# Drainage guides > Plain answers about yard drainage on North Texas clay: costs, French drains, catch basins, downspouts, grading, permits, neighbors, insurance and floodplains. URL: https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/ Guides Plain answers to the questions people ask before they call anyone, grouped by the kind of work they lead to. These guides from [Rein Irving Drainage Company](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/) explain how drainage works on Irving and Dallas-area ground: what a fix involves, what it costs, which city rules apply and how to tell one problem from another. Each one answers its question in the first paragraph and links to the service it relates to. If you are starting from scratch, begin with the complete guide. **[How to fix yard drainage problems](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/how-to-fix-yard-drainage-problems/)**: Fix yard drainage on North Texas clay step by step: find the source, read the soil, pick an outlet the law allows, then choose grading, basins, drains or pumps. ## [French drain installation](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/french-drain-installation/) - [French drains in clay soil](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/do-french-drains-work-in-clay-soil/). French drains work in clay when fabric wraps the stone, the trench follows the clay line and an outlet exists. When they suit Irving soil, and when they fail. - [French drain cost in Irving](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/french-drain-cost-irving/). A standard French drain in the Irving and Dallas area runs about $25 to $55 per foot installed. What the price covers, what pushes it up, and sample budgets. - [Where a French drain drains](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/where-does-a-french-drain-drain/). A French drain must empty at a curb core, alley, swale, pop-up emitter or sump. How each outlet works, the local rules, and why a neighbor's yard is never one. ## [Yard drainage systems](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/yard-drainage/) - [Buying a house with drainage problems](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/buying-a-house-with-drainage-problems/). What a drainage note on a Texas inspection report means, what to look for at a showing, why a rain-day visit helps, and how a written scope helps you negotiate. - [Dry wells in clay](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/do-dry-wells-work-in-clay/). A dry well needs soil that absorbs water, and most Irving clay barely does. When a dry well might work, how to test, and better outlets for clay lots. - [Drainage cost in Irving](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/drainage-cost-irving/). Irving drainage costs by job: French drains, catch basins, buried downspouts, channel drains, regrading and sumps, plus city permit fees and estimate checks. - [Drainage permits in Irving and Dallas](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/drainage-permits-irving-dallas/). When yard drainage needs a permit in Irving, Dallas, Grand Prairie, Coppell, University Park, Southlake, Grapevine and Fort Worth, plus curb cores and 811. - [Floodplain or drainage problem](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/floodplain-or-drainage-problem/). Is the water in your yard rain collecting on the lot, or a creek rising? How to tell, how to check FEMA flood maps, and what a yard drain cannot do for you. - [What happens during drainage installation](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/what-happens-during-drainage-installation/). From site visit and 811 locate to trenching, water testing and restoring sod and sprinklers: what a yard drainage job looks like and how to prepare. ## [Catch basin installation](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/catch-basins/) - [Catch basin cost in Irving](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/catch-basin-cost-irving/). A yard catch basin with pipe to an outlet runs about $500 to $1,500 as a national budgeting range. What the price pays for in Irving and what pushes it up. - [Do catch basins need cleaning](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/do-catch-basins-need-cleaning/). Yes. Yard catch basins trap leaves and grit by design, so clear them after leaf drop and the first spring storm. How to clean one, warning signs, a checklist. - [French drain vs catch basin](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/french-drain-vs-catch-basin/). A catch basin collects water sitting on the surface; a French drain collects water moving through soil. How to tell which your yard has, and when it needs both. ## [Downspout drainage](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/downspout-drainage/) - [Downspout drainage cost in Irving](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/downspout-drainage-cost-irving/). Buried downspouts run about $150 to $350 each as a national budgeting range. What sets the price in Irving and why University Park's curb rule raises it. - [How much water comes off a roof](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/how-much-water-comes-off-a-roof/). About 620 gallons per inch of rain on 1,000 sq ft of roof. Worked tables for Irving design storms, roof sizes and flow per downspout, with the math shown. - [Downspouts and perforated pipe](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/should-downspouts-drain-into-perforated-pipe/). Downspouts belong in smooth solid pipe, not perforated pipe. Why perforated roof lines leak water beside the slab and clog in clay, and the narrow exceptions. ## [Channel drains](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/channel-drains/) - [Channel drain cost in Irving](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/channel-drain-cost-irving/). A driveway or patio channel drain runs about $700 to $2,500 as a national budgeting range. What drives the cost in Irving: length, grate, concrete and outlet. - [French drain vs trench drain](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/french-drain-vs-trench-drain/). A trench (channel) drain catches water sheeting across paving; a French drain catches water in soil. Why the names get mixed up, and which one your site needs. - [Street water flooding a driveway](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/street-water-flooding-driveway/). Why street water runs up a driveway, what to do during a storm, why the driveway approach is city right-of-way, and when a channel drain at the garage can help. ## [Yard grading and swales](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/yard-grading/) - [How much slope for yard drainage](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/how-much-slope-for-yard-drainage/). About 6 inches of fall in the first 10 feet from a house. Minimum slopes for lawns and paving, how to measure with a string line, and a conversion table. - [Neighbor water runoff in Texas](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/neighbor-water-runoff-texas/). Texas Water Code 11.086 in plain terms, how nearby cities handle lot-to-lot runoff, and practical steps when a neighbor's water floods your yard. - [Yard regrading cost in Irving](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/yard-regrading-cost-irving/). Why yard regrading in Irving has no single honest price, and the drivers that set it: area, cut and fill, imported soil, haul-off, access and restoration. ## [Foundation drainage](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/foundation-drainage/) - [Foundation moisture on clay soil](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/foundation-moisture-clay-soil/). Why expansive clay moves foundations in Irving and Dallas, how uneven moisture drives it, and what drainage can and cannot do about it. Read before you dig. - [Water under a pier and beam house](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/water-under-pier-and-beam-house/). Found water in the crawlspace? Rule out a plumbing leak, fix grade and downspouts, check vents, then decide whether a crawlspace drain and sump is needed. ## [Sump pump drainage](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/sump-pump-drainage/) - [Where to discharge a sump pump](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/where-to-discharge-a-sump-pump/). Sump pump discharge options for North Texas yards: curb core, alley, swale or pop-up emitter. What is off limits, freeze risk and why a check valve matters. ## [Drainage repair](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/drainage-repair/) - [How long a French drain lasts](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/how-long-does-a-french-drain-last/). A well-built French drain can last decades; sock pipe in clay can clog within a few years. What sets the lifespan, signs a drain is failing, and upkeep. ## [Standing water in the yard](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/standing-water-in-yard/) - [Insurance and yard flooding](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/guide/does-insurance-cover-yard-flooding/). Homeowners policies generally exclude flood and maintenance. What flood insurance covers, why landscaping is usually out, and how to read your own policy. ## Tools For a quick range for your own job, try the [drainage cost estimator](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/tools/drainage-cost-estimator/). To work out which kind of problem you have, the [yard drainage check](https://reinirvingdrainagecompany.com/tools/drainage-assessment/) asks a few questions about what you see after rain. ## Get an estimate Send a photo of where water stands and your address. ## Still not sure what your yard needs? Send a photo taken during or after rain.