Retaining Wall
Raised Stone Retaining Wall and Shade Garden
What we built
A raised stone wall creates a level planting terrace beneath the mature trees and gives the garden a defined lower edge.
Water Management
DRAINAGE & GRADING IN ROCHESTER, NY
Rochester's clay soils, flat lots, and freeze-thaw cycles put water where you don't want it. Drainage is the least glamorous work we do and the most likely to protect everything else on your property.
Water Management
MOVE THE WATER FIRST
Standing water every spring, a soggy strip along the foundation, mulch washing across the walk, or a corner of lawn that never recovers all point to grade or drainage problems. New plants and fresh mulch will not fix them.
Rochester makes this worse than most places: heavy clay subsoil that drains slowly, plenty of flat lots, and a freeze-thaw cycle that keeps rearranging the surface. Water that has nowhere to go finds your foundation.
Drainage is the least glamorous work we do and the most likely to protect everything else on the property. It belongs ahead of the patio, wall, or planting bed, not underneath it as an afterthought.
Get a Free EstimateWhat We Install
DRAINAGE & GRADING SOLUTIONS
Matched to the actual problem, not sold as a package.
FRENCH & CURTAIN DRAINS
A perforated pipe in a stone-filled trench wrapped in filter fabric, intercepting subsurface water and carrying it somewhere useful. The most common fix for a chronically wet lawn area or a wet foundation wall.
- Perforated pipe & clean stone
- Filter fabric wrap
- Outlet to daylight or dry well
CATCH BASINS & YARD INLETS
Where surface water collects in a low spot faster than it can soak in, a catch basin and solid pipe run gets it off the lawn. Often paired with grading that intentionally directs water toward the inlet.
- Grated basins at low points
- Solid pipe conveyance
- Silt trap & cleanout access
DOWNSPOUT & SUMP TIE-INS
Downspouts dumping at the foundation are a common cause of wet basements and soggy beds. Piping them and a sump discharge underground to a proper outlet is often the least expensive drainage improvement that makes a real difference.
- Underground downspout piping
- Sump discharge routing
- Pop-up emitters or daylight outlets
DRY CREEK BEDS & SWALES
When water has to cross a property, a shaped swale or a stone-lined dry creek bed carries it on a designed path instead of an accidental one. Done well, it reads as a landscape feature rather than as a drainage fix.
- Shaped and stabilized swales
- Stone-lined creek beds
- Planted edges for stability
REGRADING & FOUNDATION PROTECTION
Positive slope away from the house for the first several feet is the baseline every property should have and many older Rochester lots have lost to settling. Regrading restores it, and often solves problems that looked like they needed a drain.
- Positive slope restoration
- Settled area correction
- Topsoil & seed restoration
DRAINAGE WITHIN HARDSCAPE
Patios, walls, and driveways all change how water moves. Pitch, permeable base options, wall drainage, and where the runoff is directed are designed into every hardscape project we build.
- Designed patio pitch
- Permeable paver systems
- Wall drainage & outlets
How It Works
DIAGNOSE, THEN DIG
Installing the wrong drain in the wrong place is expensive and changes nothing.
1
SEE THE PROBLEM
We walk the site, ideally after rain, and look at where water comes from, where it collects, and where it could legally and practically go.
2
DIAGNOSE
Surface runoff, subsurface flow, roof water, and a failed grade all look similar in a photo and need different fixes. We tell you which one you have.
3
PROPOSAL
You get the specific fix, its outlet path, and an itemized price in writing, including honest limits where the site cannot fully drain.
4
INSTALL & RESTORE
Trenching, pipe, stone, and fabric go in, then the lawn and beds are restored so the yard does not look excavated when we leave.
Real Projects
WORK WE HAVE ACTUALLY BUILT
Patio & Outdoor Living
Multi-Level Paver Patio with Seat Wall
The design challenge
The grade changed continuously behind the house, so the design needed usable flat areas without one visually dominant wall.
What we built
Two paver terraces follow the slope at separate elevations, connected by broad steps and framed by a stone seat wall on the upper level.
Financing available: spread your project cost over time with convenient payment options. Learn more
Common Questions
FREQUENTLY ASKED
How much does yard drainage cost in Rochester?
A focused correction, like tying in a downspout or regrading one low spot, is a much smaller job than a full-property solution with multiple basins, long pipe runs, and regrading. Run length, depth, obstructions, and especially a usable outlet drive the number. We find the cause on site first, then price the fix.
Why does water pool in the same spot every spring?
Usually a low point with clay beneath it: the surface collects water faster than the subsoil can take it. Sometimes it is a grade that has settled over years and now pitches back toward the house. Which one you have changes the fix entirely, which is why we want to look at the site rather than diagnose from a photo.
Will a French drain fix my wet basement?
It can help when water is arriving from the yard. In many Rochester homes, the culprit is a downspout discharging at the foundation, which is a much cheaper fix. Outdoor drainage cannot repair a failed foundation wall, bad interior drain tile, or high water table. We will say when the problem is outside our scope rather than sell you a trench that will not solve it.
Where does the water actually go?
To daylight at a lower point, a dry well sized for the volume, or a legal storm connection where one exists and the municipality permits it. Every design needs a real outlet. A drain that ends nowhere simply moves the puddle. If the site lacks a good outlet, we say so up front.
Can drainage be done at the same time as my patio?
It should be. Excavation is already happening, the equipment is already on site, and the patio pitch and base can be designed to work with the drainage rather than against it. Retrofitting drainage under a finished patio means taking the patio up.
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RELATED SERVICES
STOP FIGHTING THE WATER
We'll walk the property and identify the likely cause, including when the right answer is not a drain. Free estimate.