Skip to content Water does not behave politely in the high desert. The ground is dry most of the year, then a monsoon cell drops more rain in forty minutes than the soil can absorb in a week. When that water pools against a foundation or turns the same low corner into mud every July, a French drain in yard areas like those gives it a path of its own.
Since 2019, our licensed and insured team has designed and installed drainage across Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico, with a 4.8-star rating across 18 verified Google reviews. We treat French drain installation services as a grading problem first, because a trench only works if the ground feeds it and the water has somewhere to go.
Whether you need a new system, want to understand French drain installation cost before you commit, or have an older line that has stopped draining, our French drain services cover design, installation, cleaning, and repair.
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We are based at 105 Cienega St in downtown Santa Fe and have spent years watching how water moves here: caliche that sheds it like pavement, flat lots that hold it, sloped lots that send it at the house. Our French drain services run from a single low-spot line to a full perimeter system, plus the cleaning and repair that keeps older systems going.
A French drain is a gravel-filled trench with a perforated pipe at the bottom that collects water and carries it somewhere you choose. Water moves through the gravel far more easily than through compacted soil, so the trench acts like a shortcut. Once the water reaches the pipe, gravity takes it to an outlet, a dry well, or a lower point on the property where it can soak in or run off safely.
The name has nothing to do with France. It comes from Henry French, a Massachusetts farmer and judge who wrote about the method in the 1850s. The principle has not changed much since, though the materials have: rigid perforated pipe, washed angular rock, and filter fabric have replaced loose stone and clay tile.
It is a good fit for Northern New Mexico because it handles both of our water problems at once. It intercepts surface runoff during monsoon downpours and relieves water that collects in the soil against a wall or foundation afterward. A French drain in yard spaces where you want to keep the look natural can also disappear entirely under cobble, gravel, or planting, so it often doubles as a dry creek bed.
Most people call us after a storm, not before. These are the patterns worth acting on:
If any of these sound like your property, an exterior French drain service visit is the fastest way to find out whether a drain is the right answer or whether regrading, a dry well, or a different approach would serve you better.
Every property handles water differently, so the best drainage solution depends on where the water comes from and where it needs to go. Our French drain installation services include the options below, and many projects use a combination of two or more.
Installed along the foundation, these drains collect water before it can reach the house. Proper placement, depth, and outlet location are important for keeping water away from the foundation. This is one of the most common types of exterior French drains we install.
Low areas in a yard can collect water after rain. A French drain can collect that water and move it toward a safe outlet. We may also recommend light grading to help direct water toward the drain instead of letting it sit.
For properties on a slope, a curtain drain can be installed across the slope to catch water before it reaches the area you want to protect. This can be especially helpful when runoff comes from higher ground or a neighboring property.
Paved areas cannot absorb rainwater the way soil can. Channel or trench drains can collect runoff from driveways, patios, and other hard surfaces and direct it into a larger drainage system.
Roof runoff can send a large amount of water into one small area. On flat-roofed Santa Fe homes, canales can concentrate that water next to the home. We can route it underground to a French drain, dry well, or catchment basin instead.
A dry creek bed can combine drainage with a more natural-looking landscape feature. Rounded stone and cobble cover the buried drain line while giving runoff a defined path through the yard.
When water cannot be directed to a lower outlet, a dry well or infiltration pit can collect it and slowly soak it into the ground. The size and design should be based on how quickly the soil can absorb water.
French drains may look simple, but the details matter. Most drainage problems we are called to repair come down to a few common installation mistakes. We focus on getting those details right from the start.
Before digging, we determine where the water will go. That might be a lower part of the property, a pop-up emitter, a dry well, or a catchment area. The outlet sets the elevation for the rest of the drainage system.
Water needs a clear path to the outlet. We typically aim for about a 1% slope, or roughly 1 inch of drop over 8 feet. The drain should not have flat sections or low spots where water and sediment can collect. On longer runs, the required slope also affects trench depth.
The perforations allow water from the gravel bed to enter the pipe at its lowest point. This helps the system begin draining before the water level rises too high around the pipe.
The right gravel leaves open spaces for water to move through the trench. We use washed angular rock rather than sand, pea gravel, or stone containing fine particles that can eventually clog the system.
A non-woven geotextile lines the trench and is folded over the gravel before we backfill. This helps keep surrounding soil from washing into the drainage system. In the silty, caliche-heavy soils common around Santa Fe, we generally prefer wrapping the entire trench rather than relying only on a fabric sock around the pipe.
Drainage work around a home needs careful planning. We place perimeter drains at the right distance and depth so the excavation does not compromise the foundation. We also direct roof and canale runoff away from the structure instead of releasing it right beside it.
Access risers at the ends of the line and at major turns make future maintenance much easier. If the drain ever needs to be flushed or cleaned, you can access the line without digging up the entire system. This also allows us to provide French drain repair services on our own installations.
We position and pitch outlets and emitters so water drains instead of sitting in the line and freezing. This helps reduce the risk of backups during winter weather.
Once we backfill the trench and restore the landscape, most of the work is out of sight. That is why we put so much attention into the parts you will never see. A French drain works best when the installation details are right from the beginning.
Our French drain installation services follow the same sequence on every property, from a single low spot to a full perimeter system.
We walk the property with you and look at the grade, roof discharge points, hardscape, and places where you have seen water. When it helps, we come back during or after a storm, because watching the water is more reliable than guessing.
We lay out the line, set the outlet, and choose the depth, pipe size, and surface treatment. Then we provide a clear, itemized estimate so you understand the French drain installation cost before any digging starts.
We have the property located before we excavate and mark the trench line so you can see exactly where it will run.
We cut the trench to the planned depth and slope, checking fall as we go, and make any surface grading adjustments needed to feed water toward the line.
We line the trench, bed the pipe in washed stone, set the perforations correctly, wrap the fabric, and install cleanouts and the outlet.
We finish the top in gravel, cobble, soil, or planting to match the yard, clean the site, and walk the finished system with you so you know where every line and cleanout is.
A properly built system needs very little attention, but “very little” is not “none.” Silt, roots, and debris accumulate slowly, and the first sign of a problem is usually water appearing where it didn’t before. Periodic French drain cleaning is far cheaper than the excavation that follows years of neglect.
If you have been searching for a French drain cleaning service near me and want a local crew that can also tell you whether the system was built correctly in the first place, we can inspect, flush, and report on what we find. Our French drain cleaning service covers existing systems we didn’t install, as well as our own.
Not every failing drain needs to be dug up. When a system stops working, we start by finding out why, because fixing a clogged outlet and fixing a collapsed line are very different jobs.
Our French drain repair services start with an assessment and a written recommendation, and we will tell you plainly when a repair is worth doing and when the money is better spent rebuilding. When we can, repair work includes adding the cleanouts the original installation left out, so the next service call doesn’t require excavation. If you inherited a system with no documentation, French drain repair services often begin with simply locating what is down there.
The cost of a French drain can vary widely from one property to another, so there is no one-size-fits-all price we can give homeowners. The system size, soil conditions, access, drainage outlet, and surface restoration all affect the final price. We evaluate your property first, then provide an itemized estimate so you know what the project includes before work begins.
A French drain is an investment in protecting your property from ongoing drainage problems. We focus on building a system that fits the site and is designed to keep working, rather than choosing the cheapest possible installation. Our French drain service estimates break the work into clear line items so you can see what you are paying for.
Water pooling against a stucco wall after every monsoon, routed underground to a lower point.
A dished back corner that stayed wet for days, drained to a dry well and finished as a cobble swale.
Uphill runoff intercepted above the house and carried around it.
Runoff crossing a gravel drive collected at a trench drain and piped clear of the garage.
For homeowners comparing professional French drain installation services, the question worth asking is not who can dig a trench. It is who can tell you where your water goes and show you why their plan sends it somewhere better. That is the standard we hold our own French drain installation services to on every property.
A 4.8★ rating across 18 verified Google reviews.
We provide French drain services from our shop at 105 Cienega St in downtown Santa Fe, and we install drainage across the region, including Eldorado, Tesuque, White Rock, Española, Galisteo, Pecos, Pojoaque, Seton Village, Lamy, Los Cerrillos, and more than eighteen Northern New Mexico communities. If you are nearby and do not see your town listed, call us anyway: we very likely serve your area.
If you do not see your town on our map, reach out. As we often serve many individuals from outside this area!
Drainage rarely travels alone. Explore our related work: irrigation installation and repair to water efficiently once the grading is right; xeriscaping and desert landscaping to finish the surface above a new line; retaining walls to hold a grade change in place; and paver patios and stone walkways designed to shed water where you want it.
Water efficiently once the grading and drainage are right.
Desert landscaping to finish the surface above a new line.
Hold a grade change in place where water wants to move.
Paving and walkways designed to shed water where you want it.
A French drain is a gravel-filled trench with a perforated pipe that collects and moves excess water. Water flows through the gravel and into the pipe, then travels to a safe outlet to drain or soak into the ground.
There is no one set depth. It depends on what the drain needs to do, the surrounding soil, and where the water needs to go. Foundation drains are usually deeper, while yard drains may be shallower.
Down. The perforations sit on the bottom of the pipe so water can enter as soon as it reaches the lowest part of the gravel. This helps the drain collect water without waiting for the trench to fill higher.
Water can drain to a lower part of the property, a pop-up emitter, a dry well, an infiltration pit, or a catchment area. The outlet is an important part of the design because every French drain needs somewhere for the water to go.
Yes, when they are designed for local soil conditions. Santa Fe’s caliche and compacted soils can limit natural drainage, so the right gravel, filter fabric, slope, and outlet are especially important for getting water where it needs to go.
A properly installed French drain can last for decades. Using clean gravel, filter fabric, the right slope, and accessible cleanouts helps protect the system from clogging and makes future maintenance easier.
There is no set cleaning schedule for every property. We recommend checking the inlet and outlet after major storms and using the cleanouts for periodic maintenance. Soil, trees, and runoff volume all affect how often you need to clean it.
Often, yes. We first look for the cause, such as a blocked outlet, damaged pipe, roots, or sediment buildup. Some problems can be repaired without replacing the entire system, while heavily clogged sections may need rebuilding.
In most cases, yes. We plan the drain around existing landscaping, irrigation, and hardscape whenever possible. Tight areas or sensitive roots may require hand digging, and we restore the surface after the drainage work is complete.
Sometimes. Water inside a garage or crawlspace can come from poor grading, roof runoff, or other exterior drainage problems. A French drain may help, but we will let you know if the issue appears to require a different solution.
Yes. Connecting canales and downspouts can be an important part of a drainage system, especially on flat-roofed Santa Fe homes. Routing roof water underground and away from the house helps keep concentrated runoff from collecting beside the walls.
Permit requirements depend on the property, project, and where the water will discharge. City and county requirements can vary, so we recommend checking the rules for your location. We can also help you understand the process.
Yes. A French drain does not have to look like a drainage system. Depending on the property, we can finish the area with gravel, cobble, landscaping, or a dry creek bed that fits naturally into the yard.
Yes. We work on both residential and commercial properties in New Mexico. Our drainage solutions can be designed for everything from individual homes to larger commercial sites with more extensive runoff and drainage needs.
Free on-site consultation and a detailed, no-obligation written estimate.
Standing water does not get better on its own, and the storm that finally causes damage is rarely the first one that warned you. Whether you need a new system, an inspection of an old one, or a plan before you build a patio, we can tell you where the water is going and what it would take to send it somewhere better.
Get started with a free on-site consultation and a clear, no-obligation written estimate. Our professional French drain installation services cover design, installation, cleaning, and repair, and we handle the surface restoration so the finished yard looks like it was always meant to be that way.
Call Evergreen Landscape Pros at (505) 375-6901 or request a free estimate online, and let’s schedule your French drain installation before the next monsoon season.
