Scag Scapes

An open French drain leaves the gravel exposed at the surface, creating a visible drainage channel. This design captures both surface water (rain pooling in your yard) and subsurface water (groundwater seeping through clay). The exposed gravel acts as an intake — water flows directly into the stone and down to the perforated pipe below.

Best for: Areas with heavy surface flooding, side yards where aesthetics matter less, along fence lines, and properties where you need maximum water intake. Often paired with a brick or stone border for a clean finished look.

A closed French drain is buried completely under sod — once the grass fills in, you'd never know it's there. This design primarily targets subsurface water: groundwater that saturates clay soil and causes soggy, spongy yards. Water percolates down through the soil, hits the gravel envelope, and drains to the perforated pipe below.

What's under the sod: Beneath that finished lawn is a complete engineered system — a fabric-wrapped gravel envelope surrounding a 4" perforated pipe, all graded to slope. The photos show the same drain before and after sod: a clean, invisible surface on top, a hard-working drainage channel underneath.

Best for: Front yards, backyards where appearance matters, areas with subsurface saturation rather than surface flooding, and homeowners who want drainage without changing the look of their lawn.

For yards with severe saturation, Scag Scapes installs the Hydraway 2000 strip drain system — the same drainage technology used at LSU's Tiger Park softball facility, the University of Michigan's baseball facility, and Laguna Beach Volleyball Complex in Denham Springs. Hydraway replaces the perforated pipe in a traditional French drain with a high-strength HDPE core wrapped in clog-resistant, needle-punched geotextile fabric.

The performance difference: Hydraway accepts water across 70% of its surface, compared to just 3–5% open area on traditional perforated pipe — removing water up to 5x faster. With 11,400 PSF compressive strength, it holds up under lawns, drives, and equipment traffic without crushing or clogging.

Our typical install: Dual 6" Hydraway panels run horizontally, bedded in pea gravel for maximum contact area, topped with #57 washed gravel. Available as an open (exposed gravel) or closed (sod-topped) system — trench floor graded to minimum 1% slope and verified with 3D elevation data before backfill.

Why it matters in Baton Rouge: Our clay soils shed water slowly and saturate fast. A drainage system's intake capacity — how quickly it can accept water — is the bottleneck in a Louisiana downpour. Hydraway's 70% open surface means the system keeps taking water when a conventional perforated pipe has already maxed out.

Flow capacity: Independent testing puts Hydraway's flow rate at 7–25x higher than conventional pipe-and-gravel methods, which is why it's the standard under professional and collegiate athletic fields where standing water isn't an option.

Hydraway costs more per foot than corrugated pipe — it's a premium system for properties where drainage performance is the priority. We'll tell you straight during your estimate whether your yard needs it or whether a conventional French drain will do the job.