Yard Drainage and French Drains in Austintown, OH
Austintown is flat, and most of it was graded flatter when the postwar subdivisions went in along Mahoning Avenue. Rain lands on a yard here and stays. Jeff finds the few inches of fall a lot has, or makes them, and builds the swale, drain or buried downspout line that gets the water to a real outlet.
Yard Drainage in Austintown
Flat ground and postwar streets
Austintown is a township with no city hall, sitting just west of Youngstown with Interstates 80 and 680 and Route 11 running through it. The east side filled up with ranch houses and split-levels in the decades after the war, each one on a lot graded flat with a drive out front and a slab out back.
The west side opens up toward Meander Creek Reservoir, with bigger lots, old fields and wet, brushy lines. Both sides have the same trouble underneath. The ground is tight glacial clay, there is almost no natural slope, and water has to be led out rather than left to find its own way.
The yard with nowhere to send the water
On a subdivision lot the hard part is not the trench, it is the outlet. Everything around the house is the same height. The street is as high as the lawn, the neighbors are level with you, and the low corner is somebody else's low corner too.
Jeff starts by finding the one direction with a few inches of fall, which is usually toward the road ditch or the back line. Then the yard is regraded to use it, the downspouts are buried and run that way, and a catch basin at the low spot takes what is left. When grade cannot be found, a French drain in clean stone picks up the water and pipe carries it the last stretch.
Ax Factory Run and the reservoir side
Ax Factory Run crosses the middle of the township, and the reservoir takes up the western edge, so plenty of Austintown lots end at a low, wet line that nobody mows. Water from the whole neighborhood collects there, and it is often the only outlet around.
A swale along that line, cleaned of brush and shaped to carry water, lets it move instead of pooling at the back of six yards. The reservoir land belongs to the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District and supplies drinking water, so the property line matters and dirt stays out of the water. Brush on the wet line comes off with the mulcher under land clearing in Austintown.
The slab, the drive and the roof
On a flat lot, three things send water at the house. A patio poured level against the back wall. A drive built up across the side yard that holds water behind it. And four downspouts dumping the roof into the clay beside the basement. Fixing the yard without fixing those is a short-lived job.
Downspout lines get buried and run to daylight or a basin with the grading. A slab that tilts the wrong way comes out and the ground under it is reshaped. A drive that dams the yard gets a culvert or a regrade. Gravel driveways in Austintown covers rebuilding a drive with the fall in it.
Township, district, Engineer: who handles what
Because Austintown is unincorporated, the public side of drainage is split. The township road department looks after township streets and their ditches. Austintown shares the ABC Water and Stormwater District with Boardman and Canfield, and the district handles public storm lines and flood control. A culvert or a drive on a county road goes through the Mahoning County Engineer.
If your water is backing up out of one of those, call them first. If it falls on your own lot and has no way out, that is dirt work on your own ground. Before any trench is dug, Ohio law requires an OHIO811 locate, which goes in when the date is set.
What it takes, and the number
The cost comes down to the length of swale or trench, how deep it has to go to find fall on flat ground, how far the outlet is, and how a machine reaches the back yard past the fence and the shed. The guide to French drain and yard drainage cost goes through those one at a time.
Jeff walks the yard with you, finds the outlet and gives one free figure with the digging, pipe, stone and grading in it. An old shed in the wet corner can go the same day under demolition in Austintown. The drainage page explains the methods in general.
Yard Drainage & French Drains
Standing water on slow clay moved off yards and away from the house: regrading, swales, French drains and buried downspouts.
See the serviceTalk to Jeff(330) 625-5754
Tell Jeff where the water stands, whether it is a subdivision lot or out toward the reservoir, and which road you front. He walks it and gives one figure.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Finding the fall. Flat lots regraded to use the few inches of slope they have toward a real outlet.
- Buried downspouts. Roof water piped to daylight or a catch basin instead of the clay beside the basement.
- Catch basins. A basin at the low spot with solid pipe to carry water the last stretch.
- Back-line swales. Wet lot lines cleaned and shaped so a whole row of yards can drain.
Austintown, OH
West of Youngstown along Mahoning Avenue and I-80, 35 minutes from Farmdale, mostly postwar subdivisions on flat ground.
Town pageAlso in AustintownDemolition & Removal in Austintown, OH
See the pageAlso in AustintownGravel Driveways in Austintown, OH
See the pageThe serviceYard Drainage & French Drains
Standing water on slow clay moved off yards and away from the house: regrading, swales, French drains and buried downspouts.
Main service pageAustintown and the towns nearby
Austintown is on the regular run west of Youngstown. The same flat-lot work goes on in Boardman and Canfield, which share the stormwater district, and in Mineral Ridge, North Jackson and Youngstown itself. Niles is just up Route 46, with Warren and Cortland beyond it, and Hermitage is across the Pennsylvania line. The full list of towns in Mahoning, Trumbull and Mercer counties is on the service area page.
You get Jeff. Not a crew he sent.
You call
You call or send the form. Jeff comes out and looks at the job with you, on the ground, rather than pricing it off a photograph.
A number first
You get one figure before anything starts, with the hauling and the grading in it.
He runs the machine
Then he shows up and runs the machine himself.
Ground left usable
Voids get filled and the ground is graded back so you can build, seed or just mow.
Photos of his work.
These are photographs from actual jobs. See more recent work. Or read about the full yard drainage & french drains service.
Questions people ask
Not seeing yours? Call (330) 625-5754 and ask Jeff, or read the guides.
Who do I call about a flooded yard in Austintown?
If the water is coming out of a road ditch, a culvert or a storm line, start with Austintown Township and the ABC Water and Stormwater District. For a county road, the Mahoning County Engineer. If the water falls on your own lot and has nowhere to go, that is dirt work on your ground, and that is what Logan Earthworks does.
My lot is dead flat. Where can the water even go?
Somewhere, nearly always. Most Austintown lots have a few inches of fall toward the road ditch or the back line, and the job is to find that direction and use it. Where there is none, a catch basin and solid pipe carry the water to the nearest proper outlet. Jeff checks the levels before anything is dug.
Can you bury my downspouts?
Yes, and on a flat lot it is often the biggest single improvement. Four downspouts put the whole roof into the clay beside the basement. Solid pipe carries that water to daylight, a basin or a swale instead. It gets done with the regrading, so the trench and the grade are one job and one figure.
My back line is a wet, brushy mess shared with the neighbors. Can that be fixed?
Usually. Those low lines along Ax Factory Run and toward the reservoir are the natural outlet for the whole row of yards. Clearing the brush and shaping a swale along the line lets the water move instead of pooling. Work stays on your side of the property line, and if the line is near district land, a survey comes first.
Do I need a permit for drainage work in Austintown Township?
For grading, swales and drains on your own lot, generally not. A culvert under a drive on a county road needs the Mahoning County Engineer's permit, and tying into a township ditch or storm line is the township's call. Ohio law requires an OHIO811 locate before digging, which Jeff puts in as part of scheduling.
Other work he takes on
Most jobs end up being two or three of these at once, and they get quoted together.
Yard Drainage & French Drains in other towns
Land Clearing & Brush Removal
Overgrown lots, fields and wooded acreage cleared and left ready to use.
Learn moreForestry Mulching
Brush and small trees ground into mulch in place. No piles, no burning.
Learn moreExcavation & Site Prep
Digging, pads, trenching and dirt work on rural and suburban lots.
Learn moreGravel Driveways
New drives cut, based and crowned; ruts, potholes and soft spots rebuilt.
Learn moreDrainage & French Drains
Standing water moved off yards and foundations on slow-draining clay.
Learn moreStump Grinding
Stumps ground below grade and the hole filled.
Learn moreFree estimate in Austintown.
Send the details and Jeff will come out and look at it. If it is easier to talk it through, call him directly.
Farmdale, Warren, Niles, Cortland, Youngstown, Boardman, Canfield, Austintown, Hubbard and Trumbull and Mahoning counties, over into Mercer County, PA.
Need yard drainage in Austintown?
Call Jeff or send a few details. Estimates are free.