Drainage & grading · Surrey, BC
Drainage & Grading in Surrey, BC
French drains, regrading, swales and downspout management that move water away from your foundation and off your lawn.
Why Surrey yards stay wet
It’s not your grass — it’s the grade
Surrey gets 1,500 mm+ of rain a year, and most lots sit on heavy clay that holds water instead of letting it drain. The result is a yard that stays wet long after the rain has stopped.
The signs are easy to spot — soggy lawns, water pooling at the foundation, moss where grass should be, and mosquitoes that never quite go away. None of it is your grass’s fault. Water is simply sitting because the ground is too flat or slopes the wrong way, and it has no path out.
The fix is rarely one drain. We re-grade the surface so water falls away from the house, then give it a clear route off the property — through French drains, swales and properly tied downspouts. The goal is simple: a dry, usable yard, even in a Surrey winter.
What we do
- French drains
- Regrading & levelling
- Swales & dry creek beds
- Downspout tie-ins
- Sump & perimeter drains
- Catch basins & channel drains
- Permeable base preparation
Built for local conditions
Drainage that handles a Surrey winter
Heavy clay soil
Surrey clay holds water and drains slowly, which is why shallow fixes fail. We design for the soil you actually have, with deeper drains and free-draining aggregate where it matters.
Coastal rainfall
With 1,500 mm+ of rain a year, your system has to move real volume. We size pipes and catch basins for peak winter storms, not a summer shower.
Frost & foundation protection
Water against a foundation through freeze–thaw cycles is what causes cracks and shifting. Moving it away from the house protects the structure, not just the lawn.
Property-line & neighbour drainage
Where water crosses a property line, the rules change. We plan discharge so your fix doesn’t become your neighbour’s problem.
Roof-leader bylaws
Many Surrey neighbourhoods restrict where downspouts and sump pumps can discharge. We tie leaders into the system legally and out of sight.
Slope & access
From flat Cloverdale lots to sloped South Surrey backyards, we plan excavation and grade around machine access and how water naturally wants to travel.
Pricing
What yard drainage costs in Surrey
The cost is set by how much water you’re moving and how deep we have to go — a single downspout is small, a full-yard regrade is larger.
There’s no honest per-square-foot price for drainage, because every lot behaves differently. We give a fixed, itemized quote after a free site visit, so you know exactly what’s included before anything gets dug.
These are the factors that move the number:
- Lot size & slope
- Drain depth & length
- Machine vs hand digging
- Existing landscaping to work around
- Soil removal & disposal
- Scope (one downspout vs full yard)
Our process
How we fix a wet yard
- 01
Assess & map the water
We walk the property in the wet, find where water enters and pools, and map the grade so we fix the cause, not the puddle.
- 02
Design the drainage plan
We design the slope and drainage route — where drains go, how deep, and where water safely exits the property.
- 03
Excavate & grade
We cut and re-grade the surface so it falls away from the house, then trench for drains at the right depth and fall.
- 04
Install drains & discharge
Perforated pipe, catch basins and downspout ties go in, connected to a legal, free-flowing discharge point.
- 05
Restore & finish
We backfill, compact, re-sod or seed, and walk you through how to keep the system clear and working.
Questions, answered
Drainage & grading FAQs
Client story
From waterlogged to water-managed
“They turned a sloped, waterlogged mess into a terraced backyard we use every single evening. The attention to detail bordered on the fanatical — in the best way.”
Related services
Works hand-in-hand with
Free estimate
Get a quote for your drainage project
Tell us where the water sits and what you want from the space. We’ll be in touch within one business day to arrange a free on-site estimate.