NDS Certified Professional Drainage Contractor

Drainage Solutions in Jacksonville, FL — NDS Certified Design & Install

Most "drainage contractors" in Northeast Florida are landscapers who install drainage parts on the side. Gutter Pro is one of the only NDS Certified Professional Drainage Contractors in the metro — we design with hydraulic math, install with engineered materials, and stand behind the work with a lifetime workmanship warranty. French drains, channel drains, underground downspout extensions, sump pumps, dry wells, and foundation drainage — with the gutter system upstream engineered as one scope.

NDS Certified · 5.0 Stars, 170+ Google Reviews · FDM Heavy-Duty HDPE Rated for Vehicle Traffic · Owner-Led on Every Project · Lifetime Workmanship Warranty

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Decision tree: which drainage solution fits your problem?

Step 1: Where is the water?

On the lawn → next question. At a downspout → underground downspout extension. On hardscape (patio or driveway) → channel drain. Inside the crawlspace or garage → sump pump with perimeter drain. At the foundation wall → foundation drainage.

Step 2: How long does the standing water last?

Drains in under 2 hours → probably no system needed; fix grading and gutters first. 2 to 6 hours → French drain or swale. More than 6 hours, or recurring after every rain → full drainage system.

Step 3: Is there somewhere to discharge to daylight?

Yes (lower point on the lot, swale, or street tie-in) → discharge to daylight or a pop-up emitter. No → dry well or sump pump system. Not sure what your lot allows? That's exactly what the free on-site walk answers — and our drainage calculator can help you scope the problem first.

The Pipe Argument Nobody Else in Jacksonville Makes

Our underground conveyance and discharge lines go in as FDM heavy-duty HDPE — 3.5-inch and 4-inch solid pipe, 100% virgin resin, rated for vehicle traffic. Here is why that matters in Florida specifically: our soil cycles hard between soaked and bone-dry. The ground swells, shrinks, and works every buried pipe, season after season. Glued PVC joints are rigid, and rigid joints under repeated ground movement eventually crack — and a cracked joint underground is a leak you cannot see. FDM has no glued joints to crack. It is more durable and more leak-resistant over the life of the system.

Schedule 40 PVC still has its place, and we install it where the job genuinely demands it: extremely low-slope runs, penetrations through bulkheads and seawalls, and ground being refilled that is likely to settle and belly the line. That is an engineering decision made on site — not a default.

We stock what we install. Our sister company, North Florida Drainage Supply (904-846-7938), stocks FDM heavy-duty pipe, fittings, basins, and emitters right here in Jacksonville with same-day pickup. Gutter Pro installs the pipe NFDS stocks. No other drainage contractor in this market can say that.

Engineered Drainage vs a Landscaper Trench

The 8 Systems We Install

French drains

Subsurface fabric-wrapped stone trench with slotted HDPE collection pipe, discharging through solid FDM HDPE. Captures water that has soaked into the ground or sits on the surface. The workhorse of yard drainage in Northeast Florida. Curious how long they last? See French drain lifespan in Florida.

Yard drainage

Engineered combinations of French drains, swales, catch basins, and discharge runs that move standing water off the lawn without disturbing the existing landscape. Start with standing water in your yard if that's your symptom.

Underground downspout extensions

FDM heavy-duty HDPE solid pipe running from each downspout to a discharge point 10-plus feet from the foundation. The single highest-ROI drainage upgrade for most Northeast Florida homes — and the natural finish to a seamless gutter installation.

Channel drains

Surface-mounted grated channels at the downhill edge of patios, driveways, and pool decks. Catches sheet flow and plumbs into the underground discharge system. See also pool deck drainage.

Sump pumps

Below-grade pit, basin, and pump system for situations where gravity discharge isn't possible — low-elevation lots, walk-out basements, crawlspace flooding. Battery backup options for storm-season outages.

Dry wells

Subsurface retention chamber for sites with no daylight discharge option. Designed to handle storm volume and release slowly into native soil.

Foundation drainage

Exterior footing drains or slab perimeter systems that intercept water before it reaches the foundation. The cheapest insurance against major foundation repair. If you're seeing water in the crawl space, start there.

Commercial drainage

Property managers, office plazas, retail, churches, schools. Load-class-rated trench drains, oversized conveyance, stormwater compliance documentation, full project COIs and bid documentation.

5 Signs Your Property Needs Drainage Now

Standing water past 3 hours. Pools that don't drain within 3 hours of rain stopping mean the sandy topsoil is saturated and an impermeable subsoil layer is holding water.

Soggy lawn between storms. A lawn that never fully dries, especially in oak-shaded yards — grass thinning, moss growing, mosquitoes breeding.

Mulch washed out at downspouts. Channels carved into landscaping at downspout corners: concentrated runoff with no engineered discharge.

Foundation moisture or musty crawlspace. Damp smell, condensation on cooler surfaces, efflorescence (white mineral deposits) on interior walls.

Stucco staining or paint failure near grade. Dark streaks or peeling paint where the wall meets the soil — splash-back or surface flow repeatedly hitting the wall.

If you're seeing more than one of these, run the problems diagnostic or read why Florida yards flood.

Northeast Florida Drainage by Neighborhood

Also serving Fruit Cove, Yulee, St. Augustine, Green Cove Springs, and World Golf Village.

Why NDS Certified Actually Means Something

Most "drainage contractors" in Northeast Florida are landscapers, irrigation companies, or foundation repair companies who install drainage as a sideline. They install parts. They size by feel. They use whatever pipe is cheapest at the supply house.

NDS Certified contractors install engineered systems. Pipe diameter sized to hydraulic load. Slope verified by laser level. Stone graded to spec. Filter fabric specified for the soil profile. Outlets designed for the site's actual elevation and discharge restrictions. NDS manufactures the engineered drainage components professionals build with, and their certification means we're trained on the actual design math — not just the installation steps. The difference shows up after the third or fourth big storm, and even more 5 to 10 years later, when the cheap install has clogged with silt and the NDS install is still flowing. Read more on what NDS certification covers, or how we compare against a landscape contractor or a foundation contractor.

Materials We Install — and What We Never Install

FDM heavy-duty HDPE — the default. 3.5-inch and 4-inch solid pipe for conveyance and discharge. 100% virgin resin, rated for vehicle traffic, no glued joints to crack under Florida's wet-dry soil cycling. Stocked locally by our sister company North Florida Drainage Supply.

Slotted HDPE collection pipe. The perforated drain channel inside French drain trenches, wrapped in the stone-and-fabric envelope that keeps it flowing.

Schedule 40 PVC — exception cases. Extremely low-slope runs, bulkhead and seawall penetrations, and backfill likely to settle. An on-site engineering call, never the default because glued joints are the long-term weak point in moving soil.

#57 graded stone envelope. The right size gravel for drainage flow — it doesn't bind with silt the way pea gravel or screenings do.

Filter sock and geotextile fabric. Wraps the system to keep fine sand and roots out. Skipped on most cheap installs; prevents premature failure on ours.

Never: recycled black pipe. Made from recycled material with no exact resin mix, so it collapses or degrades unpredictably underground; soil and root intrusion then compromise the line — on average within 3 years. We do not install it. Period.

Never: pea gravel or screenings. Looks like drainage gravel but binds with fines within a season and clogs the system from the inside.

For the deeper material spec, see the drainage pipe spec guide.

How a Drainage Install Works

1. Free on-site walk. Albert evaluates grading, soil, gutters, existing symptoms, and discharge options — usually scheduled within 48 hours. 2. Engineered scope and written quote — pipe spec, depth, slope, fabric, stone, outlet, tie-ins, itemized. 3. Coordination with foundation contractors, waterproofing partners, landscapers, or irrigation contractors as needed. 4. Excavation — trench dug to spec depth, utilities located, existing landscape protected where possible. 5. Installation — laser-verified slope, filter fabric and #57 stone, FDM HDPE discharge, daylight or pop-up emitter outlet. 6. Site restoration — soil compaction, sod or seed, sprinkler tie-in coordination. 7. Final walkthrough with Albert, test discharge, lifetime workmanship warranty. Wondering about permits? See Florida drainage permits.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between yard drainage, foundation drainage, and French drains?

A French drain is a specific construction — a subsurface fabric-wrapped stone trench with slotted collection pipe — used in multiple applications. Yard drainage is the broader category of moving surface water off the lawn; French drains are one tool, swales and catch basins are others. Foundation drainage is specifically engineered to keep water away from the foundation, usually footing drains or slab perimeter systems. Most properties need yard drainage AND foundation drainage AND properly extended downspouts working together.

What does drainage cost in Jacksonville?

Every system is engineered to the property, so pricing is quoted after the free on-site walk — pipe spec, trench depth, slope, discharge design, and restoration all drive the number, and no two lots are the same. What we can promise up front: the quote is itemized line by line, the walk is free, and Albert quotes it himself with no over-the-phone guessing. Our drainage calculator can help you understand what drives the scope before we visit.

Why is NDS Certified a meaningful credential?

NDS manufactures the engineered drainage components used by professional contractors — pipe fittings, catch basins, emitters. NDS Certification means a contractor is trained on the actual hydraulic design: flow capacity per pipe size, fitting losses, slope requirements, material specifications — not just installation steps. Only a handful of contractors in Northeast Florida hold it. It's the difference between installing parts and engineering a system.

How long does a properly installed drainage system last?

FDM heavy-duty HDPE with a #57 stone envelope, filter fabric, and engineered discharge lasts 30-plus years with normal maintenance. The two failure modes in this market are wrong materials — recycled black pipe that degrades within about 3 years — and silt infiltration from skipping the filter fabric. We do neither. Lifetime workmanship warranty on all installs.

Do I need a drainage system if I have good gutters?

Good gutters solve half the problem: intercepting roof runoff. They don't solve where that water goes once it hits the ground. Properly extended downspouts feeding underground discharge is the second half. And neither addresses water coming from surface flow, neighboring lots, or subsurface saturation. Most Northeast Florida homes need both: properly sized seamless gutters and a drainage system.

Will drainage work damage my landscaping?

Some disturbance is unavoidable since we trench. We restore soil grade, reseed or re-sod where appropriate, and coordinate with your landscaper or irrigation contractor on shrubs, beds, and sprinkler heads in the work zone. Scope and landscape impact are documented in writing before we start.

Do you do commercial drainage?

Yes. Office plazas, retail centers, churches, schools, healthcare facilities, new construction — load-class-rated trench drains, oversized conveyance, stormwater compliance documentation, full project COIs. See commercial drainage in Jacksonville.

What's the difference between you and a landscape company that does drainage?

Landscape companies install drainage as a sideline to their main business. They typically use cheaper recycled pipe, don't follow hydraulic design math, and don't carry NDS certification. Their installs often work for a season or two, then clog or collapse. We are a drainage contractor first: NDS Certified, lifetime workmanship warranty, owner-led on every project — and we stock our own pipe through North Florida Drainage Supply.