Huntsville, AL · French drains
The water is still here on Wednesday.
That's Madison County clay. Huntsville and the rest of the county sit on red clay that holds water like a closed fist. Alabama puts about 55 inches of rain on it in a year, and there isn't a real dry season. December and March are often as wet as summer. Sand would swallow that. This soil sends it sideways, into the crawl, against the slab, into the same low spot your mower sinks into a week later.
Red Clay Drainage is a Huntsville–Madison County lead-gen site for French drains and yard drainage. No fake street address. No storefront on Google. Request a quote and we'll get a crew on the lot.
What we actually do
- French drains that are dug and wrapped for clay, not a corrugated sock from the big-box aisle
- Yard drains at 18 to 24 inches when the problem is the lawn
- Footing-depth perimeter drains when the problem is the crawl or the slab
- Discharge that daylights downhill, or a legal path to the storm system, not a hole in clay we pretend is a dry well
What a job usually costs
Typical national ranges, clay makes the high end more likely. Not a bid. We'll quote after we see slope and where the water is allowed to go.
- Exterior yard drain: often $10 to $65 per foot; clay trenches with washed gravel often land higher in that band
- Deeper / footing-depth work: often $30 to $100 per foot
- Interior / crawl collection: often $40 to $100 per foot
Use the clay-soil drainage designer on this site to see yard-depth vs footing-depth, and daylight vs dry well vs storm tie-in. Then send the form.
When to request a quote
Water standing more than a day after rain. Water at the foundation. A crawl that smells like a pond. A DIY pipe that silted shut. A neighbor downhill from you on Green Mountain. Do not wait for the next 2-inch storm if the last one was in the house.
Where
Huntsville, Madison, Hampton Cove, Jones Valley, Green Mountain, Meridianville, Harvest. One service-area page. Not 15 city clones. The clay is the same. The slope and the storm rules are not.
This is not a Chattanooga page with the city swapped. If your lot is red clay in Madison County, the sock-pipe story, the mountain discharge story, and the city storm-drain story are why.
See if clay even lets this drain.
Madison County red clay does not perc. This is a starting design. Not a city permit. Not a price.
Starting design · NOT A BID
System
- 18-24 inch yard drain
Discharge
- Daylight (only if they own downhill)
- Call Engineering for tie-in
- Do not soak-pit
Block soak-pit. Push daylight or Engineering.
Clay warning: sock-pipe will silt; dry well in this clay is a bathtub.
Linear-foot market range
NOT A BID
- Yard-depth: yard-depth $10-$65/ft (clay often high end). NOT A BID.
Storm tie-in is City of Huntsville Engineering, not Huntsville Utilities. Soak pits in this clay are not a discharge.
Request a quote
Send the form. No required phone field until a number is assigned.
Dedicated page: /drainage-designer. Then send the form.
Questions people ask first
Why is my Huntsville yard still wet two days later?+-
Clay. About 55 inches of rain a year. The soil will not take it down. Grade and a real outlet do the work.
Will a big-box sock-pipe work in Madison County?+-
Usually not for long. Fines load the sock. Trench smears. No outlet, no drain.
Can I just dig a dry well / soak pit?+-
In this clay it fills and stays. That is not a storm system. The storm-drain page is the long version.
Can you hook my French drain to the city's storm inlet?+-
Only if Engineering allows it and any permit is real. Not a stealth pipe. Huntsville Utilities is not that office. City Engineering: 256-427-5300.
Hampton Cove vs Green Mountain vs Jones Valley?+-
Same clay. Different slope and neighbors. Daylight on a mountain lot is how you pick a fight downhill. Jones Valley is often the catch. Hampton Cove bowls need a path out, not a hole in the middle.
Yard drain or footing drain?+-
Wet lawn, dry house: 18 to 24 inches. Wet crawl or water at the slab: footing-depth. The tool asks this.
Do I need a permit?+-
Small private trench on your lot often does not. Land disturbance, a new outfall, or a public-system tie-in can. City Storm Water Management Manual is the book. We'll flag it.
What's the phone number?+-
Not assigned. Use the form. Do not treat a 555 as live.
Same answers on a dedicated page: FAQ.
Request a quote
Request a quote and we'll get a crew on the lot. No live phone until one is assigned. Form CTA only.