What we measure on a Nashville drainage walk
A drainage number in Nashville moves with length, daylight, and clay. A curtain drain, a French drain, and a regrade are three different jobs. We walk the lot and measure those things before we write a quote. No published prices. If the lot falls toward the house, start with the curtain drain page, then come back here for what we measure.
Curtain, French, or regrade
A curtain drain is a cutoff. We trench on the high side of the house, set pipe in stone, and send the water around the building instead of through it. That is the page at curtain-drains.html. This page does not replace it.
A French drain is the trench people ask for when a patio, a side yard, or a low spot stays wet. It collects water where it is already sitting and moves it. It is not a curtain. That page is French drain Nashville. If you came here because you typed French drain, start there, then come back for what we measure. We will tell you which one the lot wants.
A regrade is dirt. We change the fall so water leaves. No pipe, or less pipe, when the surface can do the work. A swale is an open ditch. It takes yard, it silts in, and it only moves what you can see. We do not sell a swale as a curtain.
The walk picks the system. The system is not a package.
How far the trench has to run
We measure how far the trench has to run. Around a corner so flow cannot sneak past. Down to a place the pipe can actually empty. Short runs on a simple side yard are one job. A wrap that has to travel the high side and find daylight is another.
We do not guess length from the road.
The pipe has to daylight
The pipe has to daylight. If it dead-ends, you just moved the wet spot. We look for a downhill outlet that is legal, clear, and low enough that water leaves and stays gone.
No daylight means a different plan. Pump. Tie-in. Or the honest sentence that this lot cannot drain that way. We would rather say that on the walk than bury a pipe that sits full.
Middle Tennessee clay
Middle Tennessee clay fines will choke stone if you skip fabric. We look at how the soil holds water after a storm, where it weeps, and whether we are cutting a trench that will smear shut.
Fabric goes in first so clay stays out of the stone. Stone, then perforated pipe, then more stone. Wrap it. Backfill. Seed or sod the scar. That sequence is the same idea on a curtain or a French. The place we cut is what changes.
What else we write down
Access for the machine. Trees and roots. Utilities. Whether the water is already in the basement or still in the yard. How the driveway and the AC pad sit in the fall.
Those notes become lines on an on-site quote. No published prices.
How the walk works
- You call or text 629-231-1117. Photos after a hard rain help.
- We walk the high side and the wet spot.
- We pick curtain, French, regrade, or a mix.
- We measure length.
- We find daylight, or we say there is not one.
- We read the clay and the access.
- You get an on-site number made of those lines.
Typical work
Curtain drain page (do not retitle): curtain-drains.html
French drain Nashville (shipping in this batch): french-drains.html
Grading and drainage hub: grading-drainage.html
Retaining walls (clay, drain, Techo-Bloc SRW): retaining-walls.html
Drainage walk FAQ
Curtain drain vs French drain vs regrade. Which one do I need?
If the lot falls toward the house, start with a curtain. If a patio or low spot stays wet, that is often a French. If the surface can carry the water, regrade. We pick it on the walk. Curtain: curtain-drains.html. French: french-drains.html.
What do you measure on the walk?
Length, daylight, and clay. Then access and where the water is already going. That is the number.
Why does the pipe have to daylight?
If it dead-ends, the wet spot moves. We will not sell a trench with nowhere to empty.
Do you publish drainage prices?
No. We quote on site. Call or text 629-231-1117.
Is this the same page as curtain drains?
No. curtain-drains.html is the curtain. french-drains.html is the French drain. This page is the walk and the three-way choice. We did not retitle the curtain page.
Who does the work?
Wallaby Land Works. A division of FWF Construction LLC. TN GC #75052. Same owner as Wallaby Homes and Pools.
How long have you been on this dirt?
26+ years, since 2000. Nashville since 2018.
One crew for the whole job
Curtain Drains
Rain on a slope will walk water to your foundation. A curtain drain cuts it off and sends it around the house.
See details →French Drains
A French drain collects water already ponded in a yard or under a patio and daylights it downhill.
See details →Retaining Walls
Nashville clay holds water behind a wall. Techo-Bloc SRW with a drain so the water leaves.
See details →Grading
Wet spots, uneven ground, or a pad that needs to be dead level, we grade it and move the water where it belongs.
See details →Serving Nashville & Middle Tennessee
Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, and Sumner counties and the surrounding area.
Request a walk
Send a few photos of the lot after rain. Tell us if the water is at the house, under a patio, or just sitting in the yard.
Wallaby Land Works · A division of FWF Construction LLC
Serving Nashville & Middle Tennessee
Phone / Text: (629) 231-1117
Hours: Mon–Sat 7am–6pm · Sun closed