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Serving San Rafael, CA and surrounding areas. (628) 277-0007
Water pooling on your driveway every winter? We design and install drainage that moves water away from your pavement and home - permanently.
Drainage solutions in San Rafael redirect water away from your pavement and home through regrading, trench drains, catch basins, or underground pipe, with most residential projects completed in one to four days depending on scope.
If you see the same puddles on your driveway every winter, your surface is not shedding water the way it should. Left alone, that pooling water works into the pavement base, softens it, and sets off a cycle of cracking and settling that gets more expensive to fix each season. San Rafael gets concentrated winter rain, and clay-heavy Marin soils make the problem worse - water that soaks in causes the ground to swell, which pushes up from below and cracks the surface from underneath.
The fix is not just adding a drain on top. It means understanding where the water comes from, where it needs to go, and preparing the base so the solution holds up through years of wet winters. If your driveway is already showing cracks from water damage, pairing a drainage project with grading and excavation to rebuild the base gives you a lasting result rather than a patch.
If you see standing water in the same locations after every rain, the surface is not draining. In San Rafael's rainy season those puddles can sit for days, slowly working into the pavement base and weakening it from below.
If rain flows across your driveway and collects near your garage door or house foundation, drainage is working against you. This is common on flat or slightly back-sloped driveways and puts both your garage floor and your home at real risk.
New cracks, dips, or soft areas in the spring are a sign your pavement base was softened by water that had nowhere to go. The surface is showing what happened underground during Marin's rainy season.
When water runs off without a proper outlet, it carves channels in the soil at the edges and washes out gravel shoulders. Edge erosion means the drainage pattern needs to be corrected before the pavement edges begin to crumble.
Every drainage project starts with understanding the full picture - where water originates, how it moves across your property, and what the base looks like underneath. For most residential driveways, the answer involves some combination of surface regrading to correct the slope, installing hardware at low points, and sometimes running underground pipe to carry water away entirely. If the project requires significant excavation or a full base rebuild, we coordinate that work with our grading and excavation service so the drainage and the pavement base are addressed together.
After drainage hardware is in place, we repave the affected area using hot-mix asphalt so the finished surface blends cleanly with what surrounds it. Drain grates sit flush with the pavement - not raised or recessed. For properties on steeper hillside lots, we size drain hardware to handle peak storm flows, not just average rain. If your lot also needs a long-term speed bump installation as part of a broader paving project, we can include that in the same scope of work.
Best for driveways where the slope just needs to be corrected so water sheds to the sides instead of pooling in the middle.
Suits driveways at the base of a slope where sheet flow needs to be intercepted across the full width before it reaches the garage.
Works for single low points where water collects and needs to be routed underground away from the surface.
Right for properties where water needs to be carried away from the site entirely, not just redirected across the surface.
San Rafael sits in a classic Mediterranean climate - most of the year's rain falls between November and April, often in heavy, concentrated storms. When an atmospheric river rolls through Marin County, it can drop several inches of rain in a short period, and a drainage system designed for average rainfall may be overwhelmed. Hillside lots in San Rafael concentrate runoff at the bottom of the slope, often right at the garage door or the street curb, which is why a trench drain or catch basin at the low point is common on steeper properties. The city and county also have requirements about how water leaves private property toward the street or storm drain system - a contractor familiar with local rules handles permit questions before work begins rather than after.
The clay-heavy soils found throughout Marin County add another layer of complexity. Clay swells when it absorbs water and shrinks when it dries - that movement cracks pavement from below, and poor drainage accelerates the cycle. We regularly handle drainage projects across the area, including for homeowners in Corte Madera where bayfront soils create similar water management challenges, and in San Anselmo where valley lots can collect runoff from surrounding hillsides. Knowing local soil and climate conditions shapes every recommendation we make. The EPA offers guidance on managing wet-weather runoff that shapes best practices for residential drainage design.
Call or fill out our form and we will respond within one business day. We schedule a visit to your property to see where water comes from and where it goes - photos help, but a site visit is essential for an accurate written estimate.
We look at your surface, the surrounding grade, and your base condition. The estimate spells out exactly what drainage hardware will be installed, what pavement work is included, and whether any permits are needed - no surprises.
The crew removes any pavement that needs to come up, shapes the base to the correct slope, installs drain hardware, and repaves with hot-mix asphalt. Drain grates are set flush with the finished surface.
Fresh asphalt needs at least 24 to 48 hours before driving on it - we give you a specific wait time based on conditions. Watch the drainage during the first significant rain to confirm water moves the way it should.
We come to your San Rafael property, assess where the water goes, and give you a clear written estimate - no pressure, no guesswork, no commitment required.
(628) 277-0007We work regularly across Marin County and understand how expansive clay soils respond to seasonal moisture changes. That means drainage designs that account for ground movement - not just surface water.
Drainage work in San Rafael can trigger city or county permit requirements depending on how water leaves your property. We know when a permit is needed and handle the application so you stay in compliance.
We hold a current California state contractor license - verifiable through the CSLB - and maintain membership in the National Asphalt Pavement Association. Both signals matter when you are hiring for structural work.
We do not just add a drain on top and call it done. Every drainage project starts with the base: correct grading, proper compaction, and hardware sized for your actual site conditions rather than a one-size spec.
Drainage work done right the first time saves you significantly more than the cost of the project. If your San Rafael driveway has been taking water damage season after season, the fix is straightforward once the underlying cause is understood - call us and we will make that assessment for free.
Add a permanent asphalt speed bump to a driveway or parking area when the drainage project is already open for paving.
Learn MoreWhen a drainage fix requires rebuilding the base from scratch, grading and excavation prepares the ground for a lasting result.
Learn MoreSan Rafael's winter storms do not wait - get your driveway drainage sorted now while the weather is dry and crews are available.