A French drain uses perforated pipe bedded in washed gravel and wrapped in filter fabric. It is the right fix when the problem is water in the ground, not just on it: soggy strips along fence lines, side yards that never dry, moisture creeping toward the slab. In Kingwood and Atascocita, where mature pine and oak canopy shades clay soil, saturated ground can linger a full week after the rain stops.
What an install involves here
- Trenching the wet line, typically 18–24 inches deep, with the fall the discharge route needs
- Filter fabric, washed gravel, and rigid perforated pipe. In gumbo clay, corrugated pipe without fabric silts shut within a few seasons, a corner the good local crews refuse to cut
- Discharge planning to the curb, a pop-up emitter, or a sump pump where gravity will not cooperate. On flat lots near Lake Houston, the outfall may have only inches of fall to work with
- Working around root systems. Kingwood's tree canopy is the neighborhood's signature, and trenching through it without wrecking it is half the craft
What it costs
Typical Houston-area residential installs run $2,500–$10,000+, driven by linear footage, trench depth, discharge route, and obstacles like roots and concrete. Most single-problem installs finish in one to three days. The contractor's on-site estimate is free and gives you exact numbers before anything is dug.
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