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French Drain Installation For Wet Basements & Soggy Yards in the GTA

Water pooling in the yard? Seeping into the basement? A French drain fixes both. It catches the water and carries it away before it reaches your foundation. Expert interior, exterior, and yard drain installation near you. Free inspection.

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DrainCom is the

No. 1 Rated

choice for licensed and insured basement waterproofing services in Mississauga, Canada.

A French drain only works if it’s sized, sloped, and discharged right. We don’t guess. We inspect the property, read the water and the soil, and design the system to send water where it belongs, a sump pit, a storm drain, or a safe low point-not back against your foundation.

20+ years draining GTA homes on heavy clay soil. Licensed, insured, fully-stocked trucks, same-day response, and a 25-year transferable warranty on every system we install.

Call us at 905-238-6800

for a free French drain inspection and quote, or fill out the request form at the top of this page.

What Homeowners Say About DrainCom

French Drain Systems We Install

We design and install the full range of French drain systems for residential and commercial properties. Every job starts with an on-site assessment. We do not quote work we have not inspected.

Crew using a mini excavator for french drain installation in a residential front yard

Interior French Drain

Installed along the inside perimeter of your basement floor. We break out the slab, lay perforated pipe in clean drainage stone, and run it to a sump pit. It catches water at the wall-floor joint, where hydrostatic pressure pushes it through, and pumps it out before it reaches your floor. The right fix for a chronically wet basement, and it’s often installed as part of a full interior basement waterproofing system in the GTA, finished with a Delta MS membrane on the wall.

Exterior French Drain

Installed around the outside of your footing, the most complete protection, because it stops water before it ever touches the foundation. We excavate to the footing, lay perforated pipe in gravel wrapped in filter fabric, and direct it to a storm drain or sump. While the wall’s exposed, we pair it with exterior basement waterproofing and check the existing foundation drain.

Yard & Landscape Drainage

For the soggy lawn, the pooling patch, the water that never drains after a storm. We dig a gravel-filled trench with perforated pipe along the low or wet zone and carry the water to a safe discharge point. It ends standing water, soil erosion, and the mosquito breeding ground becomes a wet yard.

French Drain + Sump Pump Connection

A French drain is only as good as where it sends the water. We install or connect the sump pit and pump so the system discharges reliably, and we recommend a battery backup so it keeps running when a storm knocks the power out.

A French drain is only as good as where it sends the water. We install or connect the sump pump so the system discharges reliably, and we recommend a battery backup so it keeps running when a storm knocks the power out.

French Drain Repair & Replacement

Old French drains clog with silt and roots or collapse over time. We run a camera down the existing line to assess it, clear or replace the failed section, and restore proper flow  so the system you already paid for actually works again.

French Drain Installation Cost

Cost depends on the type of system, the length of the run, how deep we dig, soil conditions, and the discharge method. A yard drainage run is the lighter end. A full exterior perimeter system to the footing is the heavy end. We give you the exact number in writing after the free inspection.

System Price Range (CAD) Notes
Interior French drain $100 to $240 / linear ft Slab break-out, pipe, stone, sump connection, Delta MS membrane
Exterior French drain $150 to $400 / linear ft Excavation to footing, pipe, gravel, filter fabric
Full interior perimeter system $4,500 to $9,000+ Complete basement perimeter with sump pump
Yard & landscape drainage Quoted on inspection Trench length, depth, and discharge dependent
Sump pit & pump connection $900 to $1,200+ Pit and pump; battery backup recommended

All prices are approximate and based on standard residential conditions. Written quotes are provided after a free on-site inspection. We do not quote French drain installation over the phone; the right system, length, and discharge can only be confirmed on-site.

Pricing note: The biggest factor in a French drain quote is interior vs. exterior. Exterior systems cost more because they require excavation to the footing, but they stop water before it reaches the foundation. We walk you through the trade-off on the inspection so you can choose the right system, not just the cheapest one.

What Is a French Drain and How Does It Work?

A French drain is a gravel-filled trench with a perforated pipe that collects water and carries it away from your home. Water seeps through the gravel, into the pipe, and runs downhill to a safe spot ;a sump pit, storm drain, dry well, or low point on the property.

The idea goes back to Henry French in 1859, and it still works because the build is simple and right: clean stone, filter fabric to keep silt out, and a slope of at least 1/8 inch per foot so gravity moves the water. (Want the full breakdown? Read our guide: What Is a French Drain System?

Signs You Need a French Drain

Some signs show up in the basement. Others show up in the yard. Any of these means it’s time for a drainage assessment.

  • Water seeping in where the basement wall meets the floor, the classic hydrostatic-pressure leak
  • Standing water or puddles on the basement floor after heavy rain
  • A musty smell, mould, or efflorescence (white chalky deposits) on foundation walls
  • A lawn that stays soggy for days, or water that pools in the same low spot every storm
  • Soil erosion, mosquito-prone wet zones, or water running toward the house instead of away
  • Foundation cracks from water pressure building against the wall
  • DIY fixes waterproof paint, dehumidifiers that never solved the underlying water
How to Fix a Leaky Basement Wall from The Inside Advice for Toronto Area Homeowners

If water keeps coming back, the drainage is the root cause. A French drain treats the source, not the symptom.

Why GTA Properties Need French Drains

Common across the region because of our soil and our weather. The cause decides the system.

Narrow excavated trench along a brick foundation wall for french drain installation work
  • Heavy clay soil — GTA clay holds water and drains slowly, so it stays saturated against foundations and in low yard spots
  • Hydrostatic pressure — saturated soil presses water through foundation walls and floor joints; a French drain relieves that pressure
  • Frost and freeze-thaw — a deep frost line and repeated freeze-thaw cycling work water into and under the foundation
  • Heavy rain and spring melt — short, intense GTA downpours and snowmelt overwhelm soil that can't absorb fast enough
  • High water table — when groundwater rises near the slab, water comes up from below, not just in from the sides
  • Poor grading — yards that slope toward the house, or flatten out, steer rain and melt straight at the foundation

If your basement leaks every spring or your yard never dries out, GTA soil and water are the reason. We’ve drained more than 20,000 local homes and know how this ground behaves.

Interior vs. Exterior vs. Yard - Which French Drain Do You Need?

The right system depends on where the water is, how the basement is finished, and what’s practical to dig. Here’s how we decide.

Interior is the right call when

water is coming through the basement wall-floor joint, the exterior is hard to reach, or a finished yard shouldn't be dug up. Less disruptive, drains to a sump pit, and handles most basement water problems.

Exterior is the right call when

you want the most complete protection stopping water before it reaches the foundation and the perimeter is accessible to excavate. The bigger job, but the gold standard for a dry foundation.

Yard drainage is the right call when

The problem is outside: a soggy lawn, pooling water, erosion, or grading that sends water to the house. We route a trench through the wet zone to a safe discharge point and give you your yard back.

We make the call on the free inspection. We recommend the system your property actually needs, not the most expensive one on the list.

Confirm Your French Drain Options →

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How Long Does French Drain Installation Take?

Worker backfilling gravel in a shored trench during french drain installation at a foundation

Yard & landscape drainage

Often one day, depending on the trench length and discharge run.

Interior French drain

Two to four days slab break-out around the perimeter, pipe and stone, sump connection, Delta MS membrane, and concrete re-pour.

Exterior French drain

Three to five days, because of the excavation to footing depth, membrane, and backfill.

Every system is sloped to at least 1/8 inch per foot so it drains by gravity, then tested before we call the job done. We protect the work area, haul away spoils, and restore the surface on completion.

Top Rated Waterproofers just a call away!

Business Hour:
Monday to Friday: 8a.m -9p.m
Saturday and Sunday: 9a.m – 2p.m

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Frequently Asked Questions

A French drain is a gravel-filled trench with a perforated pipe that collects water and carries it away from your home. The gravel lets water in, the pipe channels it, and a slight slope sends it by gravity to a sump pit, storm drain, or low point. It keeps water out of your basement and off your foundation.

Interior drains run under the basement floor along the inside perimeter and drain to a sump pit ,less disruptive and cheaper. Exterior drains run around the outside footing and stop water before it reaches the foundation  more completely, but they need excavation. We recommend the right one after seeing your property.

Yes. A yard drainage French drain routes a gravel-and-pipe trench through the wet or low area and carries the water to a safe discharge point. It ends standing water, soil erosion, and the wet zones that breed mosquitoes.

A weeping tile is the perforated pipe around your foundation footing. A French drain is a wider gravel-and-pipe trench that runs inside, outside, or across a yard. If your footing line has failed, weeping tile repair restores it; a French drain adds capacity or handles surface water.

A properly built French drain – correct slope, clean gravel, filter fabric to keep silt out ,lasts decades. The filter fabric and a good discharge point are what keep it from clogging over time.

To a safe discharge point away from the house: a sump pit and pump, a storm drain, a dry well, or a lower spot on the property. Choosing the right discharge is part of designing the system, and it’s why a French drain has to be planned, not just dug.

Usually, for an interior system ,the drain collects water under the floor and needs the sump pit and pump to push it out. We connect the two and recommend a battery backup so it keeps working during a storm power outage.

Interior runs $100–$240 per linear foot, exterior $150–$400 per linear foot, and a full interior perimeter system with a sump pump runs $4,500–$9,000+. Yard drainage is quoted by trench length. You get an exact written quote after a free inspection.

Yes, and it’s one of the most common reasons to install one. When groundwater sits high beneath your property, it pushes up against the slab and in through the wall-floor joint. An interior French drain intercepts that water and sends it to a sump pit before it reaches your floor. For homes dealing with persistently high groundwater, we often pair it with a dedicated high water table solution in the GTA so the whole system is sized for the water load, not just the symptom.

Yes. a free, no-obligation inspection and written estimate across Toronto and the GTA. We don’t quote over the phone, because the right system and slope can only be confirmed by seeing the water, the soil, and the site.

Check the service area list on this page for your city. We cover communities across the GTA. Call 905-238-6800 or 416-989-5757, or submit the contact form at draincom.ca. We confirm same-week availability for most service areas.

Our Service Area

905-238-6800