Drainage and leveling built for clay soil

Drainage and concrete lifting are often sold as separate jobs. We handle both because on clay soil they are usually the same problem seen at two different times. Water that pools by a walk or pours off a roof edge soaks the clay under the concrete and can wash soil out from beneath the edge. Months later, after a dry spell, that soil shrinks or is simply gone, and the slab drops.

Lifting the slab fixes the trip edge or the backward tilt you can see. Fixing the water is what helps it stay level. So on a leveling job, we look at the downspouts, the grade and the joints nearby. On a drainage job, we note any concrete that has started to move. You decide what to do and when, but you get the full picture.

East of I-35, in Pflugerville, Hutto, Manor and Taylor, most yards sit on dark Blackland Prairie clay such as Houston Black. This soil has a very high shrink-swell potential and lets water in very slowly. On a flat lot, rain has nowhere to go, so the first goal is usually slope: getting the surface to move water toward the street or a swale. Surface drains and buried downspout lines help because they do not depend on the soil soaking water up.

French drains and dry wells can still work on clay, but they need more care. A French drain collects water that moves through the soil, and clay gives up its water slowly, so the trench, the gravel and the outlet all matter. A dry well depends on the soil around it to absorb what it holds, which clay does slowly. We test and plan around that instead of assuming every fix works the same way everywhere.

West of I-35, around Cedar Park and Leander, the ground shifts toward limestone with clay pockets. Water runs off faster, and trenches can hit rock. Round Rock and Georgetown sit close to that line. That is why we look at each yard on its own.

Every visit starts with a few questions. Where does the water collect? How long does it stay? Did it start after a new patio, fence or sod went in? Then we walk the property. We check slopes with a level or laser, follow each downspout, look at neighbor runoff and find where water can safely leave the lot. For concrete, we measure how far each slab has dropped.

When we are done, you get plain findings and a written estimate. If a smaller fix, like moving a downspout or filling a low spot, will solve the problem, we will say so. If the right answer is a mix of drains and grading, we explain why each piece is there. Before any digging, the job is called in to Texas811, and if your HOA or city needs to approve the work, that comes first.

We also keep our plans fair to the neighbors. Texas Water Code Section 11.086 says a person may not divert or impound the natural flow of surface water in a way that damages someone else's property. Our outlets are planned to send water to the street or another safe path, not into the yard next door.

Drainage and foundations are closely tied on clay soil, so it is worth being clear about where our work stops. Signs like new stair-step cracks in brick, cracks above doors and windows, doors that start to stick or floors that slope can mean a foundation has moved. Those signs need a structural engineer or a foundation repair company, not a drainage contractor.

Once the structure has been looked at, drainage is often part of the long-term plan. Keeping roof water away from the slab, sloping the soil away from the house and draining low spots all help keep moisture more even around the foundation. Our foundation drainage page explains how that work is done.