Help on drainage

[GroundEffects125]

Hey i have a french drain job that is 92ft long, i am going to use a 4in sock drain how much do yall generally charge per ft. Is there a rate that most people use?

[White Gardens]

What's your prep work like?
What Machine are you using to install the pipe?

We need a few more details.

Use this for reference too. In there I think a few have talked about pricing per foot.

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=253922&highlight=Rock+For+French+Drain

[Junior M]

Call a local company, thats what I do.. :laugh:

[GroundEffects125]

haha good idea, im using my ditch witch 1020 im going to have to do some hand digging also i was just wondering if there was a set price that some people use.

[ALLPro Landscaping]

my prices have been anywhere from 7.50 up to 100 bucks a foot, it all depends, on location and whats involved

[w.a.reid]

i often say "$25 per man per hour for the digging, installation and final touches. reimburse me for the materials....my price is your price....wholesale too."

and that works for normal people - that does not include attorneys.

however, if you have to ballpark a figure - do this math - - $15 per foot multiplied by your total length....take that number and multiply the average number of feet deep the drain is to be - i.e. if your doing a french drain behind a retaining wall that is as tall as 6 feet, but tapers down to two feet - lean towards 4 feet in rugged rocky or clay soils - maybe 3 feet if its nice backfilled topsoil or sand.

example

100 foot retaining wall around a swimming pool - wall is 6 feet tall at highest point and one foot tall at lowest point - and of course a few feet on either end of the wall to get to the homes roof-gutter 4" drainage pipes - - rugged terrain with tree roots and clay.

so the math is this

100' x $15 = $1500
$1500 x 4 (avg. foot depth) = $6000

add at least $1000 if job is for an attorney - they will try and screw you out of some money anyway - so dont cut the bid too close.

get $3000 upfront for the costs - BEFORE - your shovel hits the dirt - you do not want to start haggling at the end of the job with the entire project out of pocket.

i pay my guys $10 per hour to $14 per hour

the soil is too lousy to use anywhere once removed and needs to be hauled away.

the materials i use are the :
*4" perforated flexible drain pipe already in the sock
*4" connectors for the pvc attachment
*6-9 mil black plastic against the wall - all the way down past the footer and enough on the bottom of the trench to bowl or cup underneath the drainage tube
*gorilla duct tape to seal plastic seams
*1.5" RINSED limestone as the rock/gravel
*landscape fabric against the soil - leave enough out to fold over the top of the gravel
*triple-screened topsoil on top of the fabric - 1' to 6" deep - to allow sod or other plantings

there are other fancier backings for the retaining wall - depending on how fancy you want to get - but the plastic works fine.

my trenches are often 2' wide

any groundwater that percs through the fabric is going to hit that big airy limestone and just drop - it should never ever even get close to the wall - once dropped it will build up until it finds the tube - the path of least resistance - where it will build up and find its way into the pvc pipe that carries it to an area of unconcern or the street or wherever you think best.

whew.

w.a.reid

[Dugann]

Bingo that sums it up for me. The other landscaper here in town dose it the same way and is compairable to this per hour rate.
i often say "$25 per man per hour for the digging, installation and final touches. reimburse me for the materials....my price is your price....wholesale too."

and that works for normal people - that does not include attorneys.

however, if you have to ballpark a figure - do this math - - $15 per foot multiplied by your total length....take that number and multiply the average number of feet deep the drain is to be - i.e. if your doing a french drain behind a retaining wall that is as tall as 6 feet, but tapers down to two feet - lean towards 4 feet in rugged rocky or clay soils - maybe 3 feet if its nice backfilled topsoil or sand.

example

100 foot retaining wall around a swimming pool - wall is 6 feet tall at highest point and one foot tall at lowest point - and of course a few feet on either end of the wall to get to the homes roof-gutter 4" drainage pipes - - rugged terrain with tree roots and clay.

so the math is this

100' x $15 = $1500
$1500 x 4 (avg. foot depth) = $6000

add at least $1000 if job is for an attorney - they will try and screw you out of some money anyway - so dont cut the bid too close.

get $3000 upfront for the costs - BEFORE - your shovel hits the dirt - you do not want to start haggling at the end of the job with the entire project out of pocket.

i pay my guys $10 per hour to $14 per hour

the soil is too lousy to use anywhere once removed and needs to be hauled away.

the materials i use are the :
*4" perforated flexible drain pipe already in the sock
*4" connectors for the pvc attachment
*6-9 mil black plastic against the wall - all the way down past the footer and enough on the bottom of the trench to bowl or cup underneath the drainage tube
*gorilla duct tape to seal plastic seams
*1.5" RINSED limestone as the rock/gravel
*landscape fabric against the soil - leave enough out to fold over the top of the gravel
*triple-screened topsoil on top of the fabric - 1' to 6" deep - to allow sod or other plantings

there are other fancier backings for the retaining wall - depending on how fancy you want to get - but the plastic works fine.

my trenches are often 2' wide

any groundwater that percs through the fabric is going to hit that big airy limestone and just drop - it should never ever even get close to the wall - once dropped it will build up until it finds the tube - the path of least resistance - where it will build up and find its way into the pvc pipe that carries it to an area of unconcern or the street or wherever you think best.

whew.

w.a.reid

[JNyz]

$17.00 per foot is industry standard.

[w.a.reid]

$17.00 per foot is industry standard.

i wouldnt dig a five foot deep french drain - in heavy clay soil - behind a retaining wall - and with a driveway that a 10 cubic yard dump truck cannot drive on - so the wheelbarrow carry is 30 yards for $17 a foot - maybe you were trying to be funny, but the guy that posted this thread doesnt sound like he wants to take a beating on the job:hammerhead: - theres a lot more to the bidding/estimate than measuring the length of the drain. :confused:

so i will further your "industry standard" with reality - use JNyz's $17 per foot for the length of the job - and then multiply that figure by the average number of feet deep the drain needs to be - so again -

$17 x 100 feet (making up the length of the drain needed) is $1700

if the depth of the french drain needs to be 5 feet at its maximum and then tapers to say 1 foot deep - and then you have moderate soil - use 2.5 feet as an average depth - now multiply $1700 x 2.5 = $4250.

if $17 is an "industry standard" - will you show me/us where thats written in the "industry standard book of landscape bidding" - i think we'd all like to see an industry standard book - but there aint one - sometimes you just have got to think.;)

w.a.reid - future writer of "the landscape industry standard of landscape bidding and estimating":dancing:

[JNyz]

i wouldnt dig a five foot deep french drain - in heavy clay soil - behind a retaining wall - and with a driveway that a 10 cubic yard dump truck cannot drive on - so the wheelbarrow carry is 30 yards for $17 a foot - maybe you were trying to be funny, but the guy that posted this thread doesnt sound like he wants to take a beating on the job:hammerhead: - theres a lot more to the bidding/estimate than measuring the length of the drain. :confused:

so i will further your "industry standard" with reality - use JNyz's $17 per foot for the length of the job - and then multiply that figure by the average number of feet deep the drain needs to be - so again -

$17 x 100 feet (making up the length of the drain needed) is $1700

if the depth of the french drain needs to be 5 feet at its maximum and then tapers to say 1 foot deep - and then you have moderate soil - use 2.5 feet as an average depth - now multiply $1700 x 2.5 = $4250.

if $17 is an "industry standard" - will you show me/us where thats written in the "industry standard book of landscape bidding" - i think we'd all like to see an industry standard book - but there aint one - sometimes you just have got to think.;)

w.a.reid - future writer of "the landscape industry standard of landscape bidding and estimating":dancing:

Where does it state in the thread starter's post that he is digging a 2.5' average dept trench? To me with the information he gave the french drain is only going to be 6"x6" enough for a 4" sock. I think you need to READ the post before you put in your two cents. If you do bid jobs everyday like we do you become accustom to what other bid for this type of work. Drainage bids in S E Pa come in at 17.00 per foot for for 4" pipe for a french drain around a home. This is the correct answer for the information the thread starter gave in his post. Did your A D D kick in?

[w.a.reid]

Where does it state in the thread starter's post that he is digging a 2.5' average dept trench? To me with the information he gave the french drain is only going to be 6"x6" enough for a 4" sock. I think you need to READ the post before you put in your two cents. If you do bid jobs everyday like we do you become accustom to what other bid for this type of work. Drainage bids in S E Pa come in at 17.00 per foot for for 4" pipe for a french drain around a home. This is the correct answer for the information the thread starter gave in his post. Did your A D D kick in?

ADHD - more like. youre right - wrong reply for this post - $17 per linear foot is right on target for a drain one foot deep - whats your industry standard for a drain that actually gets deeper than one foot deep - still $17 per foot? if so - i sure got some sub-work for you!

w.a.reid

[JNyz]

Industry standard is the wrong phase, I should of wrote industry rate in my area. Once I go over 1 foot it is whole different ball game. It usually gets done at a time and materials rate. Labor rate would be $60.00 per man hour plus all equipment charges. I don't usually get into anything over 18" deep, besides a pit at the end of the drain.

You are from TX and I am from SE Pa so soil conditions and prices per foot should be different in dept and length.

[w.a.reid]

*trucewhiteflag*youre right about the soil issues for sure - i can go from one end of town and have sand/silt issues - and drive 15 minutes to the other end of town and have red clay that not only turns into bowling balls when dug out and dried up - but will also stain your clothes - takes a chisel to remove from your shovel once dried - and you cant plant a tree in the stuff without leaving the rootball halfway up and out of the stuff because the hole will NOT drain and the tree will simply drown.:dizzy:

when i think of PA soil - i picture "the good stuff" - black and rich where anything grows....must be nice.:)

w.a.reid

and i moved my post to the correct thread - "french drain estimate":clapping: