Yard Drainage and French Drains in Hermitage, PA
Hermitage was Hickory Township until 1984, and it still has a township's worth of deep lots and old fields behind its streets. The ground is glacial till with a tight layer partway down, so water perches and moves sideways into the lowest yard. Jeff regrades, cuts swales and sets French drains to an outlet that can take the water.
Yard Drainage in Hermitage
A city the size of a township, on perched water
Hermitage covers close to 30 square miles, which makes it one of the largest cities in Pennsylvania by area, with about 16,000 people spread across it. Houses sit on half-acre lots along the newer streets and on several acres out toward the edges, with hay fields and hedgerows in between.
The soils mapped across northwestern Pennsylvania include the Canfield and Ravenna series, both formed in glacial till with a dense fragipan one to two feet down. Rain soaks the top layer, hits the pan and can go no further, so it slides sideways and comes out wherever the ground is lowest. That is usually a back corner, a side yard or the strip against the foundation.
The wet corner on a deep lot
The common Hermitage call is a low back section that stays soft from November through May. Nobody can mow it, brush creeps in, and in a wet year the water works its way up the yard toward the house.
Jeff looks at where the water comes from before deciding anything. Often it is seep off a neighbor's higher ground, and a shallow swale cut along the uphill side catches it and carries it to a ditch or a low woods edge. If the corner is the true low point, a catch basin and a buried line to an outlet take over. He only goes to a French drain where grade cannot reach, because a drain with no outlet is a long trench full of water.
Water at the foundation on newer streets
Hermitage's subdivisions were built from the 1950s on, and new ones are still going in. New lots get graded once, settle for a few years, and end up with a dip against the basement wall right where the downspouts land.
The fix starts at the roof. Downspouts and the sump discharge go into solid pipe out to daylight, so that water never touches the yard. Then the soil at the wall is rebuilt to fall away from the house. Jeff does not do basement waterproofing or gutters, but pulling the water back from the wall is usually what makes the basement dry. The standing water guide explains the order of operations.
The French drain, built to actually drain
On ground with a fragipan a French drain has to sit down on the pan, not above it, or the water simply flows under it. The trench is dug on fall with the excavator, lined with fabric, filled with washed stone around perforated pipe, and run to an outlet.
Fabric matters more here than on sandy ground. Without it the silt that moves through till soils fills the stone in a few seasons and the drain goes quiet. Where the drain has to cross a driveway, a culvert or a sleeve keeps the pipe from being crushed by the stone truck.
PA One Call, the city and the conservation district
Hermitage is on the Pennsylvania side of the line, so locates go through PA One Call (811), placed at least three business days before any trench is opened. Jeff handles the notice for the job.
A drain that outlets to a city storm sewer or a road ditch sits in public right-of-way, and the City of Hermitage is the office to ask. On a state route the ditch belongs to PennDOT. Larger regrading can fall under Pennsylvania's earth disturbance rules, which the Mercer County Conservation District administers, so a big job gets a call there first. The rest of Jeff's work in town is on the Hermitage page.
One figure, and what comes after
Jeff comes over from Farmdale, 30 minutes away, walks the yard and gives one price with the digging, pipe, stone, backfill and seed in it. Estimates are free. He runs the machine himself and smooths the tracks before he leaves.
Drainage is often the first half of another job. Once the back yard is dry it can carry a gravel drive or parking pad, and a patio that was holding water against the house can be taken out rather than drained around. The full French drains and yard drainage page covers each method.
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
Jeff walks the yard, finds where the water comes from and where it can go, and gives one price. Estimates are free, on either side of the line.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Swales and regrading. Seep from higher ground caught on the uphill side and carried off before it reaches the yard.
- French drains on the pan. Trenched down to the tight layer, lined with fabric and run on fall to an outlet.
- Buried downspouts. Roof and sump water in solid pipe out to daylight, away from the wall.
- Catch basins and outlets. A grate at the true low point and a line to the ditch when there is no fall to work with.
Hermitage, PA
Just across the state line, 30 minutes from Farmdale, the biggest city in Mercer County with suburban lots along the Shenango Valley.
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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 pageHermitage and the towns nearby
Hermitage is just over the state line from Farmdale, 30 minutes away, and Mercer County is regular ground for Logan Earthworks. The same drainage work is done back across the line in Hubbard, where the same till holds water along Mud Run and Little Yankee Run, and down the valley in Youngstown on narrow city lots. Farther into Pennsylvania the work runs to the suburbs around Pittsburgh. The service area page lists the rest.
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.
Why does water sit in my Hermitage yard when the neighbor's is dry?
The till soils around Hermitage have a dense fragipan a foot or two down. Water soaks through the topsoil, hits that layer and runs sideways along it until it reaches the lowest ground. If your yard is the low one on the street, it collects everyone's seep. A swale on the uphill side or a drain down on the pan is what moves it on.
Do I call 811 in Hermitage, and how far ahead?
Yes. Pennsylvania digs go through PA One Call (811), and the notice has to be placed at least three business days before the digging starts. Jeff places it for the job. Lots that straddle the state line also need an Ohio locate through OUPS (Ohio 811), which has its own notice period.
Can a French drain fix my wet basement?
It can take away the water that is reaching the wall from outside, which is usually most of the problem. Burying downspouts, regrading at the foundation and a drain along the wet side all reduce what gets to the basement. Jeff does not do waterproofing or sump work inside; that is a different trade.
Who do I ask before tying a drain into the street?
If the outlet lands in a city storm sewer or a road ditch, the City of Hermitage is the office to ask, and on a state route it is PennDOT. A drain that stays inside your own lot usually needs no one's approval. Jeff can tell you which case you are in when he looks at the yard.
How much does yard drainage cost in Hermitage?
It depends on how far the water has to travel and what is in the way. A regrade and a swale is a short job; a long French drain to a distant outlet is not. Jeff gives one figure after he looks, and the estimate is free. The drainage cost guide explains what moves the price.
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 Hermitage.
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 Hermitage?
Call Jeff or send a few details. Estimates are free.