Wet yards, flooded basements, icy driveways — it’s all the same problem: water with nowhere to go. We give Meredith water a better path with grading, drains, and culverts that actually work.
Meredith Neck is classic Lakes Region view-lot territory: wooded parcels where the whole point of the project is opening a sightline to Winnipesaukee without gutting the lot’s privacy or running afoul of the Shoreland Act’s tree-cutting point system in the waterfront buffer. Selective clearing here is a planning exercise before it’s a chainsaw exercise. Around Waukewan — which is also the town’s drinking water supply — expect extra scrutiny on erosion control, and plan on silt fence and stabilization being done right, not just done. Because so many owners manage these projects remotely, we’ve built our process around it: marked clearing limits walked and flagged before a machine arrives, progress photos at each phase, and no “while we were in there” surprises. New builds on the Neck often need long utility trenches and driveways through ledgy, rolling ground, so we scope the full run early.
Building on a Meredith view lot? Flag your clearing limits with the excavator operator on site before cutting starts — or have your builder video-walk it with us if you’re out of state. Trees come down in seconds and grow back in decades, and the Shoreland buffer rules mean some of them legally can’t be replaced with a view.
Most wet-basement and swampy-yard problems are solved outside, with dirt. We regrade so the ground pitches away from the foundation, install French and curtain drains that intercept groundwater before it reaches the house, day-light downspouts and footing drains so roof water leaves, and set culverts and swales that carry storm flow through the property instead of across your lawn.
On lake lots this doubles as shoreline stewardship — controlled infiltration instead of erosion channels cutting to the water. Perforated pipe in clean stone, wrapped, pitched, and day-lighted: boring details, dry basement.
French/curtain drain installs typically run $2,000–$8,000 depending on length and depth; regrading and downspout day-lighting often less. We find where the water comes from before quoting, and the quote is flat.
Often, yes — if the water is coming from surface or shallow groundwater on the uphill side, a curtain drain that intercepts it plus regrading at the foundation solves it outside. If the water table itself is high, interior systems may be part of the answer; we'll tell you which problem you actually have.
Snowmelt plus flat or bowl-shaped grading plus our hardpan soils equals standing water. The cure is a path: swales or drains that give melt somewhere to go. Most wet yards are fixed with a day or two of grading and pipe.
Work within the protected shoreland (250 feet of a lake) or touching wetlands can require NHDES permits. We flag it on the site walk and plan the job so it's done right and documented.
Free site walks, test pits before quotes, flat pricing, and a crew that knows Lakes Region ground.
Tell us where the property is and what you’re trying to do. We’ll walk the site, talk it through, and give you a straight, flat quote.
