Register your business

Home / Trades / Advice / What is a French drain, and when should you ask for one?

What is a French drain, and when should you ask for one?

A French drain in Cheshire is a gravel-filled trench that moves surface water away from a wall or a soggy patch of lawn. This page does not print a figure, because we could not find two dated public sources that agree on one.

Last reviewed:

By the QuoteZila editorial team. Editorial policy.

What problem is a French drain meant to solve?

In Cheshire, water sitting against a wall or in a lawn after rain is the usual reason someone asks about a French drain. The page is written for Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach before the rest of the county. The name is not a product you buy off a shelf, and it is not a price. A contractor may mean a trench of gravel, a perforated pipe in that trench, a fall towards a lower point, and a place for the water to go. Another contractor may mean only the gravel. Until the quote names which of those you are buying, the two figures are not the same job.

This page does not tell you where to dig, how deep to go, or what pipe to use. Those choices belong to the person who will do the work, after they have seen the ground. Your part is a clear description and a written comparison.

Anyone in the UK can post a job or register. QuoteZila is new, so how many replies you get depends on which businesses have joined near you [QZ5].

How is this different from a soakaway?

People mix the two up because both deal with water in the ground. A soakaway is its own installation. The Planning Portal's interactive guidance says a soakaway does not normally require an application for planning permission if it deals with surface water and does not discharge into a public sewer, and that additional rules may apply in a conservation area or within the boundary of a listed building [S1]. The same answer says building regulations will apply to the creation of a soakaway, and that it must comply with Part H, which specifies where soakaways can be located and the size that is permitted [S1].

That is a soakaway, not a promise about every gravel trench. If your quote is for a soakaway, read soakaway drain cost and ask the council about your own plot. If the quote is only a trench to move water along a boundary, say that in the job so nobody prices the wrong thing.

GOV.UK: find your local council for building control. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.

What should you tell the contractor about the ground?

Write what you can see from the garden, without digging a test hole yourself.

  • Where the water sits after rain, and whether it clears in a dry day or stays for longer.
  • Whether it is beside the house, a garage, a path, or in the middle of the lawn.
  • Whether a downpipe already discharges onto that spot.
  • Trees, manholes, and anything you do not want driven over.
  • Whether the neighbour's wall is close. GOV.UK says the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 covers excavation near to and below the foundation level of neighbouring buildings [S2]. A shallow garden trench may not be that work. A deep dig beside next door's footing might be. Say what you know and let the contractor say which case they think it is. The Act is separate from planning permission and from building regulations approval [S2].

Do not claim the soil in your town is clay, sand, or anything else unless a report in your hand says so. This page will not.

What should the written price include?

Citizens Advice says not to rely on a verbal quote, and to get it in writing [S3]. A quote is a fixed price. An estimate is a rough guess, so you might pay more [S3]. After you accept, it is a binding agreement, and writing it down is how you can show what was agreed [S3]. Try to collect written quotes from at least 3 traders before you choose [S3]. Some traders charge for quotes, so ask first [S3].

For this job, ask the paper to say:

  • the run, in metres or in a sketch you both understand
  • whether a pipe is included, or gravel only
  • where the water is supposed to end up
  • who digs, who backfills, and who takes spoil away
  • whether the lawn or path is put back
  • whether VAT is included

A business must register for VAT when its taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or when it expects to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days [S4]. Ask which kind of total you have been given.

If a deposit cannot be avoided, Citizens Advice says not to agree more than 25%, and to get a receipt [S3]. Offering to buy materials yourself is the alternative that page suggests [S3].

What should you not do before someone visits?

Do not open a trench against the house to "see how wet it is". Do not lift a manhole. Do not redirect a downpipe into a hole you have not agreed. This page gives none of those steps. Photos of the wet patch, taken from the garden, are enough for a first quote.

If the water is coming through an internal wall, or you can smell drains rather than rain, say that. A surface-water trench is the wrong brief for a foul-water fault. A plumber is the trade page for waste pipes inside the house. Landscapers and builders are the pages for outside groundworks. Gardeners cover upkeep that is not a new drain.

Jobs you might post

These are examples, not taken from real job posts.

  • Water pools on the lawn after rain and takes a long time to go. Ask for a written trench quote that says where the water will go. You have not dug anything.
  • A downpipe empties onto the path beside the kitchen wall. Ask whether the quote is a trench, a soakaway, or both, and keep those as separate lines.
  • The side passage stays wet. The neighbour's wall is close. Ask the contractor to say whether the dig could be excavation near a foundation, before they price it as a garden tidy.

How do you compare the replies?

Put the destination of the water side by side first. Then the pipe, or the lack of one. Then the making-good. Only then look at the totals. Citizens Advice says a price a lot lower than the others may mean the work is not the same work, or that the trader does not have the skills the job needs [S3]. Be wary if someone will not write the price down [S3].

Check insurance yourself. Citizens Advice says to ask what insurance the trader has, to ask to see the policies, and to check they do not run out before the work finishes [S3].

Honest status: QuoteZila is new. We're starting in Cheshire, beginning with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach, and growing area by area. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business. How fast you get quotes depends on how many local businesses have joined near you. Businesses can register and receive jobs straight away. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire.

Posting a job is not open yet

What do people ask about French drains?

Is a French drain the same as a soakaway?

No. A French drain is a way of moving surface water along a trench. A soakaway is a different installation. The Planning Portal says a soakaway does not normally need a planning application if it deals with surface water and does not discharge into a public sewer, and that building regulations apply to creating one. Do not assume those sentences also decide your trench.

Will digging near a neighbour's house matter?

It can. GOV.UK says the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 covers excavation near to and below the foundation level of neighbouring buildings, and that the Act is separate from planning permission and from building regulations approval. If the trench could go that deep beside a neighbour, say so before anyone prices it as a simple garden job.

Should the quote be in writing?

Yes. Citizens Advice says a quote is a fixed price and an estimate is only a rough guess, and that you should try to get written quotes from at least 3 traders. Some traders charge for preparing a quote, so ask about that before anyone visits.

Does QuoteZila check drainage contractors?

No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.

Can I post a French drain job on QuoteZila?

Yes. Describe where the water sits, add a Cheshire postcode, and say whether the trench is beside a wall. Up to five matched local businesses can quote. QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses.

Where else can you read?

Part of Trades. All services

Related trades

Cost guides

Related pages

Sources

  1. QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila home and jobs copy.
  2. QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila terms, customers.
  3. QZ5: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila FAQ.
  4. S1: Soakaway planning and building rules, Planning Portal. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://interactive.planningportal.co.uk/faqs/what-are-the-planning-and-building-rules-for-constructing-a-soakaway
  5. S2: Party Wall etc Act 1996 guidance, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-resolving-disputes-in-relation-to-party-walls
  6. S3: Before you get work done on your home, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/
  7. S4: Register for VAT, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat