Drainage & Grading · Barrhaven, ON
French drains and yard drainage in Barrhaven
French drains, regrading and clear-stone work for Barrhaven yards where water sits after rain. Barrhaven sits on slow-draining clay, so the fix starts with where the water can go.
- Clear stone
- Filter fabric
- Perforated pipe
- Dimpled membrane
The local picture
Drainage & Grading in Barrhaven
Along the Jock River the clay layer runs about 8 to 10 m deep. Clay drains slowly, and a flat yard that has lost its slope holds water near the surface. City of Ottawa guidance asks residents to call 3-1-1 if water is still there after 48 hours. We look at slope, swales and downspouts first, then choose regrading, a shallow French drain to an outlet, or both.
The Jock River through south Barrhaven has a mapped 100-year floodplain. On regulated land along the river, grading and fill can need a Rideau Valley Conservation Authority permit on top of City rules. Its online map shows whether a lot is regulated, and we check yours before planning the work.
More roofs, same clay
Old Barrhaven to Half Moon Bay
Korvex Construction installs French drains, regrades yards and replaces tipped slabs with clear stone for Barrhaven homes, from Old Barrhaven and Longfields to Chapman Mills, Stonebridge and Half Moon Bay. Request the free on-site estimate and we walk the lot with you; a written price for the whole fix follows.
Barrhaven keeps growing. In the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority’s Jock River–Barrhaven catchment, settlement was the largest land cover in 2014 at 42%, after adding 160 ha between 2008 and 2014 while crop and pasture lost 250 ha. Roofs, driveways and streets shed rain fast, so more of it reaches the swales at once, and the clay underneath soaks up very little.
Patios, swales and the rear-yard catch basin
A subdivision backyard is often a patio, a fence and a strip of lawn over a swale. When a new interlock patio, deck skirting or garden edging raises the ground along that swale, water backs up toward the house. The City’s lot grading FAQ says any action that harms a lot’s intended drainage violates the site alteration by-law, and names sheds and gardens in swales as examples.
When we build drainage beside an existing patio, the stone and soil are set so the swale keeps its line and the catch basin grate stays clear and reachable. If the patio itself sits too high, we say so at the site visit and price the options, from regrading the strip beside it to resetting the edge.
At the site visit
What we check on a lot in Barrhaven
- 01
Whether the lot falls in the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority’s regulated area along the Jock River.
- 02
The swale line and the rear-yard catch basin, and anything built on or beside them.
- 03
Patio and interlock edges that may sit higher than the yard around them.
- 04
How long puddles last on the clay after a rain.
- 05
Downspouts aimed at the patio or into the side yard.
- 06
Gate access for digging equipment, stone and pipe.
What we plan around
Local conditions in Barrhaven
Each point links to the public source it was checked against. At the site visit we check how it applies to your lot.
- Jock River floodplain
The Jock River through south Barrhaven has a mapped 100-year floodplain, and part of it north of the river was cut and filled in 2019–2020 for a new subdivision.
How we build it
How a drainage fix is built
Every lot drains differently. The drawing shows the parts most of our drainage jobs use.
- Find the source
Roof water, runoff, a neighbour’s slope or a high water table: each needs its own fix.
- Outlet first
Chosen before digging. A drain with nowhere to discharge only moves the puddle.
- Protect the foundation
A dimpled membrane under the stone can steer water away from the wall.
- Grade the surface
Finished ground slopes away from the house, toward the drain.
- Clear-stone surfaceOpen stone over the membrane, so water gets off the surface fast and is carried away from the wall.Open and free-draining
- Filter fabricKeeps soil from washing into the stone and clogging it over time.Laid over the soil
- Perforated pipe, where neededCollects water in the trench and carries it to the planned outlet.Laid to fall
- Stone beddingSurrounds the pipe so water can reach it from all sides.Levelled across the area
- Graded native soilTrench bottom shaped to fall steadily toward the outlet.To firm ground
Projects
Drainage and grading we have built
Recent jobs from across Ottawa.
Also in Barrhaven: Front garden bed and paver edge
“Vlad and his coworkers are very hard working and professional with a realistic and fair pricing that cant beat any other company out there ! We just had a major leak in our basement and they efficiently waterproofed the foundation and created a french drain with outstanding finish of layering gravel and pavement reconstruction. They are the people to call for almost any kind of work on your house !! Thank you guys God Bless & Respekt!”
Gio Ivana Herrera · French drain after a basement leak
FAQ
Drainage & Grading in Barrhaven: common questions
We added an interlock patio and now the lawn beside it floods. Why?
A patio set higher than the ground around it, or edged across a swale, can stop water that used to pass through. The City’s lot grading FAQ notes that changes to a lot’s grade can significantly change how water flows across it. We check the patio level against the yard and the swale, then regrade the strip beside it, open a path for the water, or add a shallow French drain to an outlet.
Where can water from a Barrhaven yard go?
City of Ottawa guidance says water should flow onto your own property and soak into the ground, and never onto a neighbour’s property, a sidewalk, a right of way or an easement. Where space is limited, it goes to the lot’s intended drainage point, usually the swale or the rear-yard catch basin on a subdivision lot. We choose the outlet with that in mind before any digging.
We are near the Jock River. Will a French drain help in a spring flood?
A French drain handles the surface water from your own lot: rain, roof water and snowmelt. A river in flood is a different hazard. The Jock River through Barrhaven is subject to flooding in the 100-year flood, and on mapped floodplain land the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority regulates grading and fill. We check whether your lot is regulated, then plan the yard drainage for the water that falls on it.
Will a French drain work in clay?
Yes, when it has an outlet. Clay takes up water slowly, so the drain’s job is to collect water in the stone and pipe and carry it along the trench to a place where it can leave. We choose that outlet before any digging.
Why does water sit on my lawn after rain?
Barrhaven sits on clay, which drains slowly, and a yard that has lost its slope holds water near the surface. City of Ottawa guidance asks residents to call 3-1-1 if water is still there after 48 hours. We look at slope, swales and downspouts and check what applies to your property before proposing a fix.
My backyard is near the Jock River. Do I need extra approval?
Possibly. On regulated land along the Jock River, grading, fill and structures can need a Rideau Valley Conservation Authority permit on top of City of Ottawa rules. Its online map shows whether a lot is regulated, and we check what applies to yours before planning the work.
What is a French drain?
A French drain is a trench lined with filter fabric and filled with clean stone, with a perforated pipe where the design calls for it. Surface water soaks into the stone, the trench carries it along a steady fall, and it leaves at an outlet chosen before digging. The French drains Korvex builds are shallow drains for yard and surface water.
Book a free drainage estimate in Barrhaven
Tell us what you want built and send a few photos. We come out, look at what sits under the job, and give you the scope and the price in writing.