Stop the Standing Water — Grading & Drainage in Houston, TX
Houston's clay soil and flat lots send water where it wants — usually toward your foundation. For fourteen years we've engineered grading and drainage that sends it somewhere else, for good.
Everything That Moves Water Away From Your Home
Grading, drainage, and erosion control engineered for Houston's clay soil and flat lots — the whole system, done right.
Houston Drainage Is a Specialty — So We Specialize
In most of the country, yard drainage is an occasional add-on for a landscape crew. In Houston, it's a science of its own — because our combination of dead-flat lots, expansive clay soil, and torrential rain creates water problems that generic 'we do a bit of everything' companies simply aren't equipped to solve. Grade & Flow does one thing: we move water away from your home and keep it away. For fourteen years, that focus is all we've done, and it's why we can walk a property, read where the water is actually going, and engineer a real fix — the right grade, the right drains in the right places, sized for Houston rain and built for clay that swells and shrinks with the seasons. We don't sell waterproofing you don't need or move a puddle from one corner to another; we solve the cause. Everything is installed by our own trained crews, tested, and backed by a written warranty. When your foundation and your yard are on the line, the specialist who does this every single day is the one you want — and in Houston, that's us.
- ✓Grading & drainage is all we do — every day
- ✓Engineered for Houston clay & flat lots
- ✓We fix the cause, not just the puddle
- ✓Installed by our crews, backed by warranty
Drainage Done Right the First Time
Licensed, Insured & Bonded
A properly credentialed Houston contractor on your property — TX Lic #DRA-77219, fully insured and bonded on every job.
We Fix the Cause
We solve the actual reason water is pooling — usually the grade — instead of just relocating the puddle or selling you a band-aid.
Engineered for Houston Clay
Systems designed for our expansive soil, flat lots, and downpours — not a generic template that fails the first real storm.
Written Warranty
Every system comes with a real, written warranty — and we test it in the rain before we call the job done.
Water Problems, Solved
Why Our Drainage Actually Works
We Start With the Grade
Most drainage problems are grading problems in disguise — the land slopes toward the house instead of away. Before we install a single drain, we look at where the water is coming from and where it needs to go, because moving water starts with shaping the ground it runs across. Get the grade right and half the problem disappears.
We Move Water, We Don't Hide It
A drain that collects water but has nowhere good to send it just relocates the problem. We design a complete path — collect, convey, and discharge to daylight, the street, or a dry well — so the water actually leaves your property instead of reappearing in a new low spot after the next storm.
We Build for Clay & Storms
Houston's expansive clay swells and shrinks and our rain comes in sheets, so systems built for gentler conditions fail here fast. We size pipe and gravel for real Houston downpours, set drains to survive soil movement, and use materials that last — so the fix holds up for years, not until the next big rain.
From Assessment to Dry Yard
Site Assessment
We walk your property, find where the water actually comes from and goes, and diagnose the real cause — free, and with no pressure.
Drainage Plan
You get a clear plan and a firm quote — the grading, the drains, the discharge path, and exactly what it will solve.
Professional Install
Our own trained crews do the grading and install the system cleanly and precisely, protecting your yard and property.
Tested in the Rain
We test the system, confirm the water goes where it should, restore the site, and back it with a written warranty.
A Drainage System You Won't Think About Again
The best compliment we get is silence — because when drainage is done right, you simply stop noticing it. No more watching the forecast with dread, no more squelching across a swamp to the shed, no more worrying about what all that standing water is doing to your slab. Water management is one of those investments that quietly protects everything else: your foundation, your landscaping, your patio, and the value of the whole property. A failing yard drains toward the most expensive part of your home; a good system carries it harmlessly away, storm after storm, for decades. We build systems to that standard — properly engineered, properly installed, tested, and warrantied — so that once we're done, your drainage becomes the thing you never have to think about again. In a Houston where your neighbors are bailing out their yards every spring, that peace of mind is worth a great deal, and it's exactly what we're in business to deliver.
- ✓Protects your foundation, yard & property value
- ✓Engineered and installed to last for decades
- ✓Tested in real rain before we call it done
- ✓Backed by a written, stand-behind-it warranty
Dry Yards Across Houston
Every heavy rain, half our backyard turned into a lake that took days to drain and crept toward the foundation — exactly what you don't want in Houston. Grade & Flow regraded the yard, put in catch basins and a buried line to the street, and it has not held water once since, through storms that flooded the neighbors. They fixed the actual cause instead of just moving the puddle around. Worth every dollar for the peace of mind alone.
We had water intruding at the foundation and three companies wanted to sell us expensive waterproofing. Grade & Flow came out, saw the real problem was the grade sloping toward the house, and fixed it with regrading and a French drain for a fraction of the cost — and it worked. Honest, knowledgeable, and they clearly understand Houston clay. I can't recommend them highly enough.
Our sloped lot was eroding badly and washing mulch and soil across the patio every storm. Grade & Flow built a retaining wall, cut in a swale, and planted the slope, and it's completely stable now — plus it looks great. Professional crew, showed up when they said, cleaned up perfectly, and stood behind the work with a real warranty. This is how it's supposed to be done.
Tired of a Swamp for a Backyard?
Get a free drainage assessment from the Houston specialists. We'll find where the water's really coming from and show you exactly how to send it away — for good.
Drainage & Grading Questions
Why does my Houston yard hold so much water?
Three things working together: our soil is expansive clay, which drains slowly and swells when wet; much of Houston is nearly dead flat, so water has no natural slope to follow; and our rain arrives in intense downpours that overwhelm whatever drainage exists. On top of that, many lots were graded toward the house or have settled over time. The good news is that all of it is fixable with the right grading and drainage — it just has to be engineered for these specific conditions, which is exactly what we do.
Is my standing water actually a threat to my foundation?
Often, yes — and it's the reason we take it seriously. Water pooling against your slab keeps the surrounding clay saturated and swollen; when it later dries and shrinks, that constant movement stresses the foundation and can cause cracking and settling over time. Keeping water away from the perimeter is one of the most important and cost-effective things you can do to protect a Houston foundation, and it's far cheaper than foundation repair. We assess this on every visit.
What's the difference between grading and a French drain?
Grading is reshaping the land itself so it slopes water away from where you don't want it — the foundational fix. A French drain is a gravel-and-perforated-pipe channel that intercepts and carries water underground. They solve different parts of the problem, and the best systems usually use both: we grade to move surface water away, and add French drains and catch basins to handle the groundwater and runoff that grading alone can't. We'll tell you honestly which your property actually needs.
Where does all the collected water go?
To a legal, sensible discharge point — that's the part cheaper installs get wrong. Depending on your lot, we route it to the street or curb, to a lower area of daylight at the property edge, or to a dry well that lets it percolate away. We design the full path so the water genuinely leaves your property and doesn't just resurface in a new low spot or dump onto a neighbor. Getting the discharge right is the difference between a system that works and one that moves the puddle.
Are you licensed, insured, and do you warranty the work?
Yes to all three. Grade & Flow is a licensed Houston contractor (TX Lic #DRA-77219), fully insured and bonded, and every system we install comes with a written warranty. Drainage work involves excavation, grading, and sometimes structural retaining walls, so proper licensing and insurance genuinely protect you — and our warranty means we stand behind the result. We're happy to provide proof of all of it before we start.
Get Your Drainage Assessed
Tell us where the water's pooling and we'll set up a free on-site assessment — we'll find the real cause and show you exactly how to fix it. No pressure, no upsell.
- Visit usHouston, TX 77008
- Call us(713) 555-0149
- Email usoffice@gradeandflow.com