Grading
- Slope corrected away from the foundation
- Swales to move surface water
- Low spots filled and re-graded
- 2% minimum fall on new hardscape
Often solves the problem with no pipe at all.
Drainage and grading.
FOUR40 corrects grading, installs French drains, weeping tile, window wells and downspout extensions across the GTA — the same earthwork trade as every driveway base we build. Free on-site estimates.
Based in
Whitchurch-Stouffville
Estimates
Free & on-site
Before we start
Written scope
On site
Same crew throughout
What's included
Water is the reason most hardscape fails.
Half of what people call a patio problem is a water problem. It is also the least glamorous and most cost-effective work we do.
Drains
- French drains — perforated pipe, clear stone, geotextile
- Weeping tile connections
- Downspout extensions run past the hardscape
- Catch basins where needed
- Discharge to somewhere it can safely go
Window wells
- Excavated and drained, not just lined
- Gravel base to a drainage path
- Well covers
- Regrading around the well
A window well with no drainage is a bucket beside your basement.
What it costs
What moves the number.
Typical range
Ask for a figure
We publish real numbers rather than "it depends" — but only once they're ours to publish. Our written ranges are being finalised; call and we'll give you one over the phone in a minute. What moves the number:
- Length of drain run and where the water can be discharged to
- Depth required, and what the soil is
- Machine access versus hand digging
- How much regrading and how much fill or removal it needs
- Number of downspouts and window wells
- Whether hardscape has to be lifted and reinstated
Working with us
Five steps, no surprises.
01
Site visit
We measure, check drainage and grade, and talk through what you actually want. Free, and no pressure to sign anything.
02
Written quote
Scope, materials, base depth and price in writing. You'll know exactly what's included before a shovel moves.
03
Schedule & locates
Ontario One Call locates booked, materials ordered, start date confirmed. A realistic window, not an optimistic one.
04
Build
Excavation, base, compaction, install. Site cleaned at the end of each day — you still have to live there.
05
Walkthrough
We walk it together before final payment. Anything on your list gets fixed, then we're back if settling shows up.
Questions
Questions, answered.
Water sits in my backyard after rain. Is that a drainage job?
Usually a grading job first. Most standing water is ground sloping the wrong way or a flat spot with nowhere to shed to. Regrading and a swale solves a lot of it without any pipe at all. Where the water genuinely has nowhere to go, a French drain gives it a path.
What is a French drain, really?
A trench with perforated pipe surrounded by clear stone and wrapped in geotextile, sloped to somewhere the water can safely go. The fabric is what stops soil silting the stone up, which is why drains built without it work for a few seasons and then stop.
Do downspouts matter that much?
Enormously, and it is the cheapest fix in this whole list. A roof sheds a remarkable volume of water, and a downspout discharging beside the foundation puts all of it exactly where you least want it. Extending them past the hardscape is often the entire solution to a damp basement.
Is this the same as basement waterproofing?
No, and the distinction matters. Exterior water management — grading, swales, downspouts, window wells, weeping tile — is earthwork and is what we do. Interior waterproofing and anything touching the building drain is a different trade with different liability, and we refer it.
Service area
Across the GTA, based in Stouffville.
Close enough to come back if something needs attention — which matters more than it sounds.
MarkhamStouffvilleRichmond HillAuroraNewmarketVaughanUxbridgePickeringAjaxScarboroughNorth YorkKing City
Elsewhere in the GTA? Call and ask — we travel for the right project.
Related
Other things we build.
Free estimate
Tell us about the project.
Fill this in and we'll get back to you to book a site visit — usually the same day.
Or call directly(647) 473-3454