Warning signs on an existing system
A lawn that used to drain after storms now stays wet along the old trench. Water appears near a known drain route. The outlet is crushed, buried, full of debris, or no longer downhill of the wet area.
Soil settlement, a new patio, a garden bed, or other landscape work over the line can pinch a pipe or bury a discharge. Performance that changed after a project is a reason to look at the system, not a reason to assume the whole trench must be replaced.
- An area that previously drained begins staying wet again
- Water along a known drain route after rain
- An outlet that is obstructed, damaged, or no longer obvious
- Settlement or landscape work over the old line
- A noticeable drop in how fast that part of the yard recovers
What a single sign does not prove
A pond over the old trench is not proof the pipe is clogged. Water may never reach the stone. The outlet may have failed. A downspout may now dump onto the old route. The original layout may never have had a real exit.
Treat a warning sign as a reason to inspect. Do not treat it as a diagnosis. French drain repair is the service page for that evaluation — including whether repair or replacement is honest.
If you are not sure you even have a drain
Some wet yards never had a working system. Some had a short line to nowhere. If there is no known drain, start with do I need a French drain? rather than this repair guide.
Service pages for existing and new drains
Repair if the system is there and failing. Installation if a new trench is the fit. Yard drainage if the water was never a French drain problem.