French drains & drainage in Five Points.
Standing-water and moisture work across Hayes Barton, Bloomsbury, Georgetown, Vanguard Park and Roanoke Park — on lots graded a century ago for houses built on crawlspaces.
What Five Points homeowners should know
- The houses sit on crawlspaces. Pre-war construction here means damp under the house is a common and serious call. The fix is interception outside the foundation, not managing water once it is already in.
- Canopy load is relentless. A mature oak canopy will blind an inlet in one season, so drainage here has to be designed to be maintainable and cleared on a schedule rather than fitted and forgotten.
- Your neighbor is close. On these narrow lots discharge has to be planned so water leaves properly rather than simply becoming the next property’s problem. We plan the outlet before the trench.
Why water behaves oddly on a hundred-year-old lot
These lots were graded in the 1910s and 1920s for houses that sit on crawlspaces or shallow basements, and the drainage logic of the day was simple: shed water toward the street and let the rest soak away. A century later the ground has settled, the canopy has closed over, additions and patios have interrupted the original fall, and the neighboring house is close enough that whatever leaves one lot arrives on another.
So the calls here are rarely a lawn that puddles. They are damp under the house, a low corner between two properties that never dries, water tracking along a foundation after every storm, and old clay or terracotta drain lines that finally packed with roots and leaf litter. The fixes have to work with an old grading pattern rather than replace it, and they have to be done without undermining a foundation or a mature tree.
The water problems we solve in Five Points
Damp and standing water in crawlspaces
Water reaching a crawlspace on an old lot is a foundation and air-quality issue, not a garden one. We intercept it outside with a perimeter drain before it ever gets under the house.
Original grading that stopped working
Settlement, patios and additions interrupt the fall these lots were built with. We re-establish a route to daylight rather than trying to recreate a century-old surface.
Old clay and terracotta lines packed solid
Original drain lines fail slowly, filling with roots and silt until they carry nothing. We locate, assess and replace the failed run rather than repeatedly rodding it.
Leaf litter blinding every inlet
A closed canopy sheds enough to blind grates and gutters within a season. We fit inlets that cope with leaf load and tell you the maintenance interval honestly.
The low corner between two houses
Narrow gaps between close houses collect water from both roofs and both lots. We capture it there and pipe it out rather than pushing it onto a neighbor.
Downspouts discharging at the foundation
Roof water dumped beside an old brick foundation is the single most common cause of crawlspace damp here. We tie downspouts underground and carry the water away.
Five Points drainage FAQ
There is water under my house after every storm. Where do we start?
Outside. Almost every crawlspace damp problem here is roof water and surface water arriving at the foundation. Tying downspouts underground and intercepting with a perimeter drain solves the majority before any interior work is considered.
Our old drain line does not seem to carry anything. Can it be cleared?
Sometimes, briefly. Original clay and terracotta lines fail from root intrusion and joint collapse, so rodding buys months. Once we have looked at it we will tell you honestly whether clearing or replacing the run is the better spend.
Water pools between our house and next door. Whose problem is it?
Practically, both. That gap collects from two roofs and two lots. We capture it there and pipe it to a proper outlet, which is far better than either party pushing it sideways.
Will digging near the house damage the foundation?
Not when it is done properly. Perimeter work on an old foundation is routine, done in controlled lengths and hand-dug close to the structure. We are not undermining anything.
Can you drain it without wrecking the garden?
Largely, yes. Routes are planned around mature roots and original hardscape, and planting comes out and goes back. On a mature garden that care is most of the work.
How a Five Points drainage fix goes
Show us where it goes wrong
Photos during rain, and tell us whether it is the crawlspace, the corner or the foundation. Send the form and we respond the same business day.
Read the original fall
We work out what the lot was built to do and where that has been interrupted — settlement, an addition, a patio, a blocked old line.
Intercept outside the structure
Perimeter or French drain set to catch water before the foundation, downspouts tied underground, and a route to a legitimate outlet chosen with the neighbors in mind.
Flow-test and restore the garden
We run water through the finished system, reinstate planting and any hardscape we lifted, and log it under the one-year labor warranty.
Get Five Points water away from the house
Send a photo during rain if you can — same-business-day response.
- Insured and licensed in NC
- Priced up front, nothing added later
- Twelve-month warranty on our labor
Damp under the house after every storm?
Call or text and we’ll intercept it outside the foundation.