A MESSAGE FROM MISSOURI'S #1 COLUMBIA YARD DRAINAGE TEAM:
Columbia, MO homeowner,
We fix yards that hold water — French drains, surface drains, regrading and downspout runs that take water somewhere sensible. We work out where the water actually goes before we dig anything. We work across Columbia and the towns around it.
Water is sitting where it should not. Grass has died in the low spot, the yard stays soft for days after rain, or worse, it is finding its way toward the foundation. Standing water is a symptom — the fix depends on where it comes from and where there is somewhere lower for it to go. You want somebody who turns up, tells you straight what it needs, and does it properly the first time. The typical Columbia property dates to around 1993, so the housing stock here is comparatively modern. With roughly 78 freeze-thaw days a year, anything that traps water moves and cracks.
We come and look at what you actually have, and measure it, rather than pricing it off a photograph you sent.
It says what is included and what is not, which is the only way to hold two quotes side by side and read them honestly.
If this can wait a season, we will say so. If it is worse than you thought, you will hear that from us first.
You might know this as french drain installation. Same work, either name. Everything below is work we handle directly, not passed to a third party.
Walking the site to find where water enters, where it collects and where it could plausibly discharge. Roof area, driveway runoff and uphill neighboring ground all feed the total volume.
Ground should fall away from the foundation over the first several feet. Where it does not, regrading is often cheaper and more effective than any buried pipe.
Perforated pipe bedded in washed stone, wrapped in filter fabric, laid to a consistent fall. Consistent slope matters more than depth; a pipe with a belly holds water and silts up.
Catch basins at low spots, channel drains across driveways, and downspout connections tie surface water into the buried system rather than letting it find its own way.
Gravity daylight to a lower point is best. Where the ground does not fall enough, a sump and pumped discharge is the alternative and brings ongoing power and maintenance.
Backfill, topsoil and turf or planting over the trench line. Settlement along a new trench is normal and usually needs topping up after the first wet season.
A cross-section of the jobs we handle around Columbia — different sizes, different conditions, same standard.
We work Columbia and the towns around it every week. We also cover Ashland, Hallsville, Jamestown, Harrisburg, Rocheport, Huntsdale, Pierpont and McBaine. We know what the buildings here are like and how they age.
The crew on your job is licensed, insured, and on our books – we do not hand your work to a subcontractor and hope.
We do yard drainage specifically. It is not an add-on to a general contracting business. Establish where the water is coming from before designing anything. Roof, hard standing, uphill ground and groundwater are different problems with different solutions.
You get the number before the work starts, and it does not move unless something is found that changes the job – which we show you first.
Anything to do with yard drainage. To start with: water-path survey, grading correction, trench and pipe, collection points, discharge point, reinstatement. If you need something that is not on that list, call and ask – we can usually quote it or tell you honestly who should.
We cover Columbia, MO and the surrounding towns – Ashland, Hallsville, Jamestown, Harrisburg, Rocheport, Huntsdale, Pierpont, McBaine, Lupus, Wooldridge, Fulton, Boonville, Holts Summit, Centralia, Fayette, Kingdom City, St. Martins, New Bloomfield, New Franklin, Centertown, Windsor Place, Sturgeon, Auxvasse, Clark, and more. If you do not see your town listed, call anyway and we will tell you straight whether we can get to you.
Water-path survey – Walking the site to find where water enters, where it collects and where it could plausibly discharge. Roof area, driveway runoff and uphill neighboring ground all feed the total volume.; Grading correction – Ground should fall away from the foundation over the first several feet. Where it does not, regrading is often cheaper and more effective than any buried pipe.; Trench and pipe – Perforated pipe bedded in washed stone, wrapped in filter fabric, laid to a consistent fall. Consistent slope matters more than depth; a pipe with a belly holds water and silts up.. Which one is right depends on what we find when we look at it, and we will walk you through the trade-offs rather than picking for you.
Water-path survey is the one we are asked about most often in Columbia. Walking the site to find where water enters, where it collects and where it could plausibly discharge. Roof area, driveway runoff and uphill neighboring ground all feed the total volume.
Most jobs land between $10 and $100 per linear foot installed, depending on condition and scope. We come out, look at it, and give you a written estimate at no charge. We are not the cheapest outfit in Columbia and we will not pretend to be – but you will know exactly what you are paying for before anything starts.
Trench depth: The largest single lever. A shallow yard drain intercepting surface water is a different order of work from excavating to the footing, which may involve shoring and working alongside the foundation. That is usually the biggest single swing in a quote, which is why we look before we price.
Yes. We stand behind what we do and we put the terms in writing with the estimate, so the guarantee is not a handshake you have to remember later.
Call us at (573) 303-4938, or fill in the quote form on this page. We will get back to you, set a time that suits, and come look at the job.
Free estimate, in writing, from a Columbia team that does this every day.
Call us whenever suits. We handle every size of job, residential and commercial, across Columbia and the towns around it.
Your partner,
Columbia Yard Drainage