Drainage
Land drainage and french drains in Southport
For gardens that never dry out, waterlogged fields and paddocks, sports pitches, and water running towards the house. We find where the water is coming from, give it somewhere to go, and drain it away with perforated pipe in stone.
Signs your ground needs draining
- A lawn that stays soggy for days after rain, or grows moss and rushes
- Puddles that sit on the grass, patio or drive
- Water running down a slope towards the house
- Damp on the lower part of a wall where the ground is wet against it
The outlet is the whole job
A land drain only moves water. If it has nowhere to go, the pipe just fills up and the garden stays wet.
We sort out where the water will end up before we dig anything: a ditch, a soakaway, or a surface water drain. Never the foul drain.
Which kind of drainage?
French drains
One trench filled with clean stone, with a perforated pipe (a pipe full of small holes) in the bottom. Water soaks into the stone, into the pipe and away. Good along the foot of a slope, beside a path or patio, or along a wall.
Land drainage systems
A network of perforated pipes across a whole lawn, field, paddock or sports pitch, usually in a herringbone pattern, feeding into one main pipe. For ground that is wet all over, not just in one spot.
Surface water drainage
Channel drains across drives and patios, and gullies, to catch rain on hard surfaces before it reaches the house or the road.
How we lay land drains
- 1
Look at the ground
Where the water sits, where it comes from, the levels and what the soil is like.
- 2
Find the outlet
The water has to go somewhere: a ditch, a soakaway, or a surface water drain. This decides the whole design.
- 3
Dig the trenches
With a micro or mini digger for gardens, to a steady fall towards the outlet. The spoil goes on our grab lorries.
- 4
Lay pipe and stone
Perforated pipe on a stone bed, wrapped in clean stone, often with a membrane round it to stop silt clogging it.
- 5
Make good
Backfilled, the topsoil put back, and the lawn re-turfed or seeded.
Questions people ask
What is a french drain?
A trench filled with clean stone, usually with a perforated pipe in the bottom. Water drains into the stone and the pipe carries it away. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with France: it was named after Henry French, an American who wrote about it in the 1850s.
Where does the water go?
Into a ditch or watercourse if there is one, into a soakaway (a pit that lets water soak into the ground) if the ground below drains, or into a surface water drain. It must never go into a foul drain, the one that takes toilet waste to the sewer.
Why is my garden always wet?
Usually clay soil that does not let water through, ground squashed hard by machines during building work, or low lying land where the water table (the level of water in the ground) sits close to the surface. The answer depends on which it is, so we look before we quote.
Can a french drain go next to my house?
Yes, and it is a common fix for water running towards a wall. It needs to be set low enough and lead somewhere, and kept clear of the foundations. We check the depth of the foundations and any services first.
Do you drain fields, paddocks and sports pitches?
Yes. Bigger areas get a full system of land drains in a pattern across the ground, feeding a main pipe to a ditch or outlet, dug with our own machines. A paddock that turns to mud every winter or a pitch that keeps getting called off can usually be fixed this way.
Do I need permission?
Not usually for land drains in your own garden. Connecting into a public surface water sewer needs the water company's permission, and work near a main river can need a permit from the Environment Agency.
What affects the price?
The length of drain, how deep it needs to go, the outlet, access for the digger, and whether the lawn needs re-turfing. We give you a written quote after looking at the ground.
Also worth a look
Send us a photo of the wet ground
Phone lines open Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm, Saturday 8am to 1pm. WhatsApp a photo of the job any time.