Yard & Foundation Drainage, Monday–Friday
Dry Well Installation & Yard Drainage
in Louisville, KY
A yard that stays soggy for days, downspouts dumping at the foundation, water finding its way into the basement every storm — our licensed plumbers design and install dry wells and French drains that move that water underground and away, priced before we dig.
Louisville’s Drainage Plumbers
Give the Water Somewhere Better to Go
Louisville sits on clay. Clay does not drink rain; it holds it at the surface until it finds the lowest point, which is too often your foundation. A dry well is an underground chamber, surrounded by gravel, that takes the water from your downspouts and surface drains and lets it soak away slowly below the clay layer, away from the house.
Sizing is the whole job. A dry well built for a roof half the size of yours fills in the first ten minutes of a storm and overflows exactly where the water was before. We measure the roof area and the downspouts feeding it, dig a test hole to see how your soil actually drains, and size the chamber and the gravel bed to that — not to a catalog default.
Sometimes a dry well is the wrong answer: a yard with a natural fall wants a French drain to daylight, a downspout wants a longer underground extension, and a wet basement may need the grading fixed first. We will tell you which, and price only what you need. If the water is coming up through the basement floor rather than in from outside, start with sump pumps.
- Standing water in the yard a day after rainClay soil with nowhere for the water to go
- Downspouts dumping at the foundationRoof water soaking the footing
- Water in the basement after every stormSurface water finding the foundation wall
- Soggy strip along the houseGrading sloped toward the house, or splash blocks doing nothing
- Mud where the grass should beA low spot that never dries
- Existing dry well overflowsSilted up, undersized or collapsed
- Neighbor’s runoff crosses your lotNeeds a drain to intercept it at the property line
- Sump pump runs constantlyToo much water reaching the foundation to begin with
What We Do
Drainage Services We Offer in Louisville, KY
From one downspout extension to a whole-yard drainage plan — every job priced before we dig, never after.
Dry Well Installation
A chamber sized to your roof and soil, set in a gravel bed with filter fabric, fed by solid pipe from the downspouts, with an overflow so a hundred-year storm has somewhere to go. Built to last decades, not seasons.
- Sized to roof area and soil test
- Gravel bed and filter fabric
- Overflow routed to daylight
- Solid pipe from every downspout
- Permitted where Louisville requires it
Drainage Assessment
Before anything is dug, we walk the lot in the wet: where the water comes from, where it sits, how the grade runs, how fast a test hole drains. Then you get a plan and a price, and often the plan is smaller than you feared.
- Soil percolation test hole
- Roof and downspout measurement
- Grade and low-spot mapping
- Written plan with options
- Free with any drainage estimate
French Drain Systems
A perforated pipe in a gravel trench that collects water along its whole length and carries it to a dry well or to daylight. The right answer for a soggy strip along the house or a wet band across the lawn.
- Perforated pipe in washed gravel
- Filter fabric against silting
- Sloped to a dry well or daylight
- Foundation and lawn applications
- Sod replaced over the trench
Downspout & Surface Drains
The cheapest fix is often the best one: underground downspout extensions that carry roof water well past the foundation, and catch basins in the low spots where water collects.
- Underground downspout extensions
- Catch basins and channel drains
- Pop-up emitters at daylight
- Ties into a dry well or French drain
- Often all a wet basement needs
Dry Well Repair & Cleaning
An older dry well silts up, its inlet pipe clogs, or the chamber collapses. We open it, find out which, clean or rebuild it, and add the filter fabric or overflow the original installer skipped.
- Inlet line cleared or replaced
- Silt removed, gravel refreshed
- Collapsed chambers rebuilt
- Overflow added if missing
- Capacity re-checked against the roof
Foundation Water Management
When water keeps reaching the basement, the answer is usually outside: grading, extensions and a drain that intercepts the water before it gets to the wall. We fix the cause, then the sump pump has a lot less to do.
- Grade corrected away from the house
- Intercept drains at the foundation
- Works with your sump system
- Reduces sump pump run time
- Whole-lot drainage plans
How It Works
How a Dry Well Keeps Your Louisville Yard Dry
Understanding the system makes it easier to see why sizing matters more than anything else.
Roof water is collected
Downspouts connect to solid underground pipe instead of dumping at the foundation. Surface drains in low spots tie in too.
It flows to the chamber
Sloped pipe carries the water to a buried chamber set in a bed of washed gravel, wrapped in filter fabric so silt stays out.
It soaks away slowly
The chamber holds the surge, and the gravel bed lets it seep into the soil below the clay layer over the next day or two.
Overflow has a way out
A storm bigger than the chamber sends the excess to daylight through an overflow line, never back to the house.
Dry Well or French Drain?
Which Drainage Fix Does Your Yard Need?
They solve different problems. We will tell you which one, and often the answer is both, or something smaller.
A Dry Well Makes Sense When...
- The problem is roof water from the downspouts
- The lot is flat with nowhere to drain to daylight
- A test hole drains in hours, not days
- The water source is a point: a downspout, a sump discharge, a patio drain
- Local rules restrict draining to the street or a neighbor
- You want the water gone underground, not moved across the lawn
A French Drain Makes Sense When...
- Water sits in a band or strip, not one spot
- The yard has a natural fall to a low edge or ditch
- The soggy area runs along the foundation
- Runoff crosses from a neighbor’s higher lot
- The soil drains too slowly for a dry well alone
- You need to intercept water before it reaches the house
Why Golden Plumbing
Why Louisville Homeowners Call Us for Drainage
We Size It to Your Soil
A test hole and a roof measurement before any design. The dry well is built for your storm, your roof and your clay — not a catalog default that overflows in April.
Upfront, Honest Pricing
The assessment is free with the estimate, the plan lists options from smallest to largest, and the number you approve is the number you pay.
Licensed & Insured in Kentucky
Drainage that ties into the plumbing, a sump discharge or the storm system is plumbing work. We are licensed for it, and we pull the permit where Louisville requires one.
One-Year Workmanship Warranty
Every drain and dry well we install carries a one-year workmanship warranty, and the system itself is built to last decades with an occasional cleaning.
4.8 ★ · 480+ Google Reviews
Louisville homeowners rate us for showing up when we say we will, explaining the plan plainly, and putting the lawn back the way we found it.
We Fix the Cause
A sump pump running every ten minutes is a symptom. Stopping the water outside is the cure, and it is usually cheaper than another pump.
Dry Yard, Dry Basement
Yard Flooding in Louisville? We’re Ready.
Free on-site drainage assessment, Monday through Friday, across Louisville and the surrounding metro. A written plan with options, and every job priced before we dig.
FAQ
Dry Well & Drainage Questions — Answered
What is a dry well?
How much does a dry well cost in Louisville?
How long does a dry well last?
Do I need a permit for a dry well in Louisville?
Can a dry well stop my basement from flooding?
Will you tear up my whole yard?
When can you come out?
Service Areas
Yard Drainage Throughout Louisville Metro
Golden Plumbing serves homeowners across Louisville and the surrounding communities.