Drainage/flooding problem French Drain Regrade Land

[Kevin Green]

Hello Fellow Investors,

I recently bought a buy and hold rental in East Atlanta past the perimeter 285. After closing I realized that the backyard had a drainage problem which was affecting the foundation of the house. Thank god, the unit doesn't have a basement. The house was built on the bottom of hill and had flooding problems from pipes that burst on top of the hill in the past and water came into the house. In addition to this, heavy rain causes the backyard to retain standing water. It does not help that a concrete slab is sloped toward the house. I have attached (before the rain) photos below to give you an idea of the lay out.

My question is if anyone could recommend a contractor in the East Atlanta metro area that would install french drains and regrade land at a discount or evaluate and provide a cheaper solution. I had two estimates for french drain installation and grading both were $5,000+.

[Costin I.]

@Kevin Green you might want to know that french drains are usually for slow seeping soil water accumulation, and not for fast large amounts of water (which will go right over it). For that you need a swale that you might be able to mask with a small retainer wall and/or a dry river bed landscape. Also french drains need to be open at a least one of the ends, otherwise is not going to perform properly.