Garden Drainage Solutions built for Sydney’s soil and storms

Most residential garden drainage jobs in Sydney run between one and three days on site. A short channel drain at the back patio can be a one-day install. A swale plus a sub-soil ag line tied into an existing stormwater pit usually runs two to three days, depending on access, soil type and trench length. We’ll put a finish date on the written quote so you know what to plan around.

Costs vary with run length, depth, soil conditions, the type of drain and how far we need to reach an outlet. Re-grading and a short channel drain sit at the lower end. A full sub-soil ag network with a pit connection sits at the higher end. We give you a fixed price after the free site visit so there are no surprises mid-job. If you’re getting two or three quotes, ask each one what they’d do if they hit clay shelf or rock, the answer tells you a lot.

Routine garden drainage on private property usually falls inside exempt or complying development. Works that change the discharge of stormwater across a boundary, connect to council infrastructure, or involve significant earthworks can require approval. The NSW Planning Portal is the source of truth here. We’ll flag any likely approval checkpoints during the site visit before you commit.

Often, yes. If the underlying issue is compaction, surface grading, or a single low spot, we can install a sub-soil ag line and dress the surface without lifting the lawn entirely. Where the turf is already dying off, replacing it together with the drainage gives the longest result. We’ll be straight with you on the site visit: sometimes the cheaper job is the one that lasts.

A French drain is a buried perforated pipe wrapped in gravel and filter fabric, designed to collect water that’s moving through the soil. A swale is a shallow open channel shaped into the surface to slow and guide overland flow above ground. Many Sydney gardens need both, a swale to control surface flow, and a French drain or ag-line to manage what soaks in.

We plan the trench route to avoid major plants and existing features, lift turf in sections so it can be re-laid where possible, and finish every job with the soil, mulch and surface restored. Some disturbance is unavoidable in any trenching job, but the garden should look tidier when we leave than when we arrived. If there’s a tree or feature you don’t want touched, tell us at the site visit and we’ll plan around it.

Yes. A Bargain Gardener operates Sydney-wide on a single phone number. If you’re searching for garden drainage near me or garden drainage companies near me, our crews cover the Eastern Suburbs, Inner West, North Shore, Northern Beaches, Hills, Western Sydney and the South. You can check your suburb on our service areas page.

Yes. All work is backed by our written workmanship guarantee. We use proven drainage methods, the right falls, and pipe and gravel specifications that match the job. If the system isn’t performing the way it was designed to, we’re back to put it right.

That’s actually the cheapest time to do it. Building the drainage system into a wider landscaping project means we trench once, restore surfaces once, and the rest of the design respects the drainage from day one, instead of retro-fitting it through finished beds and lawns later.