Yard Drainage · Cullman

Yard Drainage and Grading in Cullman, AL

Cullman sits on top of Brindley Mountain, near the divide between water bound for the Tennessee River and water bound for the Black Warrior. A yard has the same choice on a smaller scale. Down South shapes the ground so the water leaves the house and heads somewhere useful.

Open tract of red-brown dirt, cleared and rough graded, with track marks and a low dirt mound — Cleared And Rough Graded

Freshly graded red dirt with track marks and the end of a black culvert pipe showing — Cleared And Rough Graded

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Yard Drainage · Cullman

Yard Drainage in Cullman

Up on Brindley Mountain

Cullman is built on Brindley Mountain, part of the Cumberland Plateau, at a little over 800 feet. The city lies close to the line that splits the Tennessee River drainage from the Black Warrior. It even draws its water from its own lake inside the city limits, Lake Catoma.

Plateau ground is broad and gentle. That sounds easy to drain, but gentle is the problem. A yard with only a little fall can hold water in every shallow dip, and a small amount of settling near the house is enough to turn the flow back toward it.

Farm country with big roofs

Cullman began in 1873 as a colony of German settlers, and poultry became its leading industry in the late 1950s. Around the city that still shows. Chicken houses, shops and barns put a lot of roof over a small piece of ground.

Every one of those roofs dumps water at its edge. If the ground around them is not shaped to carry it off, the pad gets soft and the drive turns to mud. Down South cuts ditches along the long sides and gives the water a way out. An old poultry house past its use can come down instead, under barn demolition in Cullman.

In-town yards that stay wet

Inside Cullman the calls look like those of any growing town: a back yard that never dries, water against the foundation, a low side yard squeezed between two houses. Regrading puts fall back where it was lost, and a shallow swale collects what the next lot sends over. Older neighbourhoods often have big trees, so the swale is laid out to miss the roots where it can.

Where water has to cross a drive to get out, a culvert goes in. If the drive is already rutted, gravel driveway work in Cullman can be done on the same trip.

Lake lots toward Smith Lake

Out toward Smith Lake, lots run downhill to the water. They are steep, and runoff from the road and the roof picks up speed on the way to the shore. A swale across the slope, and a shaped path for the water that will hold together, keep it from cutting a gully through the yard. A culvert under the drive keeps road water from running straight down the drive itself.

For lake lots still in the woods, see lot clearing on Smith Lake. On a lot still being built on, getting the grade right before the house goes up is far easier than fixing it after.

Before any digging

A locate request goes to Alabama 811 at least two business days before digging. It costs nothing, and it is the law. Lines you own, like power run out to a detached shop or gas piped to an outdoor grill, are private and do not get marked, so they need to be pointed out.

The machines are a Cat dozer, a Cat compact track loader and an excavator, every one of them on tracks. Gutters and basement waterproofing are not part of the work. Tracks also matter on the steep lake lots, where a wheeled machine would struggle for footing.

What sets the price

The estimate is free. The price depends on the size of the area, how much dirt moves, how much fill or pipe is needed and the trip to get there. Small jobs carry a minimum, and the figure is in your hands before you commit to the work. Getting several things done on one trip, like a drainage fix and a culvert, makes better use of the drive over.

More on the service is on the yard drainage and grading page. Clearing and other ground work around the city is on the Cullman land clearing page.

Wide cleared and rough-graded tract of red-brown dirt with dozer track marks and a tree line behind

Main service page

Yard Drainage & Grading

Standing water moved off the yard and away from the house with regrading, swales, ditches and culverts.

See the service Talk to Down South

(205) 535-6376

Free on-site estimates in Cullman and the towns around it. Call and Down South will set a time to come look.

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What it includes

What that covers

Flat yards that pond. Shallow dips filled and the fall restored.
Runoff at big roofs. Ditches along chicken houses, shops and barns.
Steep lake lots. Swales across the slope to slow and steer water.
Drive crossings. Culverts set where water has to pass under.

Call (205) 535-6376 Free Estimate

Cullman and nearby

Everything in Cullman

Cullman, AL

The Cullman County seat on I-65, with farms, chicken houses and Smith Lake lots around it.

Town page Also in Cullman

Yard Drainage & Grading

Standing water moved off the yard and away from the house with regrading, swales, ditches and culverts.

Main service page

Cullman and the towns nearby

Southwest across Walker County, yard drainage in Jasper is mostly steep-lot work in ridge and hollow country. Farther south, yard drainage in Tuscaloosa covers city yards from hills to flat, slow ground. Cullman County is the eastern edge of the eight counties on the service area page, which run west from here to the Mississippi line. A drainage look in Cullman is free, same as anywhere else on that list.

How the work actually goes

Call, look, then a number

Call or text

Call or text (205) 535-6376, or send the form, and say where the property is and what needs doing.

A look at the property

The price comes off the property after a look, because cost depends on what is there, the terrain and access.

A figure before you commit

You get the figure before anything starts. Small jobs carry a minimum.

The machines do the work

Dozer, track loader or excavator, all tracked, and the ground is left graded.

On the ground

Photos of Down South's work.

These are photographs from actual jobs. See more recent work. Or read about the full yard drainage & grading service.

Mulched trail running uphill through sunlit hardwoods

Yellow Cat compact track loader parked head-on on a gravel and dirt pad with woods behind

Mulched access lane running through young pine and brush under blue sky

Questions about this work

Questions people ask

Not seeing yours? Call (205) 535-6376 and ask Down South, or read the guides.

Can you drain the ground around a chicken house?

Yes. Ditches are cut along the long sides to take roof water away, the pad edges are shaped, and the water is carried to a low point or a ditch. Where a farm road crosses that path, a culvert keeps the road from washing. Down South looks at the whole layout first.

My yard is almost flat. Can it really drain?

Usually. It does not take much fall to move water, but it takes some, and the fall has to be continuous. The ground is shaped to a steady slope toward an outlet, with fill where low spots need it. If there is truly nowhere lower to send the water, you will be told so.

Do you come all the way to Cullman?

Yes. Cullman County is one of the eight counties Down South works, along with Walker, Winston and the counties farther west. Call or text and describe the job, and a time is set to come and look at it.

How much does it cost to fix drainage in Cullman?

It depends on how much ground moves, how much fill and pipe go in, how far the water travels and how easily the machines reach the work. There is no published price. Small jobs carry a minimum, and the figure comes before you commit.

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