French Drain Installation in Yard — Pipe, Stone, Fabric, Outlet
Part of the yard stays soggy for days after every rain, the mower sinks in, and the water has nowhere to go because the ground is flat or runs the wrong way.
JMB Builders does French drain installation in yards across the Twin Cities metro and north to St. Cloud. We dig a trench across the wet strip, line it with filter fabric, lay perforated pipe in clean stone with a steady fall, and carry the water to an outlet lower than the drain: a daylight end, a pop-up emitter or a dry well. Priced per linear foot, set after we see the yard.
- Priced per linear foot of drain
- Fabric, clean stone and perforated pipe
- Gopher State One Call (811) before digging
- Outlet checked before the trench is dug
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
A French drain is a trench with a perforated pipe in washed stone, wrapped in filter fabric, sloped to an outlet. Water in the soil around it finds the stone, drops into the pipe and runs out the low end. It is the fix for a wet strip in the middle of a lawn, along a fence line between two yards or at the foot of a hill that sheds water onto flat ground.
Most French drains that fail were built without an outlet that works. The pipe has to fall the whole way, and the end has to be lower than the wettest spot, or the trench just holds water underground. The second failure is silt: without fabric around the stone, fine soil washes in and plugs it in a few seasons. Clay soil makes both problems worse.
A soggy yard that never dries is almost always clay soil. Clay holds water near the surface and barely lets it soak down, so a lawn on clay stays wet for days after rain and for weeks in spring. Topdressing and aeration do not change what is under it. A French drain gives the water a path out: it collects from the wet clay into the stone and pipe and carries it to an outlet lower than the yard.
This page is the stand-alone yard drain. Drain tile along a basement wall is a foundation job, and water pooling right against the house is usually fixed with grading and downspout lines first. We install French drains across the Twin Cities metro and north through Zimmerman, Elk River and St. Cloud.
What you supply
- Photos of the wet area during or right after a rain, and of the lowest spot on the lot
- Where water is allowed to go: your own low ground, a ditch, or a street outlet if the city permits it
- Sprinkler lines, invisible fence and private buried lines pointed out; the locate does not mark those
- A gate or fence panel that can come out for a mini excavator, or a note that access is tight
What JMB supplies
- A walk of the yard with a level to find the fall and a workable outlet
- Gopher State One Call locate, and hand-digging near marked lines
- Trench dug with a mini excavator or trencher, or by hand where a machine cannot go
- Non-woven filter fabric, washed drainage stone and perforated pipe laid with a steady fall
- Solid pipe from the end of the drain to the outlet: daylight end, pop-up emitter or a dry well
- Trench backfilled, topped with stone or topsoil, and patched with sod or seed as quoted
- Extra soil spread on the lot or hauled off, and photos in your job folder
How it is priced: per linear foot
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Length of the drain and the solid run from its end to the outlet
- Depth of the trench and how much stone and fabric it takes
- Soil: sand trenches fast, heavy clay and buried rock slow it down
- Machine access vs. hand-digging in a tight side yard
- Outlet type: a daylight end on a slope, a pop-up emitter or a dry well dug at the low point
- Obstacles in the run: a walk, driveway, tree roots or a fence line
- Surface finish: stone left exposed, or topsoil and sod over the trench
Send photos of the wet area after a rain, the whole yard from a corner, and where you think the water could go. We confirm the fall and the outlet on site before the quote is final.
How long it takes
A typical backyard French drain with its outlet: one to two days. Longer runs, clay soil or a dry well at the end add a day.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Drain across a wet lawn
A trench through the soggy strip with pipe in stone, capped with topsoil and sod so the lawn looks the same and mows the same, just dry.
Drain along a property line
A drain on your side of the line to catch water coming off a higher neighbor's yard before it spreads across yours.
Curtain drain at the foot of a slope
A drain across the bottom of a hill that intercepts water running down through the soil before it reaches flat ground, a patio or the house.
Dry well outlet
Where there is no lower ground to daylight to, the pipe ends in a stone-filled pit or a plastic dry well chamber that lets water soak into the soil below. Works best in sandy ground.
French Drain Installation in Yard — Pipe, Stone, Fabric, Outlet: questions, answered
How much does a French drain cost per foot?
We do not publish prices, but a French drain is quoted per linear foot. Trench depth, soil, how much stone goes in, the length of the solid run to the outlet and machine access move the number. Photos of the wet area after a rain, and of the whole yard, let us give a quote once we confirm the fall on site.
How deep should a French drain be in a yard?
Deep enough to reach the wet soil and still fall steadily to the outlet the whole way. For a soggy lawn that is usually a trench a shovel or two deep; a curtain drain at the foot of a slope often goes deeper. The outlet elevation decides it as much as anything, so we check the fall before we set the depth.
Where does the water from a French drain go?
To an outlet lower than the drain: a daylight end on a slope, a pop-up emitter in the lawn, a ditch, or a dry well that lets it soak in. It has to stay on your lot or go where the city allows, never onto a neighbor's yard and never into the sanitary sewer. Finding the outlet is the first step, before any digging.
Does a French drain work in clay soil?
Yes, but slower, and it needs to be built right. Clay sheds water sideways instead of soaking it in, so the drain collects it well, but a dry well outlet will not drain in clay. We plan a daylight or pop-up outlet instead, and wrap the stone in fabric so the fine clay does not plug it.
Do I need fabric around a French drain?
Yes. Filter fabric keeps fine soil from washing into the stone and the pipe. Without it most French drains silt up within a few seasons and quit working. We line the trench with fabric, fill with washed stone around the pipe, and fold the fabric over the top before the soil goes back.
Should I get a French drain or regrade my yard?
If the ground can be shaped so water runs off on the surface, regrading is simpler and cheaper. A French drain is for places where the ground cannot fall: a flat lawn, a strip between two houses, or the bottom of a slope. We look at both and quote the one that fits the yard.
Why is my yard soggy and never dries in clay soil?
Clay holds water near the surface and drains down very slowly, so rain sits in the top few inches for days. A flat yard or one that tips toward a low spot makes it worse. A French drain wrapped in fabric gives that water a path out to a lower outlet, and regrading helps where the ground can be shaped to shed water on the surface.
Do you do French drain installation in St. Cloud MN?
Yes. We are based in Zimmerman and do French drain installation from the Twin Cities metro up through Elk River, Big Lake and St. Cloud. Send photos of the wet area after a rain and of the whole yard, and we set up a look at the fall and the outlet.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and for the builders and dealers we sub for. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 26, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All excavation pages
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Based in Zimmerman, scheduling across the Twin Cities metro. Closest first: