French Drain Installation in Austin, TX
Standing water in the yard? Soggy ground that never dries and water pooling against your foundation? We design and install French drains that pull that water off your Blackland clay and protect your slab. Veteran-owned, 5.0-star rated, with over 20 years across the greater Austin area.
Water that will not drain is one of the most common yard problems in Austin, and the soil is the reason. Much of east and central Austin sits on Blackland clay, which is 60 to 80 percent clay and very slow to let water soak in. So rain stays on the surface, the lawn turns soggy, and water pools against the foundation. That is more than a nuisance: the clay swells when wet and shrinks when dry, and that movement cracks slabs. A French drain solves the standing water at its source. It is a sloped, gravel-filled trench with a perforated pipe that collects water and carries it to a safe outlet away from the house. Thrive Landscape and Design is a veteran-owned, design-build landscaper with over 20 years installing yard drainage solutions across Travis, Williamson, and Hays counties, and we hold a 5.0 Google rating from 70+ reviews. We size every drain for Central Texas flash-flood downpours and pair it with grading and downspout drains so the whole yard sheds water. Most French drains run roughly $30 to $70 per linear foot, and every estimate is itemized and free. Our drainage approach follows the Travis County extension guidance on Austin-area soils and the City of Austin Development Services standards.
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- 500+ Projects Completed
- 20+ Years Experience
- 5.0 Google Rating
Explore Our Full Drainage Lineup
Yard Grading
Reshaping the ground so water flows away from the house and stops pooling in low spots.
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Erosion Control
Swales, rock, and plantings that slow Hill Country runoff and keep soil from washing away.
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Retaining Walls
Walls that hold a slope, terrace a steep yard, and drain the right way behind the stone.
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All Drainage Services
See the full range of French drains, grading, erosion control, and downspout drainage we install in Austin.
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Our Process
Free On-Site Drainage Assessment
We walk the wet area with you and find the real source. We check where water enters, where it pools, and where it can safely go. We look at the grade, the downspouts, the soil, and the low spots. You get honest options, often a mix of a French drain and grading, and a clear, itemized written estimate with no pressure to decide on the spot.
Drain Design & Outlet Plan
We map the run, set the pipe size for your runoff, and plan the slope so water keeps moving. The drain needs a steady fall of at least about one inch for every eight to ten feet to the outlet. We decide where the water daylights or feeds a pop-up emitter, away from the house and the neighbor's lot, and we tie in downspouts and catch basins where they help.
Trench, Fabric & Gravel Bed
We dig the trench to grade, usually about 18 to 24 inches deep, and drill through caliche and limestone where we hit it. We line the trench with non-woven geotextile filter fabric so the clay cannot clog the drain, then lay a bed of clean angular gravel for the pipe to sit on. The fabric is what lets a French drain last for decades instead of silting up in a few seasons.
Perforated Pipe & Backfill
We set a perforated pipe in the gravel, holes down, on the slope we planned, then surround and cover it with more clean gravel. We wrap the fabric over the top so soil stays out, then backfill and connect the outlet, daylight or a pop-up emitter. For surface water at a patio or driveway we add a channel drain, and we tie roof downspouts into the underground line.
Restore, Test & Walk-Through
We restore the surface with sod, mulch, or rock so the drain blends in, then we run water through the line and watch it flow clean out the outlet. We walk the finished job with you, show you where the outlets are, and explain the quick yearly check that keeps it flowing. You end with a clean site and a yard that drains instead of pooling.
Expert French Drain Installation
Travis, Luis and the crew did an amazing job on our front yard landscaping. Travis had a vision that we could've never come up with on our own. They were communicative, hard working and had incredible attention to detail. We were really impressed with our experience and will… Read more
We’ve been very impressed with Travis and his team at Thrive Landscaping. From the initial design consultation through revisions and installation, the entire process was smooth, thorough, and high quality. We needed an HOA-compliant design that improved drainage and reduced… Read more
Travis was very responsive on the pricing . Luis and the crew did an amazing job and fixed a lot of problems that the prior firm had created. Very pleasant group and seem to want to please clients.
Great people providing outstanding service. Our yard has never looked better. And best of all, they stand behind their work. If something needs attention after the job is finished, they’re right on it.
After interviewing several companies, we chose Thrive Landscape to create some hardscaping for our back yard. They installed stone paving for our patio and pool area, a gravel area for our fire ring, and a raised gravel pad for a greenhouse. Everything looks great! We had a good… Read more
Thrive replaced some dying plants in a white rock bed and left it clean and beautiful. You would never know they had been in the rock bed at all - no dirt, no disruption - they left it better than they found it!
Our neighbor a few houses down had Thrive do his property and we liked how it looked, so we decided to contact them to see what it would cost to do our house. Wanted to get rid of the sand burrs and decided to do stone, rock and mulch for the whole yard in front of the house. I… Read more
We have used Thrive landscape for several projects over the past two years. They have delivered outstanding service, careful attention to detail, and impeccable service and care after the project was complete. Travis Odom is outstanding, and his vision helped us transform our… Read more
We were very pleased with Thrive from the initial bid to the completion of the project. We had our front yard and backyard landscaped. Communication was excellent and when a couple issues occurred they were quickly resolved. The onsite crew was great to work with and were… Read more
Excellent service and advice. Knowledgeable, on time, communicative owner, and crew. This is the place you want to call for your landscaping needs! We are extremely satisfied with the outcome and will use the service again. Thank you Travis and crew.
I was really pleased with Thrive. Travis arrived exactly on time for the quote, had a great design, and was able to start quickly once the plans were approved by my HOA. The crew was polite and worked quickly. They left the whole worksite very neat, and my front yard now looks… Read more
Had grass that was dead, Travis and his team transformed my backyard in a few days!
I am a repeat customer of Travis's. He recently transformed my front yard. The design was perfect for what we wanted to accomplish and the crew did high quality work which included clean-up. I will keep coming back to him in the future.
Thrive is a very professional and excellent business - they did a wonderful job on my project and I couldn't be more pleased with the end results. Will definitely use them again!
I had an outstanding experience with Thrive. Quality, honesty, value and customer service were phenomenal! Exceeded my expectations!
Swapped out black stone that were killing my plants with mulch. Added a bunch of plants and sod. Also got my irrigation and stone walkway complete. I say it is all looking great.
I don't know where to begin. Travis and his team provided an amazing landscape design, strategy, and results on our backyard for my 50th birthday celebration. Travis was patient and very detailed with his quote and made sure he covered every detail with me. Once we decided to… Read more
I’ve done two projects with these guys to include a landscaping project where I added sod, metal planters, and plants. The second was a fence repair and both turned out great. They were fairly priced, scheduled quickly, executed on time, and worked through my lunch list at the… Read more
We chose Thrive Landscaping after a friend of ours used them for their own backyard and we could not be happier with our decision. Travis and team were incredibly professional, thorough and communicative the entire time. They added new grass, flowers, gravel and lights to our… Read more
Travis with Thrive Landscape & Design did an amazing job redesigning our backyard! They were hard-working, timely, responsive and appreciated their craftsmanship they put into the project. The space looks better than we imagined — highly recommend!
Wow! Travis and his team did an amazing job refreshing our back yard! They were professional, prompt, respectful and above all had an eye for detail! It was an absolute pleasure working with them to create our dream back yard! I highly recommend Thrive Landscape and DESIGN… Read more
Our project was the tear-out, re-design and rebuild of a fairly substantial deck. Great experience with Travis Odom and Thrive Landscape. Travis is congenial, professional and great to work with. The guys on site did excellent work. We’re very happy with the finished product and… Read more
Mr Travis Odom made an excellent, unique, and original cedar fence design that we ended up using.
Great design and construction for my landscaping project. Travis and his crew were very attentive and detailed. They also took on board our feedback and we’re very willing to evolve their designs.
Travis did a great job fixing the drainage along the side of my house! Was very responsive, timely, and reasonably priced. Would reach out to again for any future landscaping needs.
Travis was very responsive and did an excellent job designing our difficult yard. We LOVE the end result and can’t wait to do phase two. Can’t say enough how happy we are with the design!
French, Area, Channel & Downspout Drains
Plus Grading That Sheds Water On Clay
Standing water rarely has one cause, so we rarely use one tool. Here is how the main drainage solutions we build compare for an Austin yard. We often combine two or three on a single lot, all sized for our flash-flood downpours.
Request A QuoteA French drain is a buried, gravel-filled trench with a perforated pipe that collects groundwater and soggy-lawn water along its whole length. An area drain is a basin with a grate set in a low spot to catch a pool of standing water. Both carry water to a clean outlet away from your foundation.
A channel drain is a long surface grate set in concrete, ideal for catching sheet water at a patio, driveway, or pool deck. Downspout drains tie your roof gutters into an underground pipe so storm water leaves the foundation zone instead of dumping next to the slab.
Sometimes the fix is the shape of the ground, not a pipe. Regrading sets a positive slope away from the house, and a swale is a shallow, planted low spot that carries surface runoff across a long Hill Country slope. We pair grading with a French drain when the clay holds more water than slope alone can move.
Why Choose Thrive Landscape and Design?
We Find The Real Source
A drain in the wrong place wastes your money. We trace where the water comes from before we dig, then fix the cause with the right mix of a French drain, grading, and downspout drains.
Built For Blackland Clay
Austin's clay holds water and barely lets it soak in, so a drain has to do the work the soil will not. We wrap every drain in filter fabric so the clay cannot clog it and it keeps flowing for decades.
Sized For Flash-Flood Rain
Central Texas sits in Flash Flood Alley, where two to four inches can fall in an hour. We size the pipe and slope for those peak downpours, not just a gentle rain, so the system keeps up.
Veteran-Owned, 20+ Years
We are a veteran-owned, design-build landscaper with over 20 years in Central Texas and a 5.0 Google rating from 70+ reviews. You work with the team that designs and builds your drainage.
Austin’s Go-To Drainage Contractor
We design and install French drains and full yard drainage solutions across Austin and the surrounding area, from clay-heavy lots in town to Hill Country slopes, with full attention to local soil, runoff, and where the water has to go.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sometimes regrading the yard solves the problem on its own, and it is usually the cheaper fix. Grading works when the ground simply slopes the wrong way toward the house. A French drain is the better tool when water collects in a low spot, sits against a foundation, or seeps from a slope and the grade cannot carry it away. On Blackland clay, water moves very slowly through the soil, so a drain often does the heavy lifting that grading alone cannot. We look at both during a free site visit and recommend only what your yard needs.
The clearest signs are standing water in the yard a day or more after rain, a soggy spot that never dries, water pooling against the foundation, and mushy lawn that ruts under foot traffic. You may also see mosquitoes in the wet area, soil washing out of beds, a damp crawl space, or water running across a patio. If you see two or more, especially on a low spot or at the base of a slope, a French drain is usually the answer. We confirm the source on site before we dig.
Most residential French drains in Austin run roughly $30 to $70 per linear foot installed, with the typical yard project landing in the low thousands. The big cost drivers are the length of the run, how deep we dig, how much rock we hit in caliche or limestone, the pipe size for your runoff, and where the water has to discharge. Tying in downspouts, adding catch basins, or pairing the drain with regrading adds to the total. Every estimate is itemized and free.
Blackland clay is 60 to 80 percent clay and water moves through it very slowly, so rain sits on top instead of soaking in. That is why yards on the central Austin clay belt stay soggy for days. A French drain gives that trapped water a fast path out. We dig a sloped trench, line it with geotextile fabric, set a perforated pipe in clean gravel, and carry the water to a daylight outlet or pop-up emitter away from the house. The drain works with the clay instead of fighting it.
Most yard French drains run about 18 to 24 inches deep, which sets the perforated pipe below the standing water with room for gravel under and over it. The exact depth depends on where the water sits, where it discharges, and how much rock we dig through. What matters more than a single number is the slope: the pipe needs a steady fall of at least about one inch for every eight to ten feet so water keeps moving to the outlet. We set depth and slope to your yard during design.
A French drain built the right way lasts for decades, often 30 years or more. The thing that shortens a drain's life is silt clogging the gravel and pipe, which is exactly what the geotextile filter fabric prevents. We wrap the gravel in non-woven fabric, use the correct pipe, and add a clean outlet so the system can flush itself. A quick yearly check of the outlet and a flush after big storms keep it flowing. Drains that fail early almost always skipped the fabric or the slope.
A French drain is buried and best for groundwater, soggy lawn, and water seeping from a slope, since it collects along its whole length. A swale is a shallow, planted low spot that carries surface runoff and works well on long Hill Country slopes. A channel drain is a surface grate set in concrete, ideal for a patio, driveway, or pool deck. Many Austin yards use a mix of all three. We pick the right one, or the right combination, for your lot.
Yes, when it is part of a full drainage plan. On Blackland clay the soil swells when wet and shrinks when dry, and that constant movement is a leading cause of foundation cracks and slab heave in Central Texas. A French drain pulls water away from the soil right next to your slab so the moisture stays more even. We pair the drain with proper grading and downspout extensions so roof and surface water also leave the foundation zone. Keeping that water moving is one of the best ways to protect a slab on clay.
