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Princeton Excavation

Drainage Diagnosis

Yard Drainage Solutions

Princeton Excavation fixes yards that hold water, and the work starts before any digging. Standing water has a cause: grade pitched the wrong way, downspouts dumping at the foundation, a clay layer that won't perc, runoff arriving from uphill. We trace where the water comes from and where it should go, then build the specific fix instead of defaulting to one product.

Call (609) 438-8064Request a Site Visit
Find the cause first

Find the cause first

Half the drainage jobs we see got the wrong fix the first time because nobody asked why the water was there. We start with that question.

Read the Water, Then Plan

We walk the lot, ideally after rain, and follow the water: where it lands, where it collects, where the grade sends it. The plan comes from what the site shows, not from a standard package.

Regrade for Positive Pitch

The most common cause is soil settled back toward the house. We rebuild positive pitch away from the foundation with laser grade control, often the whole fix on its own, with no pipe in the ground.

Move Water That Has to Move

When runoff needs a path, we build it: shallow swales across the lawn, catch basins at collection points, buried downspout lines, curtain drains cutting off uphill flow, dry wells where nothing daylights.

Matching the fix to the water

Every drainage tool answers a different problem. A swale carries sheet runoff across a lawn. A catch basin takes water that pools in one spot. Buried downspout extensions handle roof volume that clay soil can't drink at the foundation. A curtain drain intercepts groundwater sliding downhill from a neighbor's lot. Sell any one of them as a cure-all and the yard is wet again next spring. Diagnose first and the fix tends to be simpler, and cheaper, than the one-size quote.

  • Where we work

    Around Princeton, Skillman, and Lawrence the soil itself sets the terms: heavy clay over a seasonal high water table means infiltration is slow, so most fixes are about routing water away rather than soaking it in. Our compact machines cut swales and set basins in finished, fenced yards without tearing them apart, and NJ One Call (811) marks the utilities before any of it starts.

How a job goes

From the first call to a clean handover

  1. 1. Site Walk

    We come look at the property by appointment, check the access and any constraints, and go over your plans or what you have in mind.

  2. 2. Marking & Layout

    We set the layout on the ground with laser accuracy. Depths, lines, and elevations are marked before anything gets dug.

  3. 3. The Work

    We bring the right machine for the access, lay ground protection where it's needed, and keep the mess around lawns, trees, and hardscape to a minimum.

  4. 4. Clean Handover

    You're left with a site that's ready to go and a yard that's still in one piece, set up for whatever's next.

Frequently Asked Questions

In this area it's usually clay. Water percs through it slowly, and in spring a seasonal high water table backs it up further. If the surrounding grade also pitches toward the low spot, the water has nowhere to go. The fix depends on which of those is doing most of the damage, which is what the walk-through determines.

Princeton, Hopewell Township, Montgomery & Skillman, and surrounding Mercer and Somerset County, NJ.

Tired of a swamp every time it rains? Have us out to trace the water.

Owner-operated and by appointment. Tell us about your project and we'll walk the site with you.

Request a Site Visit
Call (609) 438-8064Site Visit