Red Hills lots north of I-10, from Thomasville Road to Bannerman
Tallahassee Yard Drainage in Bradfordville, Florida
Rolling lots, clay-rich subsoil, and county stormwater rules written to protect two lakes. Drainage in Bradfordville has to account for all three.
- Tallahassee, Bradfordville and Crawfordville
- Written price before any digging
- Licensed, insured local contractors
- Priced for Red Hills clay and karst sand
Tallahassee Yard Drainage arranges yard drainage work in Bradfordville, the unincorporated community of about 19,000 people along Thomasville Road in northern Leon County. Most homes here sit on sloping Red Hills lots, which means water arrives from uphill, meets clay-enriched subsoil a foot or two down, and goes wherever the builder's grading sent it.
On a Bradfordville hillside, intercepting water above the house with a $4,000 curtain drain costs a fraction of years of runoff soaking the uphill wall, which can run past $15,000 in foundation and slab-edge work.
Most Bradfordville drainage jobs run $2,500 to $9,000
Yard drainage in Bradfordville costs the same as in Tallahassee: a French drain runs $30 to $65 per linear foot installed, or about $2,500 to $9,000 for most runs, downspout piping starts around $400 per downspout, and regrading runs $1,500 to $6,000. Long outlet runs on large lots push a job toward the top of those ranges.
Get a price: (850) 604-5871What Bradfordville homeowners usually call about
- Runoff from the lot uphill crossing the back yard in every thunderstorm
- Water reaching the uphill wall of the house through the ground
- Red silt washing down the driveway into the street
- A soggy strip along the fence line between two sloped lots
Why water behaves this way here
Bradfordville sits well north of the Cody Scarp, in the heart of the Red Hills. The ground rolls, so most lots receive water from uphill and pass it on downhill. The red sandy loam on top absorbs a light rain easily. Below it the subsoil is enriched with clay, and in a heavy summer storm water soaks down, reaches that layer and travels sideways along it, surfacing at the next low point, often the back of a house.
The fixes that work here deal with moving water: a curtain drain across the uphill side of a house, swales that carry runoff past it, and downspouts piped to the downhill side of the lot. See foundation drainage and drainage swales.
The Bradfordville Stormwater Standards
Bradfordville has its own chapter in Leon County's planning rules. The Bradfordville Sector Plan includes the Bradfordville Stormwater Standards, stricter than the county's baseline, which exist to protect Lake McBride to the west and Lake Iamonia to the north from runoff and sediment.
Those standards mainly govern development, not a French drain on an existing lot. They still matter: drainage that ties into a road, ditch or pond is more likely to need county review here than elsewhere, and the reason they exist is a good reason to keep silt on your lot during any dig, with silt fence or wattles on the downhill side until the sod is back.
Not sure which of these your yard needs? Describe it on the phone and get a straight answer.
Call (850) 604-5871Right of way and utilities
Bradfordville is unincorporated, so the public right of way is Leon County's. Placing pipe in it, or connecting to a county ditch or storm structure, needs a county right-of-way placement permit. Several older roads in northern Leon County are designated canopy roads, lined with oaks the county protects, with tree rules of their own. Sunshine 811 has to locate buried utilities before anyone digs, with at least two full business days of notice.
Neighbors on sloping ground
On rolling ground, one lot's drainage fix is the next lot's water. Florida applies the reasonable-use rule to surface water: you may improve your drainage, but you can be liable if you unreasonably send water onto someone else. Here that usually means carrying water along the natural path to the street or the neighborhood's stormwater system rather than over the back fence. The mirror-image problem south of town, on sand over limestone, is on the Crawfordville page.
Runoff from uphill reaching the house?
On a Bradfordville slope that is the most common call and the one to fix first. Describe where the water comes from and which wall it reaches.
Call (850) 604-5871Drainage questions from Bradfordville
How much does yard drainage cost in Bradfordville?
Typically $2,500 to $9,000. French drains run $30 to $65 per linear foot installed, downspout piping starts around $400 per downspout and regrading runs $1,500 to $6,000.
Do the Bradfordville Stormwater Standards apply to my French drain?
They mainly govern development. A French drain on an existing lot usually does not trigger them, but work that ties into a road, ditch or pond is more likely to need county review.
Who issues right-of-way permits in Bradfordville?
Leon County, because Bradfordville is unincorporated.
Why does water reach the uphill side of my house?
Water soaks through the red loam, reaches the clay-rich subsoil and travels along it downhill. A curtain drain on the uphill side intercepts it.
What are the signs of a drainage problem on a sloped lot?
Runoff crossing the yard in storms, water at the uphill wall, red silt on the driveway and soggy strips along fence lines.
Common jobs here
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Foundation drainage
The house is the one thing in the yard that must stay dry. Foundation drainage moves water away from it before it can soak the soil the slab rests on.
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Drainage swales
A swale is a shallow, gently sloped channel in the lawn. It moves a summer storm's worth of surface water across a yard without a single buried part to clog.
Talk it through before anyone digs
Describe where the water sits and where it comes from. You will hear which fix fits the yard, what it usually costs, and whether you need one at all.
Call (850) 604-5871