How much does a French drain cost per foot in West Virginia?

National cost guides put outside yard drains at about $10 to $65 per foot. Interior basement systems run about $40 to $100 per foot. A drain dug deep beside a foundation sits at the top end, near $80 to $100. Those are published market ranges, not our price list.

Is an outside French drain cheaper than an inside one?

Usually, yes. Cost guides show exterior work costing less per foot than interior work at every job size. An interior system means cutting the basement floor and often adding a sump pump. Our drainage work stays outside the house.

How deep does a French drain have to be?

Deep enough to catch the water and still run downhill to an outlet. Cost guides price shallow drains and deep drains separately, and deeper always costs more per foot. Depth gets set on site, from where the water sits and where it can leave.

Why are two French drain quotes so far apart?

Length, depth, access and the outlet change the labor more than the parts do. One bid may run the pipe 40 feet to a bank. Another may carry it 150 feet to the only low spot on the place. Ask each contractor where the water will come out.

Does clay or shale ground cost more to dig?

It can. Cost guides note that hard or heavy soils raise the labor cost on a trench. Much of Hampshire County sits on shale and clay, which hold water and slow a bucket down. Ground with rock ledges takes longer per foot than loose soil.

Will a French drain fix a wet yard or a washed out driveway?

It can, when there is somewhere lower for the water to go. A French drain collects water in stone and pipe, then carries it away from the wet spot. On flat ground with no outlet, reshaping the ground may be the better fix. We look at both before we quote.

Is this what Marloy Hill Enterprise charges?

No. Every number on this page comes from published national cost guides, not from our price list. We price a drainage job after we see the ground, the length of the run and where the water can go out. Estimates are free. Call or text (540) 327-1400.

What Does a French Drain Cost in West Virginia?

Most French drain jobs land between about $1,650 and $12,250. National cost guides put the average near $5,000. Outside yard drains price out around $10 to $65 per foot. Interior basement systems run about $40 to $100 per foot.

Small jobs can come in near $500. A full system around a whole house can reach $18,000. These are market numbers from published cost guides, not our price list. Your number comes from the ground you have and how far the water has to travel.

What Does a French Drain Cost per Foot?

Cost guides price French drains by the foot. A shallow line in an open yard sits at the low end. The deepest drains, like the ones set beside a building, sit at the high end. Deeper trenches dig slower, so the price per foot climbs.

Type of drain	Published cost per foot
Shallow yard or curtain drain	$10 to $50
Deeper yard trench with pipe and stone	$20 to $90
Drain along a driveway	$45 to $55
Footing drain outside a foundation	$80 to $100
Interior drain under a basement floor	$40 to $100

Those ranges come from three national home cost guides updated between 2024 and 2026. The guides do not match on every dollar. They do agree that outside work costs less per foot than inside work.

What Does a Whole French Drain Job Cost?

Length is the biggest number in most quotes. One 2026 cost guide prices whole jobs like this.

Job length	Outside yard system	Inside basement system
50 feet	$500 to $3,250	$2,000 to $5,000
100 feet	$1,000 to $6,500	$4,000 to $10,000
200 feet	$2,000 to $13,000	$8,000 to $20,000

The spread inside each row is wide for a reason. A 100 foot run across an open, flat yard is one job. The same 100 feet along a steep bank is another. French drain installation gets priced off the site, not off a chart.

Should the Drain Go Inside or Outside?

An interior French drain sits under the basement floor. The floor gets cut, pipe and stone go in, and a sump pump usually moves the water out. That extra work is why interior systems price higher per foot.

An exterior drain catches water in the yard before it reaches the wall. It runs on gravity when the ground slopes away from the building. Our drainage work happens outside the house, in the yard and on the ground around barns and cabins.

What Drives the Price of a French Drain?

Five things move the number more than anything else.

Depth. A shallow yard line digs fast. A deep drain moves far more dirt per foot, and the machine works slower.

Length. Every foot adds pipe, washed stone, fabric and machine time.

Access. Open yard is the cheapest ground to work. Tight side yards, fences, decks, and steep banks slow the machine down.

Where the water goes. A drain has to end lower than it starts. If a ditch or a bank sits close by, the run is short. If the only outlet is 150 feet away, you pay for 150 feet of trench.

Soil and rock. Cost guides note that hard soils raise labor cost. Clay digs slow. Shale ledges dig slower.

Putting the ground back matters too. On torn up ground that can mean grading and site prep once the trench is closed.

Why Does West Virginia Ground Change the Price?

Hampshire County and the counties around it are ridge and valley country. The soils are shale and clay, and both hold water instead of taking it in. The region gets roughly 35 to 40 inches of rain a year.

Water runs off the ridges and finds the low ground. On a hillside lot, that low ground is often the back wall of a house or a barn. Springs show up in wet seasons and keep the same spot soft for weeks.

Freeze and thaw works the ground all winter. Rural lots add distance, because the outlet can sit a long way from the building. Gravel drives take a beating from the same water, so drainage and gravel driveway repair often get quoted together.

What Else Shows Up on a Drainage Quote?

Cost guides list the parts on their own, which helps when you compare two bids.

Perforated pipe: about $0.50 to $3 per foot
Washed stone or pea gravel: about $25 to $53 per ton
Labor: about $35 to $100 per hour
Permits, where a county asks for one: about $58 to $225
Sump pump, for interior systems: about $700 to $1,600

Machine time is the other big line. Most of a French drain is a trench, and trenching is mini excavator work. A machine that can get to the run takes hours off the job.

What Can You Do to Keep the Cost Down?

Start with where the water comes from. Downspouts that dump right at the wall are cheap to pipe away from the building. That small line often costs far less than a full system around the house.

Timing helps too. A trench costs less to add while a machine is already on site for other dirt work. If you compare bids, ask each one for the length, the depth and the outlet. Then you are pricing the same job.

How Do You Get a Real Number for Your Property?

A chart cannot price your drain. The real number comes from standing at the wet spot and finding where the water can go.

We give free estimates across Hampshire County and the surrounding Eastern Panhandle. We cover the northern Shenandoah Valley as well. Call or text (540) 327-1400 and we will come look at the ground. You can read more about wet yards and water against buildings on our drainage page.