Drainage & Trenching
Drainage problems usually show up the same way: water in the basement, water pooling around the cottage, a driveway that washes out every spring, or a yard you can’t walk on after a rain.
The fix is rarely guesswork, it’s a matter of finding where the water is coming from and giving it somewhere better to go. We do both: the diagnosis and the work.
Drainage problems we solve
Wet basements and crawlspaces
Usually a foundation drainage or grading issue, sometimes both.
Septic-area saturation
The system is fine, but surrounding water is overloading it.
Flooded yards
surface water with nowhere to go, or a lot graded the wrong way.
Cottage shoreline drainage
Runoff from the lot reaching the lake the wrong way (a CA concern as well as yours).
Eroded or rutted driveways
Runoff isn’t being captured or redirected.
Culvert and ditch problems
Drainage
Considerations
01
French drains
A French drain is a trench filled with gravel and a perforated pipe, sloped to capture sub-surface water and move it where you want it. We size the system to the problem, a small yard catchment is different from a full perimeter foundation drain.
We typically install French drains for:
- Wet basement remediation (interior or exterior)
- Yard drainage on flat or low-spot lots
- Around outbuildings and cottages where surface drainage isn’t enough
02
Weeping tile
Weeping tile (foundation drainage) sits at the footing level of your foundation and carries away the water that would otherwise build up against the wall. It’s the most common cause of long-term wet basements when it fails or was never installed properly. Replacing or installing weeping tile is exterior work, we excavate to the footing, install the new tile and gravel, waterproof or dimple-board the foundation as appropriate, and backfill. It’s disruptive but it’s the right fix when it’s the right diagnosis.
03
Surface regrading & swales
Sometimes the fix is above ground: regrading the lot so water moves away from the building, cutting a swale to channel runoff to a proper outlet, or extending downspouts to release water further from the foundation.
These are often the cheapest and most effective drainage fixes, when they’re the right answer.
04
Catch basins & culverts
Catch basins capture surface water at low points and move it underground. Culverts pass water under driveways, lanes, and ditches without backing up the system. We install both as part of new builds or as a fix for existing drainage problems. For rural lots and cottage roads, undersized or failed culverts are a common culprit, and an easy fix once diagnosed.
05
How we diagnose your problem
Most drainage problems can be diagnosed by:
- Looking at the lot in dry conditions – slope, low points, building elevations relative to the lot.
- Looking at the lot in wet conditions– where water actually pools, where it runs, where it disappears.
- Looking inside the building – patterns of moisture, damage, water staining tell us what’s been happening underground.
- Looking at the surroundings – neighboring properties, road grade, watercourses, septic location.
We don’t sell you a system before we diagnose the problem.
Cost Factors
Excavation depth and length
Outlet
Where the water goes is sometimes the constraint.
Pipe sizing and materials
Depends on volume.
Surface restoration
Backfilling and re-sodding a yard adds time and material.
Access
Same logic as the rest of our work.
More Services
Excavation
Foundation digs, basements, pools, utility trenches, lot excavation.
Site Preparation
Land clearing, lot grading, stump removal, erosion control.
Demolition
House and cottage teardowns, concrete demolition, debris removal.
Septic Installation
Class 4 septic system installs and replacements, with permits handled.
Drainage
French drains, weeping tile, regrading, swales, culverts.
Trucking & Aggregate Delivery
Gravel, sand, topsoil, fill — by the load, on schedule.
Retaining Walls
Armour stone, segmental block, and shoreline-safe walls.
- Waubaushene
- Tay Township
- Port Severn
- Midland
- Orillia
- Port Carling
- Parry Sound
- Tiny
- Springwater
- Elmvale
- Oro-Medonte
- Gravenhurst
- Rosseau
- Collingwood
- Bracebridge
- Huntsville
- Dwight
- Baysville
- Bala
- MacTier
Get a drainage quote
Send us a photo. Drainage problems are visual. A few photos of where the water is showing up tells us a lot before we visit.