French Drain Installation in Rochester, NY

Rochester’s clay soil drains poorly, which means surface and subsurface water sits against foundations for days after rain. A properly installed French drain is often the missing piece.

How a French Drain Works

Simple and brilliant: a perforated pipe buried in a gravel-filled trench, wrapped in filter fabric. Groundwater flows into the pipe through the perforations, and gravity carries it to a discharge point — a storm drain, dry well, or daylight downhill. No moving parts, nothing to break, lasts decades.

Signs You Need a French Drain

• Standing water in your yard hours or days after rain
• Water pooling against your foundation
• A soggy, spongy lawn that never quite dries
• Mulch or soil washing away near the house
• Basement seepage that interior systems alone haven’t fully solved
• Downspouts dumping water right at the foundation (we’ll extend those too)

Interior vs. Exterior French Drains

The term gets used for both. An interior French drain runs inside your basement (see our interior waterproofing page) — it manages water that’s already entered. An exterior French drain runs around your yard — it keeps water from ever reaching the house. Many Rochester homes benefit from both: exterior drainage reduces the load, interior drainage handles the rest.

What Proper Installation Looks Like

This is where cheap jobs fail. A real French drain needs:

• Correct slope (minimum 1% grade — water doesn’t flow uphill)
• Washed gravel, not crushed limestone dust that clogs
• Filter fabric wrapping to keep silt out of the pipe
• A real discharge point — not just ending the pipe in your neighbor’s direction
• Downspout tie-ins so roof water joins the system instead of pooling at the foundation

We do all of this. Ask any contractor bidding your job how they handle each point — their answer tells you everything.

FAQs