Drainage & Grading · Nepean, ON
French drains and yard drainage in Nepean
French drains, regrading and clear stone for Nepean’s established yards. Decades of patios, gardens and tree growth change how a lot drains, so we start from the original grading where it can be found.
- Clear stone
- Filter fabric
- Perforated pipe
- Dimpled membrane
The local picture
Drainage & Grading in Nepean
If a grading plan exists for your lot, the City provides it through an Access to Building Permit Records request, and when there is none on record, 3-1-1 handles grading questions. The plan shows how the lot was meant to shed water, and we compare it to the yard as it is today.
Nepean’s older lots from the late 1950s and 1960s tend to have mature trees, and a trench near a large tree is planned around its root zone. The City protects private trees 30 cm or wider at 1.3 m up in the urban area, so a drain line is routed with the trees that stay in mind.
Post-war lots, older drainage
Crestview, Parkwood Hills, Qualicum-Graham Park, Trend-Arlington
Korvex Construction builds French drains, regrades yards and lays clear-stone strips for Nepean homeowners in Crestview, Parkwood Hills, Qualicum-Graham Park, Trend-Arlington and the streets around them. A free on-site estimate comes first, and the written quote follows once we have walked the yard and seen where water collects.
Much of older Nepean went up from the late 1950s through the 1960s. The City aims its Rain Ready Ottawa program at areas built before adequate stormwater management measures were common, and its address lookup sorts each street into a priority, secondary or outside retrofit area. It is a quick check on how your street fits that picture.
When the water comes from next door
On an older lot, a wet side yard often takes its water from next door: a downspout aimed at the lot line, or a yard that sits a little higher. The City’s lot grading FAQ says the first step is talking with your neighbour, and calling 3-1-1 if that does not work.
On your own lot, the fix catches the water where it crosses the line. A shallow French drain along the side yard, or a regraded strip with a clear fall, carries it to an outlet on your property. Where mature trees stand near that line, the trench is routed to keep clear of their roots, and if it cannot be, we tell you before digging and look at regrading instead.
At the site visit
What we check on a lot in Nepean
- 01
Root zones of mature trees along any drain route.
- 02
Old patios, walks and widened driveways that send water back toward the house.
- 03
Where the neighbour’s downspouts and slope push water across the lot line.
- 04
Whether a grading plan exists for the lot, or the yard has to be read from the ground.
- 05
Old downspout pipes that end in the ground.
- 06
How the attached garage or carport roof drains on a single-storey house.
What we plan around
Local conditions in Nepean
Each point links to the public source it was checked against. At the site visit we check how it applies to your lot.
- Finding the original grading
If a grading plan exists, the City provides it through an Access to Building Permit Records request. When there is none on record, 3-1-1 handles grading questions.
How we build it
How a drainage fix is built
Every lot drains differently. The drawing shows the parts most of our drainage jobs use.
- Find the source
Roof water, runoff, a neighbour’s slope or a high water table: each needs its own fix.
- Outlet first
Chosen before digging. A drain with nowhere to discharge only moves the puddle.
- Protect the foundation
A dimpled membrane under the stone can steer water away from the wall.
- Grade the surface
Finished ground slopes away from the house, toward the drain.
- Clear-stone surfaceOpen stone over the membrane, so water gets off the surface fast and is carried away from the wall.Open and free-draining
- Filter fabricKeeps soil from washing into the stone and clogging it over time.Laid over the soil
- Perforated pipe, where neededCollects water in the trench and carries it to the planned outlet.Laid to fall
- Stone beddingSurrounds the pipe so water can reach it from all sides.Levelled across the area
- Graded native soilTrench bottom shaped to fall steadily toward the outlet.To firm ground
Projects
Drainage and grading we have built
Recent jobs from across Ottawa.
“Vlad and his coworkers are very hard working and professional with a realistic and fair pricing that cant beat any other company out there ! We just had a major leak in our basement and they efficiently waterproofed the foundation and created a french drain with outstanding finish of layering gravel and pavement reconstruction. They are the people to call for almost any kind of work on your house !! Thank you guys God Bless & Respekt!”
Gio Ivana Herrera · French drain after a basement leak
FAQ
Drainage & Grading in Nepean: common questions
Our neighbour’s downspout empties onto our side yard. What can we do?
City of Ottawa guidance says to speak with your neighbour first about how their drainage affects your property, and to call 3-1-1 if that does not work. On your own lot, a shallow French drain or a regraded strip can catch the water at the lot line and carry it to an outlet on your property. We plan that route at the site visit.
Is my Nepean street in a Rain Ready Ottawa area?
The City’s Rain Ready Ottawa eligibility page answers that by address: each street falls in a priority, secondary or outside stormwater retrofit area. Rebates are offered in priority areas, with conditions the program sets. Whatever the answer, the drainage plan for your yard starts at the same free site visit.
A big maple stands where the drain should run. What happens to the plan?
The trench moves before the tree does. We route the drain around the root zone wherever the fall allows, or carry the water with a regraded surface across that stretch instead of a trench. City of Ottawa rules protect larger private trees in the urban area, and injuring a protected tree needs a permit, so we check what applies to yours before any digging near it.
Where do we find the grading plan for our house?
If one exists, the City of Ottawa provides it through an Access to Building Permit Records request. When there is none on record, 3-1-1 handles grading questions. We can plan the drainage either way, from the slope and the water path we see on site.
Do you work in Nepean?
Yes. Korvex Construction builds and rebuilds decks, fences, interlock and backyards across Nepean, including Crestview, Parkwood Hills, Qualicum-Graham Park, Trend-Arlington and Centrepointe. A Nepean homeowner’s HomeStars review describes new fence posts and old panels reinstalled on them. Request a free estimate or call 613-880-7679.
What is a French drain?
A French drain is a trench lined with filter fabric and filled with clean stone, with a perforated pipe where the design calls for it. Surface water soaks into the stone, the trench carries it along a steady fall, and it leaves at an outlet chosen before digging. The French drains Korvex builds are shallow drains for yard and surface water.
Book a free drainage estimate in Nepean
Tell us what you want built and send a few photos. We come out, look at what sits under the job, and give you the scope and the price in writing.