Point-collection drains for the spot in your yard that ponds after every storm. NDS catch basins and area drains set in the low spot, piped underground at laser-shot slope to daylight or a pop-up emitter. $350–$750 per basin installed; multi-basin systems $1,500–$3,800. Free assessments, 10-year workmanship warranty.
You know the spot. It's been there every storm for years.
Every Kansas City yard has one: the corner that turns into a pond, the bed that drowns the plants, the patch of lawn that squishes for three days after rain. Premier Gutters KC installs catch basins and yard drains that collect that water at the low point and move it underground to somewhere harmless — a daylight outlet, a pop-up emitter at the curb line, or a dry well. Set right, sloped right, and photographed before backfill.
Anyone can set a plastic box in a hole. What makes a yard drain work is everything you can't see after backfill — which is exactly what we build and document.
Point drains and line drains solve different problems, and installing the wrong one is the most common DIY drainage mistake we get called to fix. Here's the honest decision guide.
Catch basins run $350–$750 each installed — excavation, gravel base, NDS basin and grate, and tie-in to the discharge line. Multi-basin yard systems typically run $1,500–$3,800 depending on pipe length and restoration. Pop-up emitters add $150–$300. Free quotes; pricing from the actual yard, not a formula.
A catch basin collects surface water at one point - the low spot where water visibly ponds - through a grate, and pipes it away. A French drain collects subsurface water along a line through perforated pipe in gravel. If you can see standing water in one place, you likely need a basin. If the ground is soggy across an area, you likely need a French drain. Many KC yards need both, piped to the same discharge.
Catch basins run $350-$750 each installed in the Kansas City metro, including excavation, a gravel base, the basin and grate, and connection into a buried discharge line. Multi-basin yard systems with longer pipe runs typically land in the $1,500-$3,800 range. Quotes are free.
Into a solid buried pipe run at continuous slope to a discharge point: daylight on a slope, a pop-up emitter that opens under flow, or - on flat lots with no exit - a properly sized dry well. The basin is just the mouth; the discharge is what makes it work. We photograph the full pipe run before backfill.
We match the grate to the location. Atrium (dome) grates stand above mulch and leaves in landscape beds so debris can't mat flat over the opening; flat grates sit flush in turf where mowing matters. Basins also have a sump below the pipe that traps sediment - lift the grate once or twice a year and scoop it out.
Sometimes, and when regrading is the honest fix we'll say so - moving soil can be cheaper than moving water. But most established KC yards can't be regraded without wrecking landscaping, and clay holds the new shape poorly. A basin piped to a real outlet is usually the durable answer.
The full system menu — basins are usually one piece of the design.
For soggy areas and subsurface water rather than visible ponding.
For water sheeting across driveways and patios.
Where the collected water goes when a lot has no daylight exit.
Free yard drain assessments across the KC metro. Show us the puddle — we'll design the path out.
