Putting $700 into a French drain last spring - best decision or total waste?

My neighbor swears it saved his basement after that big July storm, but I'm still getting puddles near the foundation even after the install. Anyone else in Cleveland deal with drainage projects that didn't fix everything?

2 comments

2 Comments

hannah_perry16d ago

Feel like a fraud here, I put in a dry well last fall and now I'm pretty sure I just created an underground swimming pool for the raccoons. But honestly, $700 for a French drain sounds like a steal compared to what I heard some folks around here paid. Those puddles near the foundation after the install are definitely a red flag, maybe they didn't tie the drain into the downspouts right or the grade is still sloping the wrong way. I'd get a second opinion before throwing more money at it, because I learned the hard way that drainage problems just laugh at one solution and then find a new spot to pop up. Good luck with the puddles, hopefully yours is just a simple fix and not a whole new project!

patricialee16d agoMost Upvoted

$700 for a French drain sounds unreal, that contractor basically stole from you.