Site Preparation
We clear the lot and cut a level building pad for homes, garages, barns and sheds. Then we dig the footings and the utility trenches for the build.
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Water that sits on your yard after every rain needs somewhere to go. A French drain gives it a path. The drain is a trench lined with filter fabric and filled with clean stone, often around a perforated pipe. Water seeps into the stone and runs along the trench to an outlet lower on the land.
Doberman Excavation and Services handles French drain installation and yard drainage across Greene County and the northern Catskills. Drainage is part of the dirt work we do as an excavation contractor in Oak Hill. Every job starts with where the water comes from and where it can go. Text a few photos of the wet spot to (518) 281-8003 for a free estimate.
Tell us about the job and where the property is. We look at the job and put a free estimate in writing.
A French drain fits water that moves through the soil. You see it as a lawn that stays soft for days after rain, or a wet strip below a slope. The trench catches that water and carries it off through the stone and pipe.
Water that runs across the top of the ground calls for surface work instead. A shallow swale or a change in grade moves it along the surface. Some yards need land grading that tips the ground away from the house.
A yard can need both, and the outlet decides whether either one works. When you talk to drainage contractors, ask where the water will go. We settle that before we dig a foot of trench.
Snow and ice melt can leave standing water and muddy ground behind. NOAA's 30-year averages put snowfall at about 46 inches a year in the hills north of Greenville. The mountaintop near Hunter gets about 95 inches. Much of the trouble, though, starts under the topsoil.
Many slopes around Oak Hill have a dense soil layer a foot or two down, called a fragipan. Water moves through it slowly, so from late fall into spring it backs up above that layer. Across Greene County, USDA soil data shows bedrock or a fragipan within 40 inches on about 6 in 10 acres.
On a slope, that water travels downhill underground and comes out as a spring or a wet spot lower down. A French drain across the slope, above the wet spot, can catch that flow and carry it away.
Some drainage trouble starts at the driveway. A crushed or plugged culvert backs water up, and the stone washes out at the low spot. We clean out the ditches along a drive and replace a failed culvert under it. Washouts in the drive itself fall under gravel driveway repair.
Where a hillside seeps into a gravel drive, a French drain along the uphill edge catches the water first. Ground that stays soaked under a drive goes soft, and freeze and thaw make it worse. A wet strip in a field or pasture can take a French drain or a ditch along its low edge.
Before a trench goes in, state rules have the company doing the digging call UDig NY at 811. The utilities then mark their own lines, but not private ones like a septic or sump pump line. Tell us where yours run. In the Town of Durham, digging or filling in a mapped flood zone also needs a floodplain development permit.
Call or text for a written quote. We work about 35 miles around Oak Hill across Greene County and the northern Catskills.
(518) 281-8003From the first call or text to the finished work, here is how it goes.
Call or text (518) 281-8003, or send the form. Tell us where the property is and what the job is.
Send a few photos and a short description of the job. For land work, the approximate acreage helps too.
We look at the job and talk through how to handle it. Then we give you a free estimate.
We set a start date with you and bring the right machine for the job. The work follows the plan we talked through.
We finish with final grading and property cleanup. Debris gets hauled away when the job calls for it.
Common questions about French drains around Oak Hill and the northern Catskills. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
We clear the lot and cut a level building pad for homes, garages, barns and sheds. Then we dig the footings and the utility trenches for the build.
Learn More
We level yards and fields and slope the ground so water runs away from the house. We also bring in fill and topsoil and finish the grade smooth.
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We install new and replacement septic systems across Greene County, built to the engineer's plan. We also repair septic tanks and leach fields.
Learn MoreCall or text with the location and a few photos of the job. We talk through the best approach and give you a free estimate.
We can clear the lot, dig the footings and trenches, backfill and do the final grading. The dirt work on the whole site runs through one company.
We take small jobs, like post holes for a sign or a yard repair after construction. Send a photo of the spot, and we talk it through with you.
Oak Hill sits at the center of our service area. It covers Greene County and reaches Rensselaerville in Albany County and Saugerties in Ulster County.
Real reviews from real jobs, 2 reviews on Google.
Great service on time and was quick to get quotes over compared to waiting for 2 weeks for 2 others to get back
Highly Recommend.
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Read more →Tell us where the property is and what you need done. You can also call or text (518) 281-8003 for a free estimate.
Tell us about the job and where the property is. We look at the job and put a free estimate in writing.