Water pooling beside the house, muddy spots that never dry, slopes that wash out every time it rains. Grading and drainage problems get worse over time and more expensive to ignore. Liba diagnoses what is happening and fixes it right.
Standing water next to the house, eroding slopes, muddy areas that stay wet for days after a rain. These are not minor inconveniences. Standing water beside a foundation seeps into the soil and puts hydrostatic pressure against the footing. Over years, that causes cracking, settling, and expensive structural repairs. Georgia clay does not absorb water the way sandy or loamy soil does. It sheets off and runs to the lowest point, which is often right next to the house or down a slope that has no protection.
A cheap French drain install is not the answer if the grade of the property is sending water toward the house in the first place. And a French drain that was not built with the right aggregate and perforated pipe filled with sediment in two seasons will be useless. The water comes back and the problem looks fixed until it clearly is not.
Liba starts every drainage job by walking the full property and understanding where water enters, where it travels, and where it ends up. That assessment determines the right solution. Sometimes it is regrading alone, redirecting runoff away from structures. Sometimes it is a French drain or channel drain to capture and move water underground. For slopes with active erosion, rip-rap stone placement stops the movement of soil while letting water pass through. Downspout extensions and swale construction are often part of the same job.
We have handled drainage work on residential lots, commercial properties, and right-of-way work across Newton County. Our GDOT certification means we also qualify for government drainage and stormwater projects. Every job starts with a written estimate that explains what we are doing and why.
Newton County gets over 50 inches of rain per year, and Georgia red clay does not absorb it. Water sits on the surface, flows toward the lowest point, and collects against foundations and in low spots that never fully dry out. Most of the grading and drainage problems we fix in Covington were created when the original grade was set wrong during construction or when additions disrupted natural drainage paths. A properly designed French drain or dry creek bed in Georgia clay needs specific gravel sizing and slope to actually move water and not just collect it underground.
We walk the property during or right after rain when possible. We identify where water enters, where it pools, what the grade is doing, and whether the problem is surface or subsurface.
You get a written scope: regrading, French drain, channel drain, rip-rap, or a combination. We explain why each element is recommended before you commit to anything.
The crew executes the drainage plan. Regrading is done first to establish correct slope, then any pipe or channel work follows. We verify flow direction before backfilling.
We walk the finished work with you and show you where water will now flow. If rain occurs shortly after, we follow up to confirm the solution is performing as planned.
Drainage problems show up in the wet months and are fixed best in the dry ones. Here is how the year shapes the work.
Spring rain reveals every soggy spot and pooling area. A good time to diagnose, though saturated ground slows the dig.
Drier soil is ideal for regrading, trenching french drains, and reshaping the yard cleanly.
The smart window to fix drainage before the heavy winter rains arrive.
Georgia's wet season puts standing water and erosion at their worst, so this is when most people call. We work the dry, mild windows.
A simple regrading job around a foundation is a fraction of the cost of a full French drain system across a large sloped property. The variables below explain the range. Newton County's clay soil means most drainage jobs require more prep work than properties in other parts of Georgia.
We do not quote drainage over the phone. The site has to be seen to be understood. Call to schedule a walk-through and written estimate.
Call for a Free EstimateA foundation perimeter regrading job is a day's work. A full property drainage system with multiple catch points and a daylight outlet is a multi-day project.
Regrading alone is the least expensive. Adding a French drain with perforated pipe and gravel increases cost. Channel drains in hardscape and rip-rap slope protection are priced separately.
Newton County clay requires more work to establish drainage than looser soils. Heavy clay that has been compacted by construction equipment adds excavation time.
Jobs where heavy equipment cannot get close to the work area require more manual labor, which increases cost and time. Tight side yards and fenced properties add to the scope.
Water moved away from the house and kept there.
The right fix matched to your slope and soil.
We map where it actually goes before we dig.
You see the plan and the price before we start.
The most obvious signs are standing water after rain that takes more than 24 hours to disappear, muddy patches in the yard that stay soft long after dry weather, water stains on the foundation or basement walls, and soil eroding off slopes after every hard rain. Inside the house, musty smells in a crawl space or basement can mean water is consistently getting under the structure. If water collects within a few feet of your foundation, that is a drainage problem that will get worse over time. Call us for an assessment before it turns into a structural issue.
Rip-rap is large, angular stone placed on slopes or along drainage channels to slow and redirect water flow and prevent soil from washing away. It works by absorbing and dispersing the energy of moving water rather than blocking it entirely, so water passes through the stone while the soil underneath stays in place. We use rip-rap on steep slopes that are actively eroding, at the base of downspouts that are washing out the ground below them, along drainage swales that would otherwise cut deeper over time, and anywhere a hard surface like concrete or asphalt is directing concentrated water onto a slope or lawn area.
Regrading redirects water flow, so any significant grade change needs to account for where that water ultimately goes. We assess the drainage pattern across the full property and the adjacent grade before recommending a solution. The goal is to move water away from your structures and off your property through established drainage routes, not to push a water problem onto your neighbor's lot. In Georgia, redirecting stormwater runoff onto an adjacent property in a way that causes damage is a legal liability. We build solutions that work with the natural drainage pattern of the land.
Yes, and this is one of the most common calls we get. Water pooling within a few feet of the foundation is typically a grading problem: the ground has settled or was never properly sloped away from the house. The fix usually involves regrading the immediate area to establish positive drainage away from the structure, combined with extended downspout drains to move roof runoff away from the foundation. In some cases a short French drain section is needed to capture groundwater before it reaches the house. We assess each situation and quote the minimum work needed to actually solve the problem.
Cost depends entirely on what the property needs. A downspout extension and minor regrading around a foundation is a very different scope than a full French drain system across a large lot or a rip-rap erosion control installation on a slope. We give free written estimates after a site walk. No guessing over the phone. Call (470) 226-7215 or use the estimate form on this page to get started.
Yes, and winter is when most people call because the standing water is obvious. We work in dry, mild windows since saturated ground is harder to grade, and we can diagnose the water's path any time of year.
Free, no-obligation estimate on every project. Residential, commercial, and government drainage work across Newton County and Metro Atlanta.
