Yard Drainage and French Drains in Greencastle, IN
Greencastle is On Grade's home town, and the drainage calls here come from rolling ground: water running in from the neighbor's lot, a crawl space that never dries, a farm drive that washes every spring. Travis finds where the water starts, then regrades, trenches or tiles so it leaves.
- Free estimates
- Based in Greencastle, Indiana
- One crew, first cut to final grade
Yard drainage in Greencastle
On rolling ground the water arrives from somewhere
Putnam County is flat across the north, but the middle of the county around Greencastle rolls, and the ground falls away toward Big Walnut Creek and the smaller streams that feed it. Water on a Greencastle lot is usually not rain that fell there. It came downhill from the street, the neighbor's yard or a field behind the fence.
In town, the older neighborhoods around the courthouse and DePauw were laid out when nobody worried about that. Lots were graded flat, downspouts were pointed at the foundation and the low side of the yard was left to take what came. A century later, that is the wet corner you are calling about.
Older houses and wet crawl spaces
The most common Greencastle call is an older house with a damp crawl space or a basement wall that weeps after rain. The yard has settled toward the house over the decades, and the downspouts drop water right at the footing. The fix starts outside.
Travis regrades the first several feet around the house so the ground falls away from it, then buries the downspouts in solid pipe and runs them to a point where the water can daylight. Where the yard is too flat for that, a French drain along the wet side carries it off. On Grade does not do basement waterproofing or gutters; it fixes the ground so they are not needed as often.
Acreage around town: field tile and the road ditch
Outside the city limits, Greencastle addresses are farms and parcels cut from farms. Much of that ground was tiled for crops, and when a house went up the tile under it was cut and forgotten. A soft stripe across the lawn or a hole that keeps opening is often that tile. It gets dug up, repaired or rerouted to an outlet rather than buried again.
The other rural problem is the drive. If the culvert under it is small, crushed or silted shut, the drive washes and the yard beside it floods. The driveway culvert guide explains the signs. Travis replaces the pipe and rebuilds the approach in the same visit.
The fall is there, so the fix can use it
Rolling ground is easier to drain than the flat clay east of here, because there is somewhere for the water to go. A swale cut across the uphill side of the lot can catch what comes down and carry it around the house. A French drain can run to daylight at the low edge instead of to a sump.
What makes it hard is the clay itself. The Miami and Crosby soils on Putnam County's till plains are clay under a thin loam cap, and water moves through them slowly. Pipe needs real fall and a clean outlet, or it just fills. The yard grading and drainage guide covers what each option can and cannot do.
Regulated drains, the surveyor and the creek
Some of the ditches and tile mains around Greencastle are regulated drains under Indiana's drainage law, and the Putnam County Surveyor's office looks after them. Before a new line is tied into one, or a fence or building goes up along one, ask the surveyor. The regulated drains guide explains how to tell.
Lots down along Big Walnut Creek and its branches can sit in mapped floodplain, where the Indiana DNR has a say over fill and anything built in the floodway. Check the DNR floodplain portal first. Every job is located through Indiana 811 before a trench is opened, with the two full working days' notice the law requires. On Grade files the ticket.
Seed, straw and one number
Drainage work leaves bare ground. The same crew sets the finish grade, spreads topsoil, seeds and straws it, so the yard holds through the next storm instead of washing into the new trench. Travis gives one figure before anything starts, with the pipe, the stone, the hauling and the seeding in it. Estimates are free.
Greencastle drainage is part of the drainage work On Grade does across the area. If a wet yard is next to a slab that has to go, concrete removal in Greencastle can be done in the same visit. The Greencastle page covers everything else 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
Call or text Travis, or send a photo of the wet spot after rain. He comes out, walks the yard and tells you where the water is coming from.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Regrading and swales. Ground reshaped so water runs away from the house and around it instead of into it.
- French drains. Perforated pipe in a stone trench along the wet side of the yard, run to daylight.
- Buried downspouts. Roof water carried in solid pipe from the house to an outlet that can take it.
- Tile and culverts. Old field tile repaired or rerouted and drive culverts replaced so the drive stops washing.
Greencastle, IN
Home base: the Putnam County seat and DePauw's town, with older in-town lots, farms on every road and rolling ground down to Big Walnut Creek.
Town pageAlso in GreencastleDemolition & Removal in Greencastle, IN
See the pageAlso in GreencastleConcrete Removal in Greencastle, 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 pageGreencastle and the towns nearby
The same drainage work runs east into Hendricks County, where the ground is flatter and the fix leans more on tile and catch basins. See yard drainage in Danville, the next county seat up US-36, and yard drainage in Plainfield on I-70. Cloverdale, Bainbridge, Fillmore, Reelsville and the rest of Putnam County are a short drive from the shop, and that ground is covered on the Putnam County page.
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 is my Greencastle yard wet when the neighbor's is dry?
On rolling ground, water runs downhill across lot lines. If your yard is the low side, it takes what the street and the neighbors shed. A swale across the uphill edge, or a French drain along it, catches that water and carries it around the house.
Can you fix a wet crawl space from outside?
Often, yes. Most wet crawl spaces in older Greencastle houses come from ground that has settled toward the house and downspouts that empty at the footing. Regrading the first few feet and burying the downspouts to an outlet fixes the cause. On Grade does not do basement waterproofing itself.
Is the ditch along my road a county drain?
It might be. Some ditches and tile mains in Putnam County are regulated drains under Indiana's drainage law, looked after by the county surveyor. The ditch beside a county road belongs to the county highway department. Ask before you tie into either or build near it.
Do you repair old field tile on acreage outside town?
Yes. Cut or collapsed tile under a former field is a common cause of a wet stripe or a sinkhole in a rural lawn. It is dug up, repaired or rerouted to a working outlet, and the trench is backfilled and seeded.
Does a French drain need an outlet?
Yes. A French drain that ends in the clay with nowhere to go is a stone trench full of water. Around Greencastle there is usually enough fall to run it to daylight at the low edge of the lot or to a ditch, and that is how Travis designs it.
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 Greencastle.
Call or text Travis. Free estimates, straight answers.
Greencastle, Indiana · Putnam, Hendricks, Boone and Marion counties
Need yard drainage in Greencastle?
Call or text Travis with the address and what you are trying to do.