French Drain Installation in Austin & Central Texas
Scott Lockhart has installed French drains across Central Texas since 1984 — through every drought-to-flood cycle, every flash storm, every soil condition this region produces.
Over 10,000 completed projects. Forty-one years of subsurface drainage work where the limestone meets the clay.
When water moves wrong on your property, the real question isn't whether a French drain will fix it. It's whether the system is designed for this soil, this slope, this watershed. That's the difference between a drain that works for thirty years and one that clogs in two.
What a French Drain Actually Does
A French drain is a gravel-filled trench with a perforated pipe at the bottom, wrapped in filter fabric.
Water moves through the gravel by gravity, enters the pipe through the perforations, and is carried away from your property to a designated discharge point — a swale, a curb cut, a dry well, or a stormwater inlet.
The principle is simple. The design is not. Trench depth, pipe diameter, gravel grading, fabric selection, slope percentage, and discharge elevation all have to work together. Get one wrong and the system either underperforms or fails entirely.
Why Standard French Drains Fail in Central Texas
Central Texas presents three drainage problems most contractors aren't equipped to read:
Clay soil that swells and shrinks. Austin's expansive clay holds water near the surface during wet seasons and shrinks away from foundations during dry ones. A French drain installed at standard residential depth (12–18 inches) often sits inside the active clay zone — meaning the soil itself moves around the pipe, eventually crushing or shifting it.
The limestone interface. Beneath the clay sits limestone. Water moving through clay hits the limestone and travels laterally along the boundary, sometimes for considerable distances. A shallow drain misses this entirely.
The water shows up in your basement, your crawl space, or your neighbor's foundation instead of in the pipe.
Flash flooding. Central Texas can get six inches of rain in two hours. A drainage system sized for steady rainfall will overflow within minutes. French drains here need to be designed for peak intensity, not average flow.
Scott designs around all three. That's what forty-one years on this ground teaches you.
When You Need a French Drain
You probably need one if you're seeing:
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Standing water in your yard 24+ hours after rain
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Water pooling near your foundation after storms
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A persistently soggy area of lawn that won't dry out
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Erosion gullies forming after heavy rain
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Water seeping into a crawl space, garage, or below-grade room
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Foundation cracks accompanying any of the above.
A free first phone call with Scott will tell you whether a French drain is the right answer — or whether you actually need a surface drain, a sump system, regrading, or a combination.
The Scott Lockhart Installation Process
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Site assessment. First phone consultation is free. On-site assessment fee applies and is credited toward the project if you move forward.
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Drainage plan. For complex sites, foundation-adjacent work, or any project requiring permits, Scott provides an engineered drainage plan. Simpler sites get a written scope of work with marked elevations and discharge points.
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Excavation. Trenches are dug to designed depth, slope, and width. In Central Texas conditions, this often means deeper than standard residential specs — depending on the water source.
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System installation. Filter fabric, gravel, perforated pipe, cleanouts at every direction change, and a designed discharge. No shortcuts on materials. No skipping the fabric.
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Backfill and surface restoration. Trenches are restored to grade. Sod, mulch, or hardscape replaced or rebuilt as agreed.
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System test and walkthrough. We test flow before we leave. You see the system work before you pay the final invoice.
Frequently asked questions
Service Areas
Scott Lockhart Drainage serves Austin and surrounding Central Texas, including Tarrytown, Westlake Hills, Mueller, Circle C, Lakeway, Bee Cave, Cedar Park, Dripping Springs, Round Rock, Georgetown, Pflugerville, Lake Travis, Spicewood, and Wimberley. If you're not sure whether your area is covered, call.
Get a Free Consultation
Call Scott at 1-512-914-5177 or use the contact form. The first intake call is always free of charge. Forty-one years of experience answering the phone.