Drainage Solutions in Wellesley, MA

Standing water in a Wellesley yard is rarely a mystery once you look at the soil underneath it. MetroWest sits on dense glacial till that drains unevenly at best, and combined with downspouts discharging too close to the house, low spots in the original grading, or a patio installed without a drainage plan, the result is a lawn that stays soggy for days after rain, or worse, water finding its way toward a foundation. Inova designs and installs drainage solutions, French drains, regrading, downspout extensions, and dry wells, specifically for this glacial till reality rather than a generic drainage template. Sump pumps and interior waterproofing systems address symptoms inside a basement, but they do nothing to stop water from reaching the foundation in the first place, which is the piece landscaping-side drainage work is actually meant to solve.

Drainage work is also one of the more regulated corners of landscaping in this region. Grading or excavation within 100 feet of wetlands, or 200 feet of a river, stream, or vernal pool, can trigger Conservation Commission review before work begins, and the town, not us, makes that determination. We check this against your address early in the process so there are no surprises once a drainage plan is designed.

We approach every drainage project the same way: figure out where the water is actually coming from and where it wants to go naturally, then build a system that moves it to an appropriate discharge point instead of just relocating the problem to a different corner of the yard, or worse, a neighbor's property. Sometimes the right fix is surprisingly simple, extending a downspout another ten feet, regrading six inches of a lawn's low corner, and sometimes it genuinely requires a full French drain system; we would rather recommend the smaller fix when it will actually work.

Problems we solve

Our process

1. 1

   Site assessment

   We observe how and where water moves on your property, ideally during or right after rain when possible, and identify the actual source rather than just the symptom.

2. 2

   Regulatory check

   We confirm whether your property falls within a wetland or waterway buffer that would require Conservation Commission review before any grading or excavation.

3. 3

   Design

   We design a solution, French drain, regrading, downspout extension, dry well, or a combination, sized to your site's actual water volume and routed to an appropriate discharge point. We size pipe diameter and gravel volume to the storm event the site actually needs to handle, not a one-size-fits-all spec that undersizes for a genuine downpour or oversizes cost for a minor nuisance.

4. 4

   Excavation and installation

   Trenches are excavated to the design depth and pitch, drainage pipe and gravel are installed correctly, and fabric is used where appropriate to prevent silt clogging over time.

5. 5

   Regrading where needed

   Surface grade is corrected to work with the underground drainage system, not against it, so both surface and subsurface water move the same direction.

6. 6

   Final walkthrough

   We review the completed system, confirm the discharge point, and explain how to spot early signs the system needs maintenance down the road.

What's included

• Free site assessment and written proposal
• Check for wetland or waterway buffer requirements
• Drainage system designed to your site's actual water volume
• Properly pitched trenching and pipe installation
• Regrading coordinated with the drainage system
• Cleanup and lawn or bed restoration in disturbed areas
• Walkthrough explaining the system and future maintenance signs

What affects your price

We never quote from a photo. Every estimate is a written, itemized scope after an on-site assessment — here's what moves the number up or down:

Why choose Inova

Drainage is the part of landscaping that determines whether every other investment on a property, lawn, plantings, patio, wall, actually lasts. We design every drainage solution around the specific reality of glacial till soil and Massachusetts wetland regulations, rather than a one-size-fits-all French drain kit that ignores where your particular property's water actually comes from.

We are insured, offer free site assessments typically scheduled within 48 hours, and coordinate drainage work alongside other services, retaining walls, lawn and sod installation, or a new paver patio, when a project needs more than one trade. Many of our drainage calls in Dedham and Wayland start as a wet-lawn complaint and end with a comprehensive fix once we trace the water back to its actual source.

Beyond Dedham and Wayland, we also design and install drainage systems in Norwood, Canton, Walpole, Medfield, and Sherborn, towns that share MetroWest's glacial till drainage challenges. Site assessments are free and typically scheduled within 48 hours, we're insured, and drainage work can be bundled with a new lawn or hardscape project financed through third-party partners. Crews communicate in Portuguese and Spanish as well as English on every site visit.