At Shelby Yard, our mission has always been to provide the most effective, durable, and professional drainage solutions for Memphis and Shelby County residents. That starts long before anyone puts a shovel in the ground — it starts with understanding the soil.
Most drainage systems that fail in Memphis weren't installed badly. They were designed badly — sized, sloped and placed as though the yard were ordinary soil.
Why Memphis Soil Breaks Standard Drainage
Memphis sits on Peoria loess, a wind-deposited clay containing up to 40% smectite. Smectite is expansive: it swells when it takes on water and shrinks as it dries out. That single property drives most of the drainage trouble in Shelby County.
What that cycle actually does to a property:
- Low permeability — water doesn't soak in, it sits on the surface or runs sideways
- Hydrostatic pressure against foundations during long wet stretches
- Void formation beneath slabs and beside foundations during dry spells
- Seasonal movement that reopens the same gaps year after year
- Saturation overload — roughly 54 inches of rain a year, often in short heavy bursts
A trench and a pipe don't address any of that. Neither does a system copied from a spec written for sandy soil in another climate.
What We Measure Before We Design
So how do we design around a soil that moves?
It's simple: we measure the property instead of assuming it.
Every assessment captures the data that determines whether a system will work — and none of it can be eyeballed from the curb.
🔬 Diagnose the Root Cause
Elevation profile, grading direction and the specific zones where water collects. Standing water that lingers more than 24 hours after rain means water has nowhere to go — not that the yard needs more time. We find out where it's trying to go.
🎯 Design to Documented Standards
French drains get a minimum 1% slope, 4-inch perforated HDPE pipe, a washed #57 limestone envelope and a non-woven geotextile wrap, buried at least 12 inches. Catch basins are sized for the volume they actually have to carry. These aren't preferences — they're the specifications that make a system last.
✅ Install With Accountability
Shelby Yard is an NDS Certified Professional Drainage Contractor. Every installation is licensed, insured and warrantied — so the design decisions we make are ones we stand behind after the crew leaves.
Where Most Contractors Stop Short
The difference isn't equipment — every contractor has a trencher. The difference is whether anyone measured before deciding what to install.
When a contractor quotes a linear-foot price over the phone, they're pricing a product, not solving a problem. That's how a yard ends up with a correctly built drain in the wrong place. Designing from site data instead means:
- More accurate problem diagnosis using measured elevation and observed drainage behavior
- Optimized system design based on Memphis-specific soil and rainfall conditions
- Long-term performance from systems built to documented specifications
- Fewer surprises, because the scope reflects what's actually on the property
What This Means for Memphis Homeowners
If you're dealing with drainage issues, the practical upshot is that your solution should be specific to your lot. Whether you need:
- A French drain system designed for your specific soil conditions
- Exterior foundation drainage engineered for Memphis clay soil
- Surface drainage solutions optimized for local rainfall patterns
- Complex drainage problems requiring detailed site analysis
You should expect a contractor to explain why the system is laid out the way it is — and to base that answer on something they measured at your property.
Looking Forward
Shelby Yard remains committed to our core values of quality, reliability, and customer service. Designing around the soil rather than in spite of it is how we deliver on those commitments with precision and confidence.
If water is collecting somewhere it shouldn't, the first step is a proper look at the property. We're glad to come take one.
Free Download
Not sure if your yard needs a French drain or catch basin?
Download our free Memphis Drainage Checklist — 7 signs your yard is silently damaging your foundation, with urgency ratings and what each sign means. Memphis-specific, no fluff.
No spam. Unsubscribe any time.
Is your yard showing any of these signs?
Tell us what's happening — we'll tell you exactly what it needs and what it costs. Most Memphis homeowners get an answer within minutes.