Drainage Improvements Now Detailed Across Our San Antonio Service Areas

We have changed how drainage work appears in our proposals. Starting with quotes issued from this month, every scope that includes drainage improvements now carries a documented site water assessment rather than a line item and a price.

This is a documentation change rather than a new service. We have been carrying out drainage work alongside foundation repair for some time. What has changed is what you receive with the quote, and why. It applies across every scope we write, in the same way the written-scope standard applies to the rest of our foundation repair services in San Antonio.

Why We Changed It

Drainage is the part of a foundation proposal most likely to be either quietly omitted or quietly inflated. Both happen, and both are a documentation problem.

Omitted: a foundation quote covers piers and says nothing about the downspout discharging at the corner that is dropping. The repair goes in, the water keeps arriving, and the homeowner is left wondering why a neighbouring section starts moving two years later.

Inflated: drainage is attached to every foundation proposal by default as a package add-on, regardless of whether the site conditions call for it. The homeowner pays for a French drain on a lot that already sheds water perfectly well.

Neither is defensible, and the fix for both is the same: write down what was observed, where, and why the recommendation follows from it.

What the Documented Assessment Includes

Where drainage appears in a scope, the proposal now includes:

• A site water sketch. Where water arrives on the property, where it collects, the direction of fall on each elevation, and where a viable outlet exists.
• Grade observations per elevation. Whether the ground falls away from the foundation on each side, with the problem elevations identified specifically rather than described in general.
• Roof runoff mapping. Every downspout, where it currently discharges, and its distance from the foundation.
• Component rationale. Why a French drain rather than a swale, why a catch basin at that particular low point, and what each component is expected to do.
• Outlet location and constraints. Where the water will discharge, whether reaching it crosses a drainage easement, and what that means for the design.
• What the work will not do. Stated explicitly, because drainage manages moisture going forward and does not reverse settlement that has already occurred.

Where This Applies

The documented assessment now applies across all our service areas, from the northeast corridor through Converse, Cibolo, Schertz, Universal City, and Live Oak, across to Leon Valley and Helotes, north through the Timberwood Park and Stone Oak area, and out to the communities we cover in Comal, Guadalupe, and Kendall Counties.

The site conditions differ considerably across that range, which is part of the point. On the flatter clay lots of the northeast corridor, the usual issue is water sitting rather than moving, and available fall to an outlet is often the binding constraint. On the Hill Country side, water moves fast and the issue is concentrated flow eroding support or arriving at one elevation with force. A single template applied to both would be wrong in both places.

What Has Not Changed

Drainage still is not an automatic part of a foundation scope. If the grade falls away properly, the downspouts discharge clear, and the perimeter is dry, we will say that and the drainage line will not appear. A contractor who includes it every time is selling a package rather than assessing a property.

We still do not claim drainage fixes existing movement. It reduces the risk of further movement by making perimeter moisture more consistent. Where a foundation has already moved enough to warrant repair, drainage is a companion measure that protects the repair. It is not a substitute for it.

Sequencing is still decided per site. Sometimes drainage goes in with the pier work because the same ground is already open. Sometimes it comes first because an active water source is driving the movement. The scope states which and why.

The practical takeaway

If you are holding a foundation quote that mentions drainage, ask what was observed to justify it and where the water will discharge. If the answer is vague, that is worth knowing before you sign. If you are holding one that does not mention drainage at all, and you have a downspout emptying at the corner that is dropping, that is worth knowing too.

Reading a Drainage Line in Any Quote

This applies whoever wrote the proposal, not just ours:

Ask	Why it matters
What did you observe that led to this?	Separates assessment from a default add-on
Where does the water discharge?	Gravity systems fail without a viable outlet
How much fall is available?	A level trench holds water instead of draining it
What length and depth?	The main cost drivers, and often unstated
What restoration is included?	Trenching disturbs turf, beds, and irrigation
What maintenance will it need?	Basins and pipe silt up and need clearing

Our guide on French drains, catch basins, and swales explains what each component actually does, and our guide on when drainage work is recommended with foundation repair covers the sequencing question in more depth.

Have standing water against your foundation? — Read about drainage improvements