Yard Drainage Cost in Columbia, MO

What yard drainage costs around Columbia

What the job involves	Columbia price range per linear foot installed
Shallow yard drain	$10 – $35
Curtain drain	$10 – $25
Deep exterior footing drain	$30 – $90
Interior basement perimeter drain	$40 – $100

Depth and location drive the band far more than length does. A shallow yard drain runs $10 to $35 per linear foot; a full-depth exterior footing drain $30 to $90; an interior basement system $40 to $100 and commonly $5,000 to $18,000 total. Rock, heavy clay, tree roots and hand-digging in a tight side yard all push toward the top of each range.

What moves the price up or down

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.

Machine access

A mini excavator that can reach the trench line changes the economics completely. A narrow side yard, a gate that will not take a machine, or work under mature trees means hand digging.

Soil and obstructions

Heavy clay, rock, high water table and established tree roots all slow excavation. Roots in particular force hand work and careful routing if the tree is to survive.

Discharge arrangement

A gravity outfall to daylight is cheapest. Where the site does not fall, a sump basin, pump, power supply and discharge line add both capital cost and an ongoing maintenance item.

Materials specified

Rigid perforated PVC costs more than corrugated flexible pipe and silts up far less. Washed stone volume and filter fabric quality are what determine whether the system still works in fifteen years.

Collection features

Each catch basin, channel drain, pop-up emitter or dry well is a separate item. A long simple run is cheaper per foot than a short run with several collection points.

What should be in an estimate

When one quote comes in far under the others, it is worth asking what has been left out. Usually it is the preparation — and that is the part that decides whether the work lasts or fails early.

Where exactly does this water come from, and where will it discharge?
What fall have you designed, and how will you verify it during installation?
Rigid or corrugated pipe, and why that choice for my soil?
Is the aggregate wrapped in filter fabric, and what happens when it eventually blinds?
Would regrading or downspout extensions solve part of this more cheaply?
If a sump and pump are proposed, what happens in a power cut during a storm?

Those are the questions we would ask if we were hiring someone, so ask them of us too. We will answer all of them in writing.