Cost guide
One page with every range we publish, the two jobs that have no honest single range, the city fees that sit on top, and how to read an estimate.
Updated November 5, 2026
Most drainage work in Irving runs from a few hundred dollars for one buried downspout to several thousand for a long French drain to the curb. Catch basins run about $500 to $1,500 each as a national budgeting range, and French drains about $25 to $55 per foot, a typical Dallas-area range. Rein Irving Drainage Company sets out every range, driver and fee below.
| Work | How it is priced | Range | What moves it most |
|---|---|---|---|
| French drain | Per foot installed | About $25 to $55 per foot (a typical Dallas-area range) | Depth and distance to the outlet |
| Catch basin | Each, with pipe to an outlet | About $500 to $1,500 (national budgeting range) | Length of trench to the outlet |
| Buried downspout | Per downspout | About $150 to $350 (national budgeting range) | Run length and any curb core |
| Channel drain | Per drain | About $700 to $2,500 (national budgeting range) | Concrete cut and replaced |
| Regrading | Per job | No single range | Area, soil moved and access |
| Exterior sump | Per job | No single range | Pump, power and discharge line |
Each priced item has its own guide: French drain cost, catch basin cost, downspout drainage cost and channel drain cost. The pattern across all of them is the same: the box, grate or pipe is a small share, and the trench, the outlet and the repair of whatever the trench crossed make up most of the number.
Reshaping ground is priced by how much soil moves and how it moves, not by a product. The drivers are the area reshaped, whether cut and fill balance on site, imported soil, haul-off, access for equipment, hand work close to the slab, sod and sprinkler restoration, and any earthwork permit. A strip beside the foundation and a swale across a whole backyard are both “regrading.” The regrading cost guide walks through each driver.
A sump is needed only where a yard has no lower outlet for gravity drainage. Its cost follows the size and depth of the pit, a pump sized to the area draining into it, a dedicated electrical circuit to the pit, the length of the discharge line, where that line is allowed to end, and extras such as a check valve or a high-water alarm. Because power and pump choice vary so much, it is priced after a site visit.
Permit fees are modest. City rules about where water must go matter more, because they decide how far the pipe runs.
| City | When it applies | Public fee or effect |
|---|---|---|
| Irving | Curb, right-of-way and grading questions | Confirmed per address |
| Coppell | Residential curb core for yard drains (engineering permit, issued in 2022) | $100 |
| Grand Prairie | Earthwork that alters grade or drainage pattern | $50 for a lot under half an acre, $100 above |
| Grapevine | Lot drainage fee | $150 |
| Dallas | Grading permit | Single-family and duplex lots under 2 acres exempt; floodplain earthwork reviewed |
| University Park | Roof drainage must be piped to the curb or alley | Longer pipe runs; plan before permit |
| Southlake | New houses and additions | Drainage and grading plan; engineered study where no subdivision plan exists |
The drainage permits guide covers each city in more depth.
| Occupation (BLS, May 2025) | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington mean hourly wage | U.S. mean hourly wage |
|---|---|---|
| Pipelayers | $22.84 | $26.30 |
| Construction laborers | $21.05 | $25.02 |
| Operating engineers | $26.51 | $31.87 |
| Landscaping and groundskeeping workers | $19.09 | $20.33 |
A wage is not a billing rate. What a contractor charges per hour also covers insurance, licensing, trucks, machines, disposal and overhead. The table shows why local work does not simply track national figures; it does not tell you what an hour of drainage work costs.
These are illustrations built only from the ranges above, not quotes. Permits, concrete and regrading would be added where a yard needs them.
| Scenario | Pieces | Illustrative budget |
|---|---|---|
| Back corner puddle fed by the roof | 2 buried downspouts and 1 catch basin | About $800 to $2,200 |
| Soft side yard plus roof water | 50 ft French drain and 3 buried downspouts | About $1,700 to $3,800 |
| Garage apron and side yard | 1 channel drain and 1 catch basin | About $1,200 to $4,000 |
When the pieces share a trench and an outlet, the real figure usually sits toward the lower end of the combined range, which is the point of planning a whole-yard drainage system rather than separate fixes.
Rein Irving Drainage Company plans and manages each job; installation is carried out by licensed and insured drainage contractors we work with. For a quick range on your own yard, use the cost tool or the drainage assessment, then request a written estimate with photos taken during or after rain.
They are often not describing the same job. One may end at a pop-up emitter while the other runs to the curb, or one may include sod, sprinkler repair and permits while the other leaves them out. Compare the outlet and the restoration line by line before comparing totals.
Yes, and that is usually cheaper. Buried downspouts, a catch basin and a French drain can share one solid pipe and one outlet, so the most expensive parts of the job (the long trench and the curb core) are paid for once.
Local construction wages run below national means, which helps. But the price of a specific job depends far more on its outlet, length, concrete and restoration than on where the yard sits on a map.
Send photos of the wet areas, where your downspouts end and your address.
