Yard & Foundation Drainage Solutions in RI & MA
French drains, grading and drain systems that move water away before it damages your home.
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Drainage Solutions
Water is the root cause behind most of the damage a New England property suffers: it pools in the yard, erodes slopes, seeps into basements, and freezes under patios and walls to heave them apart. In Rhode Island and Massachusetts, where snowmelt and hard rains saturate the ground and clay soils hold water, drainage is not an add-on, it is the foundation of everything else lasting. Levi Construction designs and installs drainage that moves water where it belongs: French drains, catch basins, downspout lines, dry wells and regrading that carries runoff away from the house and off your usable space. Airton, the owner, reads the grade and the water path himself, because the fix is only as good as the diagnosis. As a masonry and hardscape contractor, we also build the drainage into our walls, patios and driveways from the start. With 6 years of solving water problems across RI and MA, we stop the water before it costs you the structure.
Drainage work is the collection and controlled removal of surface and subsurface water. A French drain is a perforated pipe in a gravel-filled, fabric-wrapped trench that intercepts water in the soil and carries it to a safe outlet. Catch basins collect surface water from low spots, downspout extensions and drain lines move roof water away from the foundation, and dry wells give collected water a place to disperse underground. Grading, reshaping the surface so water flows away from the house and off the yard, is often the first and most effective fix. The right solution depends on where the water comes from and where it can safely go.
Signs You Need Drainage Solutions
- Water pools in the yard and stays for hours or days after rain
- Your basement or crawlspace is damp, wet or floods
- A slope is eroding or washing soil down toward the house or driveway
- Downspouts dump water right at the foundation
- Patios, walls or walkways are heaving where water collects and freezes
- Standing water is killing grass or creating a mosquito and mud problem
Materials & Options
- French drains (perforated pipe, gravel and filter fabric)
- Catch basins and surface drains
- Downspout extensions and drain lines
- Dry wells for underground dispersal
- Regrading and swales to redirect surface flow
- Channel drains for patios and driveways
How We Do It
- 01
Diagnose the water
We walk the property in the context of where water comes from and where it settles, read the grade, and give a free estimate with the drainage system that fits the problem.
- 02
Plan the outlet
We identify a safe place for the water to go, a low point, dry well or daylight outlet, since a drain that has nowhere to send water just moves the problem.
- 03
Excavate and install
We trench and install the French drain, catch basins or lines, wrap the pipe and gravel in filter fabric so the system does not clog with silt, and set the pitch to flow.
- 04
Regrade the surface
Where surface water is the issue, we reshape the grade and cut swales so runoff sheds away from the foundation and off your usable yard.
- 05
Backfill, restore and test
We backfill, restore the surface, and confirm the system carries water to the outlet as designed.
Why Homeowners Choose Levi Construction
We fix the cause, not the symptom
We trace where the water actually comes from and where it can safely go, so the drain solves the problem instead of relocating it a few feet away.
Protects the whole property
Moving water away from the foundation, slopes and hardscape stops the wet basements, erosion and frost heave that water quietly causes over time.
Built into the hardscape
As a masonry contractor we design drainage into our walls, patios and driveways, so the water management and the stonework are handled by one crew.
Drainage Solutions: Common Questions
A French drain is a perforated pipe laid in a gravel-filled, fabric-wrapped trench that collects water in the soil and carries it away to a safe outlet. You need one when water is saturating the ground and causing a wet basement, a soggy yard, or heaving hardscape. It works below the surface, so it handles the water you cannot fix by grading alone.
Often it is a combination of grade and soil. Clay-heavy New England soil drains slowly, and if the yard is flat or pitched toward the house, snowmelt and heavy rain have nowhere to go. The fix usually pairs regrading to move surface water with a French drain or dry well to handle what soaks in. We diagnose which on site.
Exterior drainage often addresses the source. Much basement water comes from surface and roof water collecting against the foundation. Extending downspouts, regrading away from the house, and installing a French drain to intercept groundwater frequently reduces or stops the intrusion. We assess your specific situation, since severe cases can need more than exterior work.
Cost typically ranges with the length of drain, the amount of excavation and regrading, and the type of system, since a simple downspout line costs far less than a long French drain with a dry well. Because every water problem is different, we give a free on-site estimate after diagnosing the actual source.
We keep disruption to what the fix requires. Trenching for a French drain or line is targeted, and we restore the surface afterward. Regrading reshapes the affected area rather than the whole property. We explain exactly what will be disturbed and restored during the estimate so there are no surprises.
Get Your Free Drainage Solutions Estimate
Serving Rhode Island and Eastern Massachusetts. The owner is on every job.