Yard Drainage and French Drains in Danville, IN
Danville is the Hendricks County seat, and the drainage calls cover every kind of lot the county has: an older house near the courthouse square, a newer neighborhood on former fields, a farm parcel on a county road. Travis finds where the water comes from and where it is allowed to go, then builds the fix.
- Free estimates
- Based in Greencastle, Indiana
- One crew, first cut to final grade
Yard drainage in Danville
The county seat, on the high side of the county
Danville sits in the middle of Hendricks County on US-36, twenty miles west of downtown Indianapolis. The highest ground in the county is a low rise about a mile and a half west-northwest of town, and the West Fork of White Lick Creek runs north to south through the east side. So water here has somewhere to go: it falls from the west edge, through town, to the creek.
That fall is the difference between Danville and the flatter towns to the east. Most Danville drainage problems are not about a lack of slope. They are about water arriving faster than the ground can take it, or a lot that was graded so the fall runs the wrong way.
Three kinds of Danville lot
In town, the older houses near the square have had a century to settle. The ground tips toward the foundation, the downspouts drop at the footing and the basement or crawl space is damp. The fix is regrading the first several feet with clay and running the downspouts in solid pipe to an outlet.
Danville's newer neighborhoods went in as the town grew from about 4,300 people in 1990 to 10,500 in 2020, mostly on former fields. Those lots have settled backfill at the house, cut field tile and rear swales that have been filled. Around the edges are farm parcels on county roads, with ditches, drive culverts and tile mains that may be regulated drains. Each gets a different fix.
Farm parcels: the ditch, the tile and the county road
On acreage around Danville, the water problem is usually bigger than the yard. Old field tile under the lawn and the pasture is broken or cut, and a tile main or ditch along the property may be a regulated drain under Indiana's drainage law. The regulated drains guide explains what that means for what you can build and connect.
The ditch beside a county road belongs to the county highway department, and the one beside US-36 or SR-39 is INDOT's. The culvert under the drive is yours, and when it is crushed or silted the drive washes. Travis replaces it, sets it with fall and rebuilds the approach. What a new pipe costs, and why, is in the culvert cost guide.
The West Fork bottoms on the east side
Lots along the West Fork of White Lick Creek on the east side of town sit lower and wetter than the rest. Part of that corridor is mapped floodplain, and the Indiana DNR floodplain portal will show whether a given address is in it. Fill and construction in the floodway need the DNR's permit first.
On those lots the honest goal is a dry house and a usable yard, not a lawn that drains like the high ground west of town. Regrading away from the foundation, buried downspouts and a swale that moves surface water to the creek side do most of what can be done.
The surveyor's office is right in town
As the county seat, Danville is where the Hendricks County Surveyor's office is, and that office looks after the county's regulated drains and the permits that go with them. Before a new line is tied into a county drain, or a fence or building goes up along one, ask them. The Town of Danville can say what an in-town lot drains to and what local rules apply.
Every trench is located through Indiana 811 before it is opened, with the two full working days' notice the law requires. On Grade files the ticket. Old farm tile is not marked by 811, so on former fields Travis expects to cross it and repairs it properly rather than burying the break again.
One figure, seeded and strawed
Travis walks the lot, finds where the water starts and where it can legally end, and gives one number with pipe, stone, hauling and seeding in it. Estimates are free. The trench is backfilled, the finish grade set, and topsoil, seed and straw go down before the crew leaves.
Danville drainage is part of the drainage work On Grade does across Hendricks County, and Greencastle is twenty-five minutes west. A drive that washed because of the culvert can be rebuilt under gravel driveways in Danville in the same visit. The Danville page covers the rest.
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
Call or text Travis with the address and whether you are in town or out on a county road. He comes out, walks it and gives you one number.
Call nowWhat that covers
- In-town regrading. Settled ground at older houses built back up so it falls away from the foundation.
- Tile and ditch work. Field tile on farm parcels repaired or rerouted, and ditches cleaned where they are yours to clean.
- Drive culverts. Crushed or silted pipes under county-road drives replaced, set with fall and the approach rebuilt.
- Swales and French drains. Surface channels and perforated pipe that carry water to the creek side of the lot.
Danville, IN
The Hendricks County seat on US-36, 25 minutes from Greencastle, with in-town lots, newer neighborhoods and farm parcels around it.
Town pageAlso in DanvilleDemolition & Removal in Danville, IN
See the pageAlso in DanvilleGravel Driveways in Danville, 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 pageDanville and the towns nearby
East of Danville the county flattens out, and the fix leans more on tile and catch basins. See yard drainage in Avon, seven miles down US-36, and yard drainage in Brownsburg up toward I-74. West, the ground starts to roll toward Putnam County and On Grade's base, covered under yard drainage in Greencastle. Pittsboro, North Salem and Clayton are the same trip.
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.
Is the ditch along my county road mine to clean out?
Usually not. The ditch beside a county road belongs to the Hendricks County highway department, and the one beside US-36 or SR-39 belongs to INDOT. The culvert under your own drive is yours. If the ditch is a regulated drain, the county surveyor's office looks after it.
Who do I ask about a regulated drain in Danville?
The Hendricks County Surveyor's office, which is in Danville because it is the county seat. They look after the county's regulated drains and issue the permits that go with them. Ask before tying a line into a county drain or building or fencing near one.
My older house near the square has a damp crawl space. Is that a drainage job?
Often, yes. A century of settling tips the ground toward the foundation, and the downspouts drop water at the footing. Regrading the first few feet with clay and running the downspouts in solid pipe to an outlet fixes the cause. On Grade does not do basement waterproofing itself.
Can you repair the field tile under my new neighborhood lot?
Yes. Danville's newer neighborhoods sit on former fields, and the tile under them was cut when the houses went in. A wet stripe or a hole along a straight line is usually the break. It is dug up, repaired or rerouted to an outlet, and the trench is seeded.
Does my lot near the West Fork have floodplain rules?
It might. Part of the creek corridor on the east side of town is mapped floodplain. The Indiana DNR floodplain portal shows whether your address is in it, and fill or construction in the floodway needs the DNR's permit before the work starts.
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 Danville.
Call or text Travis. Free estimates, straight answers.
Greencastle, Indiana · Putnam, Hendricks, Boone and Marion counties
Need yard drainage in Danville?
Call or text Travis with the address and what you are trying to do.