FAQs
Drainage Questions & Answers
The questions we are asked most, answered from what we actually find on properties in Chester County, Delaware County and the Main Line.
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2 questions
Cost & Estimates
How much does a French drain cost?
Residential French drain installation in southeastern Pennsylvania commonly falls in the $2,000 to $8,000 range. Where a project sits within that range depends on the length and depth of the run, what the ground turns out to be, what the outfall requires and how much lawn or hardscape restoration is involved.
Do you offer free estimates?
Yes. JHL Drainage Solutions provides a free written estimate after an on-site assessment. We do not quote drainage work by the linear foot over the phone, because the variables that drive cost — depth, ground conditions, what the outfall requires and how much restoration is involved — are not visible from a description.
4 questions
Diagnosis
How do I know if I need a French drain?
A French drain is the right system when water is moving through the ground rather than across it. The tell is ground that stays soft or springy without a rain event to explain it, often on a slope rather than in a hollow, frequently with a distinct upper edge where the seepage begins.
Why does my yard hold water after it rains?
Standing water is a symptom with six common causes: ground falling toward the house, roof water released at the foundation, a low area with no outfall, subsurface water surfacing on a slope, runoff arriving from an upslope property, or compacted soil that will not accept water. They look alike and need different corrections.
What is the difference between a French drain and a yard drain?
A yard drainage system collects surface water at the points where it accumulates — catch basins and area drains — and carries it away in solid pipe. A French drain intercepts water already moving through the ground, using perforated pipe in a washed-stone envelope. Different conditions, different systems.
What if the water is coming from a neighbouring property?
It is common on sloped ground in these townships, and it changes what has to be built — a system sized for your roof and lawn will not handle your lot plus a share of the one above it. Establishing the true contributing area is part of sizing the system, and it is the step most often skipped.
1 questions
Services
What is yard regrading?
Regrading reshapes the slope of the ground so surface water runs away from the house instead of toward it. Where the ground within the first several feet of a structure falls back toward it, regrading re-establishes that fall — and it is frequently the cheapest permanent drainage correction available.
2 questions
Basements
Will a French drain fix my wet basement?
Sometimes, but it is rarely the first thing to try. Exterior drainage improvements can significantly reduce basement water, particularly when combined with correcting the grade and moving roof discharge away from the foundation — and those two corrections resolve a large share of basement water problems in this region on their own.
Why does my sump pump run constantly?
Continuous cycling in dry weather usually means the discharge water is returning to the sump. If the discharge line releases close to the foundation, the pump is recirculating the same water — burying the line and running it to a proper outfall well away from the house frequently resolves it within a season.
2 questions
Roof Water
Where should my downspouts drain to?
To a point genuinely lower than the downspout and far enough from the house that water cannot track back through the foundation backfill. On the clay-rich soil common across Chester and Delaware County that is considerably further than most homeowners expect, which is why the underground carrier line is usually the larger part of the work.
Can downspouts be connected to the footing drain?
No. A footing drain exists to relieve groundwater pressure at the foundation. Feeding roof volume into it works against that purpose and can push water toward the structure during exactly the storms when the footing drain is most needed. They should remain separate systems with separate outfalls.
1 questions
Permits & Rules
Do I need a permit for drainage work in Pennsylvania?
It depends on the scope and the municipality. Requirements are set at township and borough level rather than county-wide or statewide, and work that affects a stormwater system, a floodplain or a regulated earth-disturbance threshold is treated very differently from a contained residential run.
2 questions
Process
How long does drainage work take?
Most residential drainage projects are one to three days of on-site work, depending on run length, depth, site access and how much hardscape is involved. Lawn restoration follows, and in cold months seeding is staged for spring because seed will not establish in cold ground.
Can drainage work be done in winter?
Much of it can. Excavation is possible outside hard-frozen conditions, and winter is frequently when drainage problems are most visible. What winter affects is lawn restoration — seed will not establish in cold ground, so where a run crosses turf the restoration is usually staged for spring.
Find the cause before you pay for a fix.
On-site assessment. Free written estimate. No obligation.