Yard Drainage and French Drains in Forest City, NC
Forest City is a mill town on gentle Piedmont ground, and a lot of its yards have been settling, sinking and holding water for the better part of a century. Jordan comes up from Tryon with an excavator and a skid steer to regrade them, bury the downspouts and put in French drains where the ground needs one.
Yard Drainage in Forest City
Old mill streets, old yards
Forest City grew up around its textile mills, and the houses that came with them still make up much of the town. Alexander Mills, once its own village, joined the town in 1999, and the mill village and the Main Street blocks are listed historic districts. These are hundred-year-old lots at about a thousand feet, on the red clay that covers most of Rutherford County.
A yard that old has had a lot done to it. Trees have grown huge and come down, sheds have come and gone, and the ground around the house has been raked, filled and driven over by generations of owners. The result is a lawn with no real fall left in it, and a crawlspace that smells damp every spring. That is the most common drainage call in Forest City.
The crawlspace that will not dry
On an older house the roof usually drains straight down at the corners, sometimes through gutters, sometimes not. Every storm drops a roof's worth of water within a foot of a brick pier foundation. The ground there gets lower every year as it washes, so the water pools against the house instead of running off.
Jordan fixes the two halves of that together. The downspouts get piped underground and run out to the edge of the lot or to a pop-up emitter in the lawn. Then the ground around the foundation is built back up so it falls away from the house in every direction. It is simple work, but it has to be done with a machine to get the grade right.
Where the big oak used to be
Many of these yards had a large oak or maple that came down years ago, often in a storm. The stump was cut low or ground, and the roots were left to rot. As they went, the ground over them sank. Now there is a shallow bowl in the lawn that fills in every rain and takes days to drain.
That bowl is dug out down to firm ground, the rotten wood and loose soil are hauled off, and the hole is filled with soil in compacted layers before being graded flush. If the stump is still there, it is ground first; see stump grinding in Forest City. The guide on a stump hole sinking covers why a quick fill with loose dirt does not last.
Rural lots, creek bottoms and the Second Broad
Outside the town streets, Forest City spreads out into rural lots along US 74 and the county roads. The Second Broad River runs down the east side of town on its way to the Broad. Plenty of ground out there is low, with a branch or a wet-weather creek through the back of the lot.
On those lots the answer is usually a swale rather than a pipe. A shallow, grassed channel cut on the right line carries a creek's worth of overflow around a house or a barn, and it can be mowed. French drains go in where a swale would cut across a drive or a septic field. Which one fits is explained in French drain versus swale.
NC811, the town and the flood map
In North Carolina, NC811 is contacted three working days before any digging so the buried gas, water and power lines can be marked. That request goes in before the trench for a French drain or a downspout line is cut. Private lines to a shed or a well house are not marked, so point those out.
Inside Forest City, the Town's Planning and Code Enforcement office handles building, zoning and flood questions, and its site plans have to show the floodway and the 100-year floodplain. If your lot is on the river or one of its creeks, ask the Town before fill is brought in. For a dry-lot regrade there is usually nothing to file.
Getting a figure, and what goes with it
Jordan quotes from two photos and a street name, or comes to look. Forest City is half an hour from Tryon, so a visit is no trouble for a job that needs one. The number covers the digging, the pipe or stone, and hauling off whatever comes out.
A drive that stays soft after rain usually has the same cause as the lawn beside it, and the gravel driveway work in Forest City is often done on the same trip. Overgrown ground at the back of a lot is covered under land clearing in Forest City, and the full grading and excavation service lays out the rest of the dirt work.
Yard Drainage & French Drains
Standing water moved away from the house: regrading, swales, French drains and buried downspouts.
See the serviceTalk to Jordan(828) 574-4474
A photo after a rain shows more than a dry one. Send two and your road, and Jordan will come back with a number.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Foundation regrading. Ground built back up so it falls away from the house on every side.
- Buried downspouts. Roof water piped underground to the lot line or a pop-up emitter.
- Swales and French drains. Overflow from creeks and uphill lots carried around the house above or below ground.
- Sunken stump holes. Rotten roots dug out, the hole filled in compacted layers and graded flush.
Forest City, NC
Forest City is the biggest town in Rutherford County, 30 minutes northeast of Tryon, with mill-era neighborhoods and rural lots along the Second Broad River.
Town pageAlso in Forest CityDemolition in Forest City, NC
See the pageAlso in Forest CityGravel Driveways in Forest City, NC
See the pageAlso in Forest CityStump Grinding in Forest City, NC
See the pageAlso in Forest CityLand Clearing in Forest City, NC
See the pageThe serviceYard Drainage & French Drains
Standing water moved away from the house: regrading, swales, French drains and buried downspouts.
Main service pageForest City and the towns nearby
The same drainage work is done across Rutherford County and down into the foothills. Up the mountain it is done in Hendersonville, and the Upstate work runs from Spartanburg out to Greer and Boiling Springs. Stump, clearing and demolition work in Forest City itself is listed on the town page, and the service area page shows the whole run from Tryon.
You get Jordan. Not a crew he sent.
You call
You call or send two photos. Jordan looks at the job himself, on the ground or from your photos, rather than pricing it off a guess.
A number first
You get one figure before anything starts, with the hauling and the cleanup in it.
He runs the machine
Then he shows up with the machine and the trailer and does the work.
Ground left usable
Voids get filled and the ground gets graded back so you can pour, build, seed or just mow.
Photos of his work.
These are photographs from actual jobs. See more recent work. Or read about the full yard drainage & french drains service.
Questions people ask
Not seeing yours? Call (828) 574-4474 and ask Jordan, or read the guides.
My Forest City crawlspace is wet every spring. Where do I start?
Start with the roof water. On most older houses in town the downspouts drop at the corners and the ground there has washed low, so water pools against the foundation. Burying the downspouts and regrading the first few feet to fall away from the house fixes most of them.
There is a low, soggy spot where a tree came down years ago. Will filling it work?
Only if it is done properly. The roots under it are still rotting, so loose fill sinks again within a season or two. The soft ground is dug out to firm soil, hauled off, and the hole is filled in compacted layers, then graded flush with the lawn.
Do I need a permit for drainage work in Forest City?
For regrading a dry lot, usually not. If the property lies along the Second Broad River or a creek, the Town of Forest City's Planning office handles flood questions, and its site plans have to show the floodplain. Ask there before fill goes onto low ground.
Who marks the utilities before the trench is dug?
NC811. The request goes in three working days before digging and the utilities mark their lines for free. That is part of the job, not something you have to arrange. Lines you ran yourself, such as power to a shed, are not marked, so mention those.
How far does Jordan travel for a job in Forest City?
Forest City is about thirty minutes northeast of Tryon, well inside the normal run. Send two photos of the wet area with the house in frame, plus your road, and you will get a figure. If the lot needs a look, the visit is free.
Other work he takes on
Most jobs end up being two or three of these at once, and they get quoted together.
Yard Drainage & French Drains in other towns
Stump Grinding
Stumps ground below grade with a narrow tracked grinder, several at once, gated yards included.
Learn moreDemolition
Sheds, barns, carports, decks and slabs taken down and hauled off.
Learn moreGrading & Excavation
Pads cut, gravel drives built, wet yards regraded so they drain.
Learn moreLand Clearing
Brush, saplings and roots out, debris hauled, ground left workable.
Learn moreConcrete
Driveways, aprons, shed and shop pads and patio slabs on a proper base.
Learn moreDumpster Rental
Roll-off dumpsters out of Tryon for cleanouts and tear-downs.
Learn more5.0
5.0 on Google · 24 reviews
What People Say Afterwards
Word for word from the Google profile. The same three things keep coming up: he shows up when he says he will, the work is clean, and the ground is left tidy.
“Jordan with JB Stump Grinding & Land Management did an excellent job from start to finish. He was professional, courteous, respectful, and showed up exactly when he said he would. His work was very clean and neat, and he took the time to make sure everything was cleaned up and the property looked great before he left.”
“Exceptional job from start to finish — he was professional, efficient, and clearly takes a lot of pride in his work. His pricing was very fair and reasonable, and the quality of the work was excellent. He showed up, worked hard, and left the area looking great when it was finished.”
“I have used JB Stump Grinding multiple times and I couldn’t be more impressed! Jordan did a great job, showed up when he said he would, and left everything clean when he was finished. Professional, dependable, and easy to work with.”
“I have used JB twice and will use him again anytime. He is a pleasure to work with and also does a fantastic job. He cuts, cleans up and delivers. Definitely deserves 5 stars.”
“Jordan is a stand up guy! Can’t thank him enough! Would highly recommend him to anyone!”
“Best stump removal in the area!”
Free estimate in Forest City.
Send the details and Jordan will come out and look at it. If it is easier to talk it through, call him directly.
Tryon, Polk County and the towns around it, down into Spartanburg and Greenville counties and up into Henderson and Rutherford counties.
Need yard drainage in Forest City?
Send a couple of photos and the address or road, or call Jordan. Estimates are free.