Drainage Repair in the Lehigh Valley

Water always wins — unless you give it somewhere better to go. A soggy lawn, a puddle that lives at the bottom of the driveway, water seeping into the basement every hard rain: these aren’t separate problems. They’re all the same problem — water moving across your property in ways it shouldn’t — and they don’t fix themselves. They get worse.

Sullivan Excavating and Landscaping diagnoses and corrects drainage problems for homeowners across Lehigh and Northampton Counties. We don’t guess, and we don’t sell you a bigger fix than the site calls for — we find where the water is coming from, and we redirect it at the source.

Call 570-856-3408 and describe what you’re seeing — we’ll tell you what it likely means.

Signs You Have a Drainage Problem

• Water in the basement or crawl space after heavy rain
• Soggy patches of lawn that never quite dry out
• Water pooling against the foundation or on the patio
• Gullies or washouts cutting across the yard or driveway after storms
• Mulch and topsoil washing out of beds and downhill
• A sump pump that runs constantly

Two or more of these usually trace back to the same cause: grading that directs water toward the house instead of away from it, or roof and surface water with no managed path off the property.

How We Fix It

• Regrading — reshaping the ground so water sheds away from the house and off problem areas; the fix that makes the others unnecessary more often than you’d think
• French drains — buried, gravel-bedded perforated pipe that collects subsurface water and carries it to a safe outlet
• Downspout piping — burying downspout lines so roof water discharges well away from the foundation instead of right beside it
• Swales and channels — shallow, grassed drainage paths that move surface water invisibly across the property
• Culverts — sizing, replacing, and unclogging the pipes that carry water under driveways and lanes

Fix the Cause, Not the Symptom

Basement waterproofing companies work from the inside: sump pumps, sealers, interior drains. Those treat the symptom — water that has already reached your foundation. Exterior drainage correction treats the cause, by keeping the water from getting there at all. It’s often less expensive, and it also rescues the lawn, the driveway, and the beds along the way. If your problem involves a slope actively washing out, that crosses into erosion control — and if it’s tearing up a gravel driveway, see gravel driveway repair; we frequently fix both in one project.

“Matt was such a pleasure to work with, super responsive, on time, and stayed late to get the job done! He dug deep trenches and installed drainage pipe around my barn… and regraded my driveway. The driveway has never looked so good!”

— Susan, New Tripoli

Frequently Asked Questions

Water gets in my basement every big storm. Can you help?

Very likely — most wet basements are exterior grading and roof-water problems, not foundation failures. We’ll walk the property during rain conditions if possible, trace where the water comes from, and show you exactly what we’d change.

How much does drainage repair cost?

It ranges widely — a downspout burial is a different project than a full regrade with French drains. What we can promise: we quote the fix the site actually needs, explain why, and give you a detailed estimate before any work starts.

When is the best time to fix drainage?

Before the wet season beats you to it. Spring shows the problems; summer and fall are ideal for the work, when the ground is workable and new grading or lawn repair can establish before winter.

Serving the Lehigh Valley

We repair drainage for homeowners throughout Lehigh and Northampton Counties, including New Tripoli, Germansville, Slatington, Walnutport, Fogelsville, Macungie, Emmaus, Allentown, Whitehall, Northampton, and Bethlehem.