How to Fix Poor Drainage Around Your Foundation: 7 Proven Fixes

How to Fix Poor Drainage Around Your Foundation: 7 Proven Fixes

To fix poor drainage around your foundation, start with the simple stuff: regrade the soil so it slopes away from your house, extend your downspouts at least 4 to 6 feet out, and clean your gutters. If water still pools, step up to a French drain, a sump pump, or channel drains — and fix the drainage before you spend a dollar on foundation repairs, or the problem will come back.

Water is the number one enemy of foundations in Shreveport. Our heavy downpours, flat lots, and expansive clay soil are a rough combination: the clay swells when soaked and shrinks when dry, and every cycle pushes and pulls at your foundation. The good news is that most drainage problems are fixable, and the fixes range from a Saturday afternoon project to professional systems that permanently redirect water. Here are the seven that actually work, in order from cheapest to most involved.

Fix 1: Regrade the Soil Around Your House

This is the first thing to check and the cheapest thing to fix. The ground around your foundation should slope away from the house — about 6 inches of drop over the first 10 feet is the standard rule of thumb. Walk your perimeter after a rain: if you see soil sloping toward the house, low spots where water sits, or mulch beds that act like little ponds, the grade is working against you.

Fixing it is straightforward for most homes: bring in topsoil or fill dirt, build up the grade against the foundation, and tamp it so it slopes outward. A few cubic yards of dirt and a weekend of work handles many cases, typically costing a few hundred dollars in materials if you do it yourself, or $500 to $1,500+ for a contractor to regrade a full perimeter. Do not pile soil above the siding or brick weep holes — keep the top of the grade at least a few inches below those.

Fix 2: Clean and Repair Your Gutters

Clogged gutters are one of the most common — and most overlooked — causes of foundation water problems. When gutters clog, water pours over the edge in sheets and lands right at the foundation, exactly where you do not want it. In Shreveport, where pine needles and oak leaves are a year-round fact of life, gutters need cleaning at least twice a year, more if you have big trees overhead.

While you are up there, check that the gutters are firmly attached, properly sloped toward the downspouts, and not leaking at the seams. A gutter that dumps water at a corner joint is just a concentrated waterfall aimed at your foundation. Professional gutter cleaning runs $150 to $350 for most homes; repairs are usually a few hundred more. Small money compared to foundation work.

Fix 3: Extend Your Downspouts

Even perfect gutters do no good if the downspouts dump water one foot from your foundation. Every downspout should carry water at least 4 to 6 feet away from the house, and 10 feet is better. This is the highest-return drainage fix there is — a few dollars per downspout for corrugated extensions, or a couple hundred for buried solid-pipe extensions that carry water to a pop-up emitter out in the yard.

Buried downspout extensions are the nicer solution: no ugly pipes lying across the lawn, no tripping hazard, and the water exits far from the house. Just make sure the buried line has proper slope and a cleanout, so it does not become a clogged pipe you cannot reach.

Fix 4: Install a French Drain

When surface grading is not enough — say your lot is flat, your neighbor’s yard drains onto yours, or water seeps up through the soil — a French drain is the workhorse solution. It is a trench filled with gravel containing a perforated pipe that collects groundwater and carries it away from the house. Installed along the foundation or across a soggy yard, it intercepts water before it can saturate the soil against your slab or crawl space.

In the Shreveport area, a French drain installation typically runs $2,000 to $6,000+ depending on length, depth, and soil conditions. It is real construction work — trenching, pipe, gravel, fabric, backfill — so this is a professional job, not a weekend DIY. For detailed local pricing, see our French drain installation cost guide for Shreveport. A French drain is also one of the most common components of a professional drainage correction plan.

Fix 5: Add a Sump Pump

A sump pump is the answer when water is getting under or into the house — in a crawl space, a basement, or a low spot under a slab where water collects. The pump sits in a pit at the lowest point, and when water rises, the float switch kicks the pump on and pushes the water out through a discharge line, far from the foundation.

Sump pump installation typically costs $1,000 to $2,500 including the pit, pump, and discharge line. Get a pump with a battery backup — Louisiana storms knock out power, and the one time you desperately need the pump working is during the storm that killed the electricity. A backup is a few hundred dollars more and worth every penny.

Fix 6: Channel Drains for Hard Surfaces

Driveways, patios, and pool decks that slope toward the house can send shocking amounts of water at your foundation during a downpour. A channel drain — a long, narrow grate set flush in the concrete at the low point — catches that sheet flow and pipes it away. They are commonly installed across driveway aprons, at the base of slopes, and along the edge of patios.

Channel drain installation typically runs $1,000 to $3,000+ depending on length and whether concrete has to be cut. If your driveway funnels water straight at your garage, this is often the fix. And if that driveway has also settled from years of water undermining it, our concrete leveling service can lift it back while the drainage gets corrected.

Fix 7: Soil Amendments and Root Barriers

The last fix is about the soil itself. The expansive clay under much of Caddo and Bossier Parishes is the reason our foundations move so much — it is also why simply moving water is not always the whole answer. In some cases, amending the soil near the foundation with materials that drain better, or installing root barriers to keep large trees from sucking moisture out of the clay unevenly, is part of the long-term solution.

This one is situational and best designed by someone who has seen your property. A big oak 15 feet from the corner of your house, pulling moisture out of the clay all summer while the rest of the yard stays wet, creates exactly the kind of differential movement that cracks foundations. A root barrier — a deep physical barrier between the tree and the house — can cost $1,000 to $3,000+ but protects a foundation worth far more.

Cost Comparison: All 7 Fixes at a Glance

Notice the pattern: the first three fixes are cheap and handle a surprising share of cases. Always start there before spending thousands — but if you have already done them and water is still winning, the professional fixes are not optional extras. They are what stands between you and foundation damage.

Why Drainage Comes Before Foundation Repair

This is the point worth underlining. If your foundation is settling because water is saturating the clay under it, installing piers without fixing the drainage is treating the symptom. The soil will keep moving, and the repair will be fighting the same forces that caused the problem. Every reputable foundation contractor in Louisiana will tell you the same thing: fix the water first, or fix it at the same time.

That is also why a good inspection always includes a drainage assessment. When Pelican Foundation Repair evaluates a home, the drainage picture is part of the diagnosis — and qualifying repairs are backed by our 20-year structural warranty. If you are seeing the warning signs — pooling water, soggy spots that never dry, cracks that grow after heavy rain — our guide to the signs of drainage problems will help you confirm what you are looking at. The EPA’s guidance on moisture control in homes is also a solid reference for why keeping water away from your structure matters for more than just the foundation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I have a drainage problem around my foundation?

Look for water pooling near the house after rain, soil sloping toward the foundation, gutters overflowing, downspouts ending at the foundation, soggy spots that never dry, or cracks that seem to grow after storms. Any one of these is worth investigating.

What is the cheapest way to fix poor drainage?

Extending your downspouts 4 to 6 feet from the house is the cheapest high-impact fix — often under $50 in materials per downspout. Cleaning gutters and regrading low spots with topsoil are the next cheapest, and together these three solve a large share of drainage problems.

How far should the ground slope away from my house?

The standard rule is about 6 inches of drop over the first 10 feet from the foundation. That is enough slope to move water away without creating an obviously steep yard.

Will a French drain solve my drainage problem?

A French drain is very effective at intercepting groundwater and surface water before it reaches your foundation, especially on flat lots or where a neighbor’s yard drains onto yours. It is a professional installation typically costing $2,000 to $6,000+ in the Shreveport area.

Do I need a sump pump if I have a crawl space?

Not every crawl space needs one, but if water collects under your house during heavy rain, a sump pump with battery backup is the reliable fix. Standing water in a crawl space damages wood framing and feeds mold, so it should not be ignored.

Can poor drainage really damage my foundation?

Yes — it is the most common cause of foundation problems in Louisiana. Water saturates our expansive clay soil, the soil swells and pushes on the foundation, then dries and shrinks, letting the foundation settle. Repeating that cycle for years is what cracks slabs and shifts homes.

Should I fix drainage before foundation repair?

Yes. Fix the water issue first or at the same time as the foundation repair. Repairing a foundation while water keeps undermining the soil means the problem is likely to return.

How much does professional drainage correction cost?

It depends on the fix: downspout burial runs a few hundred dollars, channel drains $1,000 to $3,000+, sump pumps $1,000 to $2,500, and French drains $2,000 to $6,000+. A free inspection will identify which fixes your property actually needs.

Pelican Foundation Repair
6118 Fairfield Ave, Shreveport, LA 71106, USA
318-585-2003
https://foundationrepairshreveport.com/