, a yard French drain $10 to $35 per foot, a dry well $1,500 to $3,500, regrading a low spot $500 to $1,500. Most yards need two or three of these, not one.
How much does a French drain cost per foot in a yard?
A yard French drain — shallow, surface-fed, draining to daylight — runs about $10 to $35 per linear foot installed, or roughly $4 to $8 per foot in materials if you dig it yourself. Interior basement systems are a different product at $40 to $85 per foot; a yard quote in that territory is worth questioning. Length to a real outlet is the biggest driver.
What is the cheapest way to fix yard drainage?
Deal with roof water and grade first. Extending downspouts costs under $30 each and burying a line to a pop-up emitter $80 to $200 in materials. Regrading a low spot with a few yards of topsoil is a weekend. Those two changes resolve a surprising share of wet yards on their own, and they are also the first things a contractor should propose before trenching.
Is it cheaper to do yard drainage yourself?
On materials alone, by a wide margin — a 40-foot French drain is a few hundred dollars in stone, pipe and fabric against $400 to $1,400 installed. What you are buying from a contractor is the digging, a machine, hauling the spoil, and knowing where the water should go. Gravity fixes with a clear outlet are realistic DIY; anything cutting concrete or crossing a driveway usually is not.
What do drainage quotes usually leave out?
The outlet run, lawn or bed restoration, hauling excavated soil, permits and utility locates, and — on retaining walls — the drainage package itself. A quote priced per foot with no stated destination for the water is the most common gap. Give every bidder the same scope, ask where the pipe discharges, and compare the answers, not just the totals.
Why does the total have a range instead of a number?
Because the two things that move drainage pricing most cannot be seen from a web page: how far the water has to travel to a real outlet, and what the digging hits on the way. Regional labour rates, access for a machine, soil, and how much lawn has to be put back all sit on top. The range tells you whether a quote is in sensible territory; only a contractor standing on the property can narrow it.

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