Yard Drainage and French Drains in Plainfield, IN
Plainfield is flat, and flat clay does not drain itself. The calls here are about back yards that stay soft for a week, a side yard the sump pump has turned to mud, and a swale the builder cut that has long since been filled. Travis puts the fall back and gives the water a way out.
- Free estimates
- Based in Greencastle, Indiana
- One crew, first cut to final grade
Yard drainage in Plainfield
Flat ground between two creeks
Plainfield sits on the Central Till Plain with few hills of any kind. White Lick Creek runs down the west side of town and Clark's Creek down the east, and everything in between has to find its way to one or the other with very little fall to do it.
That is why so much of the work in Plainfield is drainage. A lot that is a few inches lower than its neighbors holds water for days after a storm. There is no slope to carry it off, so the slope has to be made, or the water has to go underground in a pipe with fall built into it.
The rear-yard swale that got filled in
Most Plainfield subdivisions were built with a shallow swale along the back lot lines. It was meant to carry water from a whole row of yards to a storm inlet or a pond. Over the years sheds, fences, fire pits, flower beds and a few loads of topsoil have gone into it, one lot at a time.
When the swale is blocked, the water backs up into the yard uphill of the block. Travis finds the original line, cuts it back to grade with the skid steer and reseeds it. Where a neighbor's fill cannot be moved, a French drain under the swale carries the water past it. This is the most common drainage job in town.
Sump pumps, downspouts and the muddy side yard
Many Plainfield houses from the 1990s on have basements, and the sump pump discharges a few feet from the foundation onto the side yard. On flat clay that water has nowhere to go, so it sits, soaks back down and gets pumped out again. The side yard turns to mud and the basement never quite dries.
The fix is a buried solid line from the sump outlet and the downspouts to a point that can take the water: a swale, a storm inlet, a dry well or daylight at the low edge of the lot. A catch basin at the low spot of the yard can tie into the same line. On Grade does not do basement waterproofing or gutters; it fixes what is outside.
Crosby and Brookston, the soils under Plainfield
The ground under most Plainfield lots is glacial till with a thin silt cap. Crosby soils, common on these flats, are rated somewhat poorly drained by the USDA, with a perched water table in the top two feet through winter and spring. Brookston soils sit in the low spots and are rated poorly drained, with water at or above the surface for part of the year.
Neither soil lets water through fast, so a French drain in Plainfield is there to collect and carry, not to soak away. Pipe needs real fall and a clean outlet. Pipe laid flat or run to nowhere is a stone trench full of water. The yard grading and drainage guide explains what each fix can do.
Where the water is allowed to go
Water cannot simply be sent onto the neighbor's lot. In Plainfield it goes to the rear swale, a storm inlet or a pond that was built to take it, and the town can tell you what your lot drains to. 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, and tying into one needs their consent. The regulated drains guide has the detail.
Lots along White Lick Creek and Clark's Creek can sit in mapped floodplain, which the Indiana DNR floodplain portal will show. Every trench is located through Indiana 811 first with two full working days' notice. On Grade files the ticket. Old field tile under former farm ground is not marked by 811, so Travis expects to cross it.
One figure, seeded at the end
Travis walks the yard after rain if he can, finds where the water starts and where it can legally end, and gives one number with the pipe, stone, hauling and seeding in it. Estimates are free. The trench is backfilled, topsoiled, seeded and strawed so the yard holds.
Plainfield is part of the drainage work On Grade does across Hendricks County. If a patio sank because of the water under it, concrete removal in Plainfield can be done in the same visit. The rest of the work in town is on the Plainfield page.
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
Send Travis a photo of the yard a day after a good rain. He comes out, walks the low spots with you and says where the water can go.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Rear swales rebuilt. The builder's swale along the back lot line found, cut back to grade and reseeded.
- French drains. Perforated pipe in a stone trench with real fall, run to a swale, inlet or daylight.
- Sump and downspout lines. Solid pipe from the sump outlet and downspouts to an outlet that can take the water.
- Catch basins and regrading. Low spots drained through a basin, or the yard reshaped so it falls away from the house.
Plainfield, IN
The west side of Indianapolis along US-40 and I-70, 30 minutes from Greencastle, with subdivisions from the 1970s on and new ones still going in.
Town pageAlso in PlainfieldDemolition & Removal in Plainfield, IN
See the pageAlso in PlainfieldConcrete Removal in Plainfield, IN
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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 pagePlainfield and the towns nearby
The same flat-ground drainage work runs through the rest of Hendricks County. See yard drainage in Avon, the next town north on the same till plain, and yard drainage in Brownsburg along White Lick Creek further up. Back west toward Greencastle the ground starts to roll and the fixes change, which is covered under yard drainage in Greencastle. Clayton, Camby and Mooresville are the same trip from Plainfield.
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.
The swale behind my Plainfield house is gone. Can it be put back?
Usually, yes. The builder's swale along the rear lot line is found from the lot grading and the storm inlet it ran to, cut back to grade with the skid steer and reseeded. Where a neighbor's shed or fill sits in it, a French drain under the line carries the water past.
My sump pump floods the side yard. What is the fix?
A buried solid line from the sump outlet, and usually the downspouts too, to a point that can take the water: the rear swale, a storm inlet, a dry well or daylight at the low edge of the lot. On flat clay the discharge has nowhere to go on its own.
Will a French drain work on Plainfield clay?
Yes, as long as it is built to carry water, not soak it away. Crosby and Brookston clays barely let water through, so the pipe needs fall and an outlet. A French drain that ends in the clay with no outlet is a stone trench full of water.
Can I just drain my yard onto the lot behind me?
No. Water has to go to a swale, inlet or pond that was built to take it, and the Town of Plainfield can tell you what your lot drains to. If the outlet is a regulated drain, the Hendricks County Surveyor's office has to consent to the connection first.
Do you mark the utilities before trenching?
Every job is located through Indiana 811 before a trench is opened, with the two full working days' notice Indiana law requires. On Grade files the ticket. Old farm tile under the subdivision is not marked by 811, so it is expected and dealt with when it turns up.
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 Plainfield.
Call or text Travis. Free estimates, straight answers.
Greencastle, Indiana · Putnam, Hendricks, Boone and Marion counties
Need yard drainage in Plainfield?
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