Garden drainage Cost Calculator
Fixing a waterlogged garden costs £800–£6,000 depending on the cure: French drains run £40–£90 per metre (a typical 10m run £1,500–£2,000), a soakaway £800–£2,500, and a piped herringbone system for a whole lawn sits at the…
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3 steps, using the figures from our cost guide.
How this calculator works
Every figure in this calculator is the one published in the cost table on our garden drainage guide. Pick the option that matches your job and the calculator returns that published range, adjusted for your region - it does not model anything the guide does not already say.
That is deliberate. A calculator whose rates drift from the page it sits under is worse than no calculator, because two numbers on the same site disagree.
What it cannot know: access, the condition of what is already there, and anything structural. Those are what separate three real quotes from each other.
Published garden drainage costs (2026)
| Option | Typical 2026 cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Aeration + sand dressing | £150–£400 | |
| Channel drain to a patio | £300–£900 | |
| Soakaway (crated) | £800–£2,500 | |
| French drain (10m) | £1,500–£2,000 | |
| Herringbone lawn system | £2,500–£6,000 |
These are the figures from our garden drainage cost guide.
Garden drainage calculator — FAQs
Around £40–£90 per metre installed - so a typical 10-metre run intercepting water across a garden lands at £1,500–£2,000 including aggregate and disposal.
£800–£2,500 for a crated soakaway serving a garden or downpipes, driven mostly by size, depth and how hard the digging is. Clay ground needs a larger soakaway and sits at the top of the range.
Usually one of three: surface compaction (cheap to fix with aeration), a clay pan holding water, or water arriving faster than the ground can pass it on. The fix - and the bill - depends on which, so diagnose before committing.
Rarely for a garden system. The rules that do bite: discharge must not go to the foul sewer, soakaways should sit at least 5m from buildings, and anything connecting to a public surface-water drain needs the water company's consent.
Related cost guides
- Garden drainage cost guide — The full price guide
- All gardening services — Browse the hub
- All BestBuilders services — Every trade we cover
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