Yard Drainage and French Drains in Avon, IN
Avon went from farm fields to one of the fastest-growing towns in Indiana in about thirty years, and the drainage problems are the kind new subdivisions on flat clay get. Travis regrades settled ground at the house, repairs the tile the builder cut and gives standing water a route off the lot.
- Free estimates
- Based in Greencastle, Indiana
- One crew, first cut to final grade
Yard drainage in Avon
A town built on farm fields in thirty years
Avon was not a town until 1995. It had about 6,200 people in 2000 and more than 21,000 by 2020, and almost all of that is subdivisions laid across what were corn and bean fields along US-36. The ground under them is flat glacial clay that was farmed with the help of drain tile for a century.
Lots were graded quickly, houses went up, and the water problems showed up a few years later. The yard that was fine the first spring is soft every spring now. Water stands against the foundation. A stripe across the back lawn never dries. Each of those has a specific cause, and the fix is different for each.
The trough at the foundation
The most common Avon call is water against the house. When the house was built, the trench around the foundation was backfilled with loose clay, and that fill has settled over the years. The lawn now dips toward the house instead of away from it, and every downspout and every storm fills the dip.
Travis regrades the first several feet around the house with clay, not topsoil, so the ground sheds water, then caps it and seeds it. The downspouts go into solid pipe and run to an outlet. Window wells stop filling and the basement gets a chance to dry. On Grade does not do basement waterproofing or gutters; it fixes the ground that is sending the water in.
When the lot next door was built up
In a town still building, the lot next door can change. A new house goes in a foot higher than yours, or the builder's grading sends its water across the line. Suddenly a yard that drained for ten years holds water on one side.
The usual answer is a swale cut along the property line that picks up the water and carries it to the rear swale or the street, or a French drain along that side where there is no room for a surface channel. The builder's drainage plan for the subdivision shows where each lot was meant to drain, and the Town of Avon can help you find it.
Field tile under the subdivision
Because Avon was fields, there is old clay or plastic tile under many lots. When the streets and foundations went in, it was cut and left. Water still runs into the upstream end, comes out at the break and has nowhere to go. A wet stripe across the lawn, or a hole that keeps opening along a straight line, is usually that.
The tile is dug up at the break and repaired or rerouted to an outlet, not buried again. Indiana 811 marks the utilities its members own, and old farm tile is not among them, so Travis expects to find it and works carefully when the trench goes in. The yard grading and drainage guide covers the signs to look for.
The pond, the surveyor and the HOA
Most Avon subdivisions drain to a retention pond that belongs to the homeowners association or the town, and a private line is not piped into it without asking. Some of the ditches and tile mains in Hendricks County are regulated drains under Indiana's drainage law, looked after by the Hendricks County Surveyor's office, which has to consent before anything ties into them. The regulated drains guide explains which is which.
The Town of Avon's offices on East US-36 can say what a lot drains to and whether a permit is needed for what comes after. Every trench is located through Indiana 811 first, with the two full working days' notice the law requires. On Grade files the ticket.
What it costs and what the yard looks like after
Travis comes out, ideally after rain, finds where the water starts and where it can end, and gives one number with pipe, stone, hauling and seeding in it. Estimates are free. The trench is backfilled, topsoiled, seeded and strawed so the lawn closes over it. The grass seeding guide explains how to water it in.
Avon drainage is part of the drainage work On Grade does across Hendricks County. If the settled ground also took a patio down with it, see concrete removal in Avon. The Avon page covers the rest of the work in town.
Yard Drainage & French Drains
Standing water on Indiana clay moved off yards and away from the house: regrading, swales, French drains, catch basins and buried downspouts.
See the serviceTalk to Travis(317) 203-8928
Text Travis a photo of the wet spot and the side of the house it is on. He comes out, finds the cause and gives you one number.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Foundation regrading. Settled backfill around the house built back up with clay so the ground sheds water.
- Property-line swales. Water from a higher lot next door caught at the line and carried to the rear swale or street.
- Field tile repair. Old farm tile cut by the builder dug up at the break and repaired or rerouted to an outlet.
- French drains and downspouts. Perforated pipe along the wet side and solid pipe from the downspouts, run to an outlet.
Avon, IN
One of the fastest-growing towns in Indiana, along US-36 west of Indianapolis, almost all of it subdivisions built since 1990 on flat clay.
Town pageAlso in AvonDemolition & Removal in Avon, IN
See the pageAlso in AvonConcrete Removal in Avon, IN
See the pageAlso in AvonGravel Driveways in Avon, IN
See the pageThe serviceYard Drainage & French Drains
Standing water on Indiana clay moved off yards and away from the house: regrading, swales, French drains, catch basins and buried downspouts.
Main service pageAvon and the towns nearby
Avon sits between two towns with the same flat clay and the same subdivision drainage problems. See yard drainage in Plainfield to the south, where the subdivisions are older, and yard drainage in Brownsburg to the north along White Lick Creek. West on US-36, yard drainage in Danville covers the county seat and the farm parcels around it. All of it is under an hour from Greencastle.
You get Travis. One crew, first cut to final grade.
You call
You call or send the form. Travis comes out and looks at the job with you, on the ground, rather than pricing it off a photograph.
A number first
You get one figure before anything starts, with the hauling and the finish grading in it.
One crew does it
Then the same crew that quoted it shows up and does the work, first cut to final grade.
Ground left usable
Voids get filled and the ground is graded back so you can pour, build or seed.
Photos of his work.
These are photographs from actual jobs. See more recent work. Or read about the full yard drainage & french drains service.
Questions people ask
Not seeing yours? Call (317) 203-8928 and ask Travis, or read the guides.
Why does water stand against my house in Avon?
Almost always because the backfill around the foundation has settled and the lawn now dips toward the house. Regrading the first few feet with clay so it falls away, and burying the downspouts to an outlet, fixes it. It is the most common drainage call in Avon.
The new house next door made my yard wet. What can be done?
A swale along the property line, or a French drain where there is no room for one, catches the water coming across and carries it to the rear swale or the street. The subdivision's drainage plan shows where your lot was meant to drain, and the Town of Avon can help find it.
There is a wet stripe across my back lawn. Is it a pipe?
Probably old field tile. Avon was farmland until the 1990s, and the tile under it was cut when the houses were built. Water still runs through the upstream end and comes out at the break. It is dug up, repaired or rerouted, not buried again.
Can my drain line run to the subdivision pond?
Only with permission. The retention pond belongs to the homeowners association or the town, and a private line is not piped into it without asking. If the outlet is a regulated drain, the Hendricks County Surveyor's office has to consent as well.
Will the yard be a mess afterwards?
Not for long. The trench is backfilled, the finish grade is set, and topsoil, seed and straw go down the same day. The same crew that dug it closes it, so there is no second contractor to schedule for the lawn.
Other work he takes on
Most jobs end up being two or three of these at once, and they get quoted together.
Yard Drainage & French Drains in other towns
Excavation & Site Prep
Sites stripped, cut and graded, ready for the builder.
Learn moreFoundation & Basement Excavation
Basements, crawl spaces and footings dug to grade and backfilled.
Learn moreDrainage, Culverts & Utilities
Water moved off yards and away from foundations; culverts and service lines set.
Learn moreDriveways & Finish Grading
Gravel drives built and crowned; yards finish graded for seed.
Learn moreLand Clearing & Forestry Mulching
Lots and acreage cleared, brush mulched in place.
Learn moreBuilding & Pole Barn Pads
Pads cut, filled and compacted for barns, shops and houses.
Learn moreFree estimate in Avon.
Call or text Travis. Free estimates, straight answers.
Greencastle, Indiana · Putnam, Hendricks, Boone and Marion counties
Need yard drainage in Avon?
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