Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties
Our Services

French Drain Installation in Tampa, FL

French Drains & Drainage · Tampa, FL

We move standing water off your lot and away from the slab

French drain installation is how we fix Tampa yards that hold water after a storm. A french drain is a gravel trench with perforated pipe in the bottom. Water soaks through the gravel and enters the pipe. Gravity carries it to a discharge point away from the house. Filter fabric wraps the trench so sand and soil stay out of the pipe. We set the fall at about an inch for every 8 to 10 feet, so the line drains. Most of this work happens on flat residential lots in Tampa where rain has nowhere to go.

Construction Site Development is a family business run by two brothers, Daniel and Pedro Gonzalez. We formed the company in 2018, and construction goes back a generation in our family. Daniel is on job sites himself, and he drives one of our dump trucks. We run our own excavators, skid steers, a backhoe, and a plate compactor. That means the machine that digs your trench and the truck that hauls the dirt both belong to us. We work across the Tampa Bay area, from Hillsborough into Pinellas and Pasco counties. Our hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 6:00pm. Call 813-453-5883 and we will come look at the wet spot.

What We Handle

  • French drain installation on residential lots
  • Yard drainage systems for flat lots
  • Catch basins and area drains installed
  • Downspout lines tied into the drain
  • Trench work with our own excavators
  • Low spots regraded so water runs off
  • Trench backfill compacted with a plate compactor
  • Discharge points set away from the slab

Free French Drains & Drainage Quote

Tell us about your project and we will get right back to you.

How a french drain works and when you need one

You need a french drain when water sits in the same spot for days after rain. Sandy soil drains well until the water table rises to meet it. Once that happens, the sand is full and the rain has nowhere to go. A french drain gives the water a path that does not depend on the soil. The trench cuts below the wet layer and the pipe carries water sideways to a lower point. On a flat lot, that sideways path is the whole fix.

The complaint we hear most is water standing against a slab or stem wall. That water finds its way under the slab and into the block. A french drain set along that wall catches the water before it reaches the foundation. We open the trench as part of our trench excavation work and line it with filter fabric. Then perforated pipe goes in on a bed of gravel. More gravel goes over the pipe and the fabric folds across the top. Backfill goes back in and gets compacted, so the trench line holds its grade.

What does french drain installation cost in Tampa?

Cost comes down to how much trench the job needs and how hard the ground is to dig. Length drives most of it. A drain along one wall is smaller than a run across the back yard. Depth matters too, because a high water table means digging deeper to get under the wet layer. Then there is the discharge point. A line that reaches a swale at the property line is cheaper than one that has to cross a driveway. Access counts as well, since a gate too narrow for the excavator turns machine work into hand work.

We do not price drainage work off a phone call. Every lot drains differently, and the fix depends on where the water sits. We come out to see the low spots and where the downspouts dump. That visit also tells us where the water can go. Then you get a number for the whole job, including the trenching, the pipe, the gravel, and the cleanup. Estimates are free. Call 813-453-5883 or send the address and a photo of the standing water, and we will set a time.

Yard drainage solutions beyond a french drain

A french drain is one piece of a yard drainage system. Roof water is often the real source. A downspout that dumps at the corner of the slab makes a wet spot every storm. We tie downspouts into solid pipe and run that line out to the same discharge point. Catch basins go in the low spots where water pools on the surface. The grate takes the water down into the line before it soaks the grass. On big yards we set several basins and connect them to one main run.

Sometimes the ground itself is the problem and no pipe will fix it. If the yard slopes toward the house, water runs to the wall every time it rains. We cut a swale, which is a shallow channel shaped into the grade, to carry surface water around the house. Where the fall is wrong across a whole lot, the fix is regrading, and that is our land grading work. Some yards need fill dirt to raise a low corner, and we haul that on our own dump trucks. Most drainage installation jobs here use a mix of these.

Drainage and utility lines laid out in open trenches on a compacted residential pad Plate compactor packing backfill over a finished drainage trench

Ready to get started?

Free, no-obligation estimates across Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties.

(813) 453-5883
What You Can Expect

How a Job With CSD Runs

From the first look at the job to the final walk-through, here is exactly how it goes.

1

Call or Send the Form

Tell us what needs to come down, get cleared, or get filled. A few photos help. We cover Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties from our Tampa base.

2

We Look at the Job

Daniel or Pedro prices the job at the property, free. We check the structure, the ground, and the access, then give you one number for the whole job.

3

Our Crew Does the Work

Our own excavators, skid steers, and dump trucks. The teardown, the dirt work, and the hauling stay with one company, so the schedule holds.

4

The Site Leaves Clean

Debris goes out on our trucks. The ground gets graded flat, the street gets cleaned up, and the lot is ready for whatever comes next.

FAQ

French Drains & Drainage Questions, Answered

Common questions about french drains & drainage across Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties. Don't see yours? Give us a call and ask.

Call (813) 453-5883

Do french drains work in Florida with a high water table?
Yes, with the right depth and a real outlet. Florida sand drains fast until the water table rises to meet it. We dig below the wet layer so the pipe still has room to fill and move water. Without a lower discharge point, any drain will sit full.
Where does the water from a french drain go?
It goes to the lowest point we can reach on your property. That is often a swale at the road, a ditch, a dry well, or a street stormwater inlet. The outlet has to stay on your side of the property line. We pick it before we dig, since it sets the depth of the whole run.
How long does a french drain last and does it need maintenance?
A drain built with filter fabric and clean gravel can run for decades. Sediment and roots in the pipe are what shorten that life. Keep grass clippings and mulch off the grate, and flush the line if flow slows down. Catch basins need the sump cleaned out once or twice a year.
What affects the cost of french drain installation?
Trench length and depth move the price the most. A high water table means digging deeper, which means more gravel and more dirt to haul off. Distance to a usable outlet adds pipe. Tight gate access can force hand digging instead of an excavator. We give a free estimate after we see the lot.
Which Tampa Bay areas do you cover for drainage work?
We work across Tampa Bay, including South Tampa, Lutz, Brandon, Fish Hawk, and Wesley Chapel, plus Pinellas and Pasco counties. Flat lots and high water tables show up in all of them. Call 813-453-5883 Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 6:00pm, and we will set up a look at your yard.
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Why Choose Construction Site Development

Why Tampa Bay Property Owners Call CSD

A Family Legacy in Construction

Two brothers, Daniel and Pedro Gonzalez, run the company and carry on their family's work in the construction field. Daniel is on the job sites himself. The people who price your job are the people who do it.

The Hauling Is Ours

Our own dump trucks run under USDOT 3805736, and our own excavators and skid steers do the loading. Debris leaves on our schedule, not a bin company's. The teardown and the haul-off are one job and one price.

One Company, Whole Site

Demolition, clearing, excavation, grading, fill and the pad, handled by the same team in one sequence. No waiting on a second sub to show up. The lot moves from standing house to build-ready ground without a handoff.

Tampa Bay Is Home

We run out of the Citrus Park area of Tampa and work Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties every week. Short runs mean machines show up when we said they would. Call and you get Daniel or Pedro, not a call center.

Guides & Resources

French Drains & Drainage Guides

Ready to Start Your Project?

Get In Touch With Construction Site Development

A house that needs to come down, a lot that needs clearing, a yard that holds water? Call or send the form and we will look at the job with you and price the whole thing, teardown through final grade. The estimate is free.

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Tell us about your project and we will get right back to you.