How Much Does a French Drain Cost?

A gentle spring rain or a good summer thunderstorm can be the perfect excuse to cozy up inside, but when that water pools up inside your home, it’s a different story. French drains use simple yet highly effective technology to send excess water away from our homes to storm drains, rain barrels, or sewer systems. While you'll find several types of French drains for both inside and outside your home, expect to pay an average of $5,000 for installation.

How Much Does a French Drain Cost per Linear Foot?

When homebuilders lay a foundation, water and drainage play a large role in its design. Take a moment to think about how rain and snow create a flow of water both deep within the ground and at the earth's surface. Without proper drainage, water pressure can build up against your basement walls, shift the foundation of your home, and even pool around your yard.

You can estimate the cost of installing a French drain by linear foot. Your project's price will include the approximate amount for materials, labor, permits, and related work to excavate and reconstruct the area.

• Exterior perimeter drains: $10–$50 per linear foot

• Interior French drains: $40–$100 per linear foot

• Curtain drains: $10–$25 per linear foot

• Trench drains: $30–$90 per linear foot

How Does a French Drain Work?

French drains come in several varieties, including:

• Interior basement French drain

• Crawl space French drain

• Curtain drain

• Deep French drain

Drain systems are primarily found within the interior or around the exterior of your home’s foundation, while others pull water away from your garden or sloped areas of your yard. 

Here's the basic setup: underground water or precipitation sinks into a layer of gravel added below the surface. At the center of this gravel lies a long pipe with holes facing downward into the ground. As the water pools around the base of the gravel, it fills the pipe and flows away from the area for safe distribution elsewhere.

What Type of French Drain Can I Get on My Budget?

Controlling water around your home can be a hefty investment, but the cost of water damage repairs and foundation repairs can quickly surpass it. If you're considering the right type of drainage for both your home's design and your budget, take a look at these price ranges and which drains fall into each category.

$1,000 to $2,000

Since linear footage has so much to do with your final price tag, you can install exterior drains for smaller areas within this price range. For example, install a curtain drain along the perimeter of your home or several feet of a trench drain for deeper water concerns.

$2,000 to $5,000

In this price range, you can cover the cost of most small-to-mid-sized basement and foundation French drains. You can also add a sump pump to your project and even basic encapsulation. Larger exterior drains can also cost upwards of $2,000 if you require more excavation and labor.

$5,000 to $10,000

Major installations, such as interior basement French drains, can fall between $5,000 and $10,000 when significant excavation comes into play. To ensure proper drainage, your contractors may also need to remove concrete or add additional permeable layers, such as a dry well.

How Much Does It Cost to Install a French Drain Yourself?

While the basic science behind digging a trench, adding gravel, and laying a French drain pipe is on the simpler side, we don't recommend the project without a professional for a few reasons. 

For one, redirecting water to a local sewer system or storm drain typically requires a permit and city inspection. Digging deeply into your yard in any capacity can also be dangerous if you're unsure of electrical, gas, or water main lines. 

Lastly, the slope and placement of your French drain can be more complex than meets the eye. Professionals understand the exact length and angle to lay the pipe to send water—but not too much water—away from your foundation and yard for a healthy landscape and foundation.

French Drain Installation Cost Breakdown

The cost of materials for a French drain—primarily pipe and gravel—typically makes up the smallest percentage of your overall estimate. The true costs come into play from the price to excavate either in or outside your home, attach drains to existing downspouts, and patch up the work. 

On top of this, remember to incorporate the cost of permits to install a French drain, either from your state or local zoning board.

For example, the cost breakdown for an interior or exterior French pipe could include:

• Pipe: $50–$100 (or $.50–$3 per linear foot)

• Gravel: $500–$1,000

• Labor: $50–$100 an hour

• Equipment: $100–$500

Assume an extra $500 to $3,000 for a dry well—a porous structure that catches the water and evenly distributes it to the ground—or $650 to $2,000 for sump pump installation.

How Much Does It Cost to Install a French Drain by Type?

Landscape, foundation repair, and drainage specialists use French drain technology in a variety of ways. For example, architects may add a foundation drain by the footing when initially building your home. This is far simpler than digging deeply under your basement foundation later on.

In other cases, you may simply require what's known as a garden, or trench, drain to redistribute water from a sloped area of your lawn. Let's take a look at each drain type and its related costs.

Interior Basement French Drains

Depending on the size of your basement, a French drain inside your home can cost between $5,000 and $13,500 on average, or $40 to $100 per linear foot. Add a sump pump to the design for $650 to $2,000, bringing the project total to $5,650 to $15,500.

Crawl Space French Drains

Similarly, installing a French drain in your crawl space can protect your foundation if you've been experiencing flooding or foundation issues. The whole project will likely cost between $1,000 and $5,600, not including the cost of waterproofing and encapsulation.

Curtain Drain

These drains sit outside your home, typically just two feet underground. Their slope and placement send precipitation away from the perimeter of your house. These cost between $1,000 and $5,000.

Deep French Drain

A deep French drain, as the name implies, sits much deeper under your exterior landscape to control groundwater. This collects water outside of your home farther below the surface, requiring more excavation and planning. Assume this will cost anywhere from $2,000 to The size, style, and condition of your property all have a large say in the final cost of your $10,000 to complete.

What Factors Influence the Cost to Install a French Drain?

French drain project. Price ranges depend on:

• Where you live

• Your foundation’s design and age

• Variety of French drain

• Size of your home, basement, or yard perimeter

• Additional excavation or construction work

FAQs about French Drains

Why should I have a French drain installed?

French drains are relatively straightforward and cost-effective ways to keep the pressure of standing water from affecting your foundation and remove standing water from your landscape. The installation should last between 30 and 40 years, all the while redistributing both underground and surface water safely away from your home. 

When paired with proper basement waterproofing, a drain protects your home from long-term damage and major flooding during large storms.

What should I consider when hiring a French drain specialist?

A range of certified professionals can install French drains, from foundation specialists to plumbers. However, you’ll want to make sure that the professional has a breadth of experience installing the specific type of drain you need in or outside your home. Your contractor should also have experience with sump pumps, waterproofing, and flood-proof landscaping.

What other projects should I do at the same time?

If the time has come to install a French drain in your yard, basement, or crawl space, there's a solid chance you've been battling water damage—or the threat of water damage—around these areas. Thankfully, proper drainage should allow you to redesign these areas of your home without the fear of being inundated during the next storm.

If you've had to remove a portion of your lawn for an exterior French or curtain drain, consider reseeding your lawn to patch up the spot. You can also take this opportunity to enhance your foundation waterproofing methods or even start thinking about finishing your basement.