Yard Drainage and French Drains in Terre Haute, IN
Terre Haute sits on the east bank of the Wabash, and most of its yards are old, flat and slow to dry. The calls are about water against the house, a back yard soft into May and a downspout emptying at the foundation. Travis finds where the water wants to go and builds it a way there.
- Free estimates
- Based in Greencastle, Indiana
- One crew, first cut to final grade
Yard Drainage in Terre Haute
An old river city where the ground does not fall anywhere
Terre Haute was platted in 1816 and peaked at more than 71,000 people in 1960, so most of its housing is old and most of its lots were graded a long time ago. Decades of settling, added patios and tree roots have taken the slope out of a lot of those yards. Rain lands and sits.
The city is also mostly flat. The small bluffs on the east side mark the edge of the old Wabash floodplain, and everything between them and the river is low ground. Lost Creek drains the north end of town and Honey Creek the south, but a yard has to have a fall to reach either one. Many do not.
The wet back yard on a city lot
The usual Terre Haute call is a back yard that holds water for days after rain. The lot is narrow, the garage and the neighbors' fences block the way out, and the ground is a heavy clay that lets almost nothing soak in. Mowing turns into rutting and the dog tracks mud in all spring.
There are two fixes and the yard decides which one. If there is a low point that can be reached, the ground is regraded into a shallow swale that carries water to it. If there is nowhere to send water on the surface, a French drain takes it below ground to a catch basin or an outlet at the alley or the street edge.
Downspouts that empty against the house
A lot of older houses here still dump their gutters out onto a splash block a foot from the foundation. On flat clay, that water has nowhere to go but down the wall and into the crawl space. A musty crawl space or a damp basement corner is often a gutter problem, not a foundation problem.
He buries the downspout lines in solid pipe and runs them out to a pop-up emitter or a drain outlet well away from the house. It is a small trench and a short day in most yards. On Grade does not do basement waterproofing or gutter work, but the water arriving at the wall is the part that can be stopped outside.
Older lots, old pipes and what is under the grass
Terre Haute's older sewers were partly combined, with stormwater and wastewater in the same pipes, and old lots can have abandoned lines, cisterns and buried rubble nobody remembers. Anything that breaks ground gets located through Indiana 811 first, at least two full working days ahead. That is Indiana law and it is also plain sense on a lot that has been built on for a century.
The city says permits are required for work inside the city limits, so for a drain that ties into a storm sewer or crosses the sidewalk, the City of Terre Haute Engineering Department is asked before a date is set. Out on county ground, the Vigo County Surveyor is the office for anything that touches a regulated drain. The regulated drains guide explains what those are.
Machines on a narrow lot
Most of this work in town is done with the mini excavator and the skid steer, which fit through a side yard gate or down an alley. Trenches are dug, piped, stoned and closed the same day where the yard allows it, and the spoil is hauled off rather than spread over the grass.
If an old shed or a cracked patio is in the way of the drain line, it can come out on the same trip. Concrete removal in Terre Haute covers that side of it, and an old shed is the same trip. Where a gravel drive is part of the problem, holding water or washing into the yard, see gravel driveways in Terre Haute.
Getting a price on it
Estimates are free. Travis walks the yard, preferably after a rain so the water shows him where it goes, and gives you one figure with the digging, the pipe, the stone, the hauling and the finish grading in it. The yard grading and drainage guide explains what moves the number.
Terre Haute is about forty minutes from Greencastle down US 40, and On Grade does the rest of its work here too. The Terre Haute page lists it, and the method behind all of it is on the drainage contractor 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
Tell Travis where the water sits and when. A photo after a rain helps. He comes out, looks at the fall and gives you one number.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Regrading and swales. Flat yards given a fall so water leaves on the surface.
- French drains. Perforated pipe in stone, below ground, where there is no surface outlet.
- Buried downspouts. Gutter lines carried in solid pipe away from the foundation.
- Catch basins and outlets. Low spots drained to a basin, an emitter or the street edge.
Terre Haute, IN
The biggest city west of Greencastle, 40 minutes down US-40 on the Wabash, with thousands of older lots carrying garages, slabs and sheds past their time.
Town pageAlso in Terre HauteDemolition & Removal in Terre Haute, IN
See the pageAlso in Terre HauteConcrete Removal in Terre Haute, IN
See the pageAlso in Terre HauteGravel Driveways in Terre Haute, 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 pageTerre Haute and the towns nearby
Terre Haute is as far west as the regular run goes, forty minutes from Greencastle on US 40. The same drainage work is done back up the road in Greencastle and across Hendricks County in Danville and Plainfield. Brazil, West Terre Haute, Seelyville and the Vigo County roads out toward Riley and Prairieton are on the same trip, and the service area page lists everywhere else.
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 my Terre Haute back yard stay wet so long after rain?
Most of the city is flat, low ground between the river and the bluffs on the east side, and the soil is a clay that soaks up very little. If the yard has lost its fall over the years, rain has nowhere to go. A swale or a French drain gives it somewhere.
Can you fix water getting into my crawl space?
Often, from the outside. Downspouts that empty at the foundation and ground that slopes toward the house are the usual causes. Travis buries the downspout lines and regrades the ground to fall away from the wall. Waterproofing the inside of a basement or crawl space is a different trade.
Do I need a permit for drainage work in Terre Haute?
The city says permits are required for work inside the city limits. A drain that stays inside your yard is one thing; one that ties into a storm sewer or crosses a sidewalk is another. Travis checks with the City Engineering Department before the date is fixed, and Indiana 811 locates buried lines first.
Can you get a machine into a narrow city lot?
Usually. The mini excavator and the skid steer fit through most side yards and down alleys. If a fence panel has to come off, it goes back on. Trenches are closed and the ground graded before the crew leaves.
Where does the water go once it is in a pipe?
To the lowest point that can take it: a pop-up emitter in the yard, a catch basin, the alley or the street edge, or an existing storm drain if the city allows the connection. Travis finds the outlet before anything is dug, because a drain with no outlet is just a long puddle.
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.
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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 Terre Haute.
Call or text Travis. Free estimates, straight answers.
Greencastle, Indiana · Putnam, Hendricks, Boone and Marion counties
Need yard drainage in Terre Haute?
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