The longer answer
What regrading actually does: reshapes the soil so gravity does the work — typically building the grade to fall at least 6 inches over the first 10 feet away from the foundation. It's the right fix when settled backfill has the yard tilting at the house and the area is open enough to reshape. Grading and water diversion work is quoted per site — every yard's dirt math is different.
What a French drain actually does: collects water that's already in the soil — perforated pipe in washed rock and filter fabric — and carries it to a discharge point. It's the right fix when the ground stays wet between rains, when water comes at you from a neighbor's slope, or when mature landscaping, fences, patios, and trees mean regrading would wreck more than it fixes.
The honest decision test for KC clay:
- Water moves across the yard and pools at the house, but the soil drains between storms → grade problem. Regrade (or add a catch basin at the low point, $350–$750, when reshaping isn't practical).
- Ground squishes for days after rain, or you can't fix the slope without destroying the landscaping → French drain.
- Roof water is dumping at the wall → neither, yet. Bury the downspouts first ($300–$700 per line) — it's the cheapest fix and it's the actual cause in most KC wet-foundation calls.
One more clay-country reality: regraded soil settles, and heavy KC clay holds a new shape imperfectly — which is why our default design moves water to a real discharge point rather than betting everything on surface shape. We quote both paths when both are viable, and the free assessment tells you which yours is.
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