Bromley BR1 & BR2 · French drains
Rainwater sent where it should go.
As local drainage contractors, we install French drains around Bromley where water runs down a sloping garden towards the house, sits in a side return or floods a patio. Below is a job in Thornton Heath where around 15m of French drains were laid around the property and connected to the gullies, finished in panda gravel.
Free site survey · A quote tailored to your garden
Your garden, considered
On a sloping Bromley garden, rain that falls on the higher ground runs downhill until something stops it, and too often that is the back wall of the house or a patio with no fall. A French drain across the slope, or along the foot of the wall, intercepts that water and carries it away in a perforated pipe before it reaches the building.
Side returns are the other trouble spot: narrow, shaded and often paved, they collect water from the roof and the neighbour's side as well as your own. At Jane's house in Thornton Heath, around 15m of French drains were installed around the property and connected to the existing gullies, then finished in panda gravel, within a four-day job.
Soil varies across the borough, so at the survey we check whether a soakaway can take the water or whether the drain should connect into an existing gully or drain.
Real jobs · real prices
Three more documented jobs where drainage was a key part of the work, including re-routed pipework on our latest patio in Bromley BR1.
A larger patio in beige 600 × 900 mm porcelain on a new concrete base, with porcelain-clad steps, re-routed pipework and the manhole reset, completed in 10–14 days for £12,000–£15,000.
105m² of London Stone porcelain laid around a house after a full mini-digger dig-out, on new bases set to an exact 1:60 fall, with French drains all along the house, in two weeks for £23,850 including VAT.
A children's nursery play area where water sat on the old artificial grass, dug out with a digger and rebuilt with 55m of French drains, a 300mm Type 3 sub-base, 45m³ of granite dust and 220m² of new artificial grass, over four weeks of wet January weather for £22,000 including VAT.
Details from our portfolio
Every photo here is from Jane's home in Thornton Heath CR7: the French drains in panda gravel, the regrouted crazy paving and the new pergola.
Materials & possibilities
There is more than one way to deal with water. We often combine them.
If paving is being relaid, that is the time to sort out the drainage underneath. On Freddy's patio in Bromley BR1, the pipework was re-arranged to suit the new layout while the ground was open, and the manhole was set flush in the new porcelain, so nothing had to be dug up again later.
From first ideas to finishing touches
We trace where the water comes from and where it can go.
Drain route and length, outlet, surface finish and waste removal.
Trench to a fall, pipe and stone, outlet connected.
Gravel, paving or turf put back and the site cleared.
Documented project · Thornton Heath CR7 · 5.0 miles from Bromley
At Jane's home in Thornton Heath, around 15m of French drains were installed around the property, connected to the gullies and finished with panda gravel, alongside a custom pergola over the side return, a crazy paving clean and regrout, and stepping stones to the shed. Four days, £7,500 including VAT. Drag the slider to compare.
Read the full case studyA complete quote, not a guess
Most drainage work we do is part of a wider job. Jane's French drains in Thornton Heath sat within a £7,500, four-day job. Elian's French drains along the house in Forest Hill were part of a £23,850 porcelain patio, and the 55m drainage scheme under a nursery play area in Streatham was £22,000.
Request your free quoteCompare like for like. Make sure the quote shows the drain route, the pipe and stone, the outlet and how the surface will be reinstated. Without an outlet, a drain just fills up.
| Project | Where | Time on site | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom pergola, French drains and garden refresh in Thornton Heath | Thornton Heath CR7 | 4 days | £7,500 inc. VAT |
| Full back garden transformation with new paving and brick walls in Streatham | Streatham SW16 | 2 weeks | £15,760 inc. VAT |
| Block paving driveway and back garden renovation in Streatham | Streatham SW16 | 2 weeks | £20,000 inc. VAT |
| Nursery artificial grass and drainage in Streatham | Streatham SW16 | 4 weeks (wet January) | £22,000 inc. VAT |
| 105m² porcelain patio in Forest Hill | Forest Hill SE23 | 2 weeks | £23,850 inc. VAT |
Prices as shown on each case study. Every garden is different, so your price is fixed in a written quote after a free survey.
Bromley · BR1
We fit drainage throughout Bromley, from Bickley, Widmore and Sundridge Park to Bromley Common, Hayes, Keston and Shortlands, and from sloping back gardens to narrow side returns. Our latest Bromley job, in BR1, included re-routing the pipework and resetting the manhole under a new porcelain patio.
We are based in Norbury, SW16, and cover all of the Borough of Bromley, including Beckenham, Chislehurst, Orpington and Penge.
A few useful answers
Still deciding? Tell us about your garden and we can talk through the next step.
Read our warranty termsOurs have been part of bigger jobs: around 15m of French drains to the gullies within a £7,500 job in Thornton Heath, and drains along the house within a £23,850 patio in Forest Hill. We price yours after a free survey.
A French drain across the slope, or along the top edge of the patio, catches the water before it reaches the paving and pipes it to an outlet. We set the route after seeing where the water runs.
Sometimes. It depends on whether the ground can absorb it. In Streatham we connected the eco drains on Gemma's new driveway to a new soakaway; elsewhere we connect to existing gullies, as in Thornton Heath.
A French drain is buried and catches water in the soil; a channel drain sits in the paving and catches water running across the surface. Louise's patio in Streatham has channel drains along the garden room.
Yes. On Freddy's patio in Bromley BR1 the pipework was re-arranged to suit the new layout and the manhole set flush, before the new concrete base was poured.
The largest documented one is a children's nursery play area in Streatham: around 55m of French drains, a 300mm Type 3 sub-base, granite dust and 220m² of new artificial grass, over four weeks for £22,000.
All of BR1 and BR2, including Bickley, Widmore, Sundridge Park, Bromley Common, Plaistow, Hayes, Keston and Shortlands.
Let's make a start
Tell us about your french drains project in Bromley. We will get in touch to discuss your ideas and the next step towards a site survey.
020 3633 5529 info@finelandscape.co.ukFine Landscaping
31 Tylecroft Road, Norbury, London SW16 4BL
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