Land Clearing
Brush, trees, stumps and debris cleared off lots and acreage — and hauled away. One crew takes the ground from thicket to usable.
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A French drain pulls standing water out of a wet Franklin yard before it reaches the house. Mid South Mulch has been in business since 1996, and French drains have long been part of the work. We handle yard drainage across Williamson County and into Rutherford County. We dig the trench with our own excavators and run 4 inch perforated pipe to an outlet.
Water in a yard is a grade problem before it is a pipe problem. Sometimes the fix is regrading the low spots and cutting a swale, and sometimes it is a French drain. Our yard sits on Lewisburg Pike in Franklin, and we cover Spring Hill, Nolensville, Thompson's Station and College Grove. Quotes are free and on site, so call (615) 599-7550 and we will come look.
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A French drain is perforated pipe set in a gravel filled trench and wrapped in filter fabric. Water in the soil moves into the gravel and drops into the pipe. Manufacturer install guides face the holes downward so soil stays out of the line. From there the water runs downhill to an outlet and leaves the yard.
It is the right fix when water sits in the soil after the surface has dried. When the ground slopes back toward the house, regrading does more than any pipe can. The Tennessee residential code wants the ground to fall 6 inches in the first 10 feet from the foundation. Where that fall is impossible, the code itself calls for drains or swales.
The build starts with a locate ticket from Tennessee 811 and a check on the permit rules for your address. Tennessee law calls for at least three and no more than ten working days of notice before digging. In unincorporated Williamson County, a Land Disturbance Permit applies to work that disturbs more than one acre. A yard drain disturbs far less ground than that, and we confirm what your property needs before the first cut.
We open the trench with our own excavator, 5 to 6 inches wide for a small problem. Depth is commonly 8 inches to 2 feet, and the base is cut at a 1 to 2 percent fall. The trench gets a geotextile lining, then 4 inch perforated pipe bedded in washed gravel. We fold the fabric over the stone and close the trench with topsoil from our yard.
Franklin yards hold water because the ground takes about 50 inches of rain a year and drains slowly. That normal comes from the nearest National Weather Service station. Across Middle Tennessee, March is the wettest month at 5.76 inches. Two thirds of the year's rain falls in the November through May wet season.
Under the grass, county soils sit shallow over limestone, and clay horizons block water on the way down. The county counts 35 percent clay or more as a blocking layer, so water pools on the surface. UT Extension reports that heavy equipment compacts soil during construction, and the pores left behind drain slowly. UT's test is simple: dig a hole 12 inches deep, fill it with water while the soil is moist, and if it empties in under three hours the drainage is excellent.
Swales, regrading, dry creek beds and buried downspout lines all move water without a French drain. Surface work costs less than trenching, so we look at the grade before we price pipe. A swale is a shallow channel cut across the yard, and grass swales need a 1 to 5 percent slope. Drainage manufacturers pair surface drains with buried pipe so the French drain carries less water.
Roof water is the load people underestimate. Where expansive soils are known, the residential code sends roof water at least 5 feet from the foundation walls or into an approved drain system. One inch of rain on 100 square feet of roof makes 62 gallons. That is about 1,240 gallons off a 2,000 square foot roof in a single inch. We carry it underground in solid pipe and let it out well away from the house.
Free, no-obligation estimates across Williamson & Rutherford counties, south of Nashville.
(615) 599-7550From the first walk of the property to the final one, here is exactly how it goes.
We come out and walk the ground with you: what is growing, where the water goes, what the dirt is hiding, and what you actually want the property to become.
You get a free written quote with a real timeline. It names what happens to stumps, spoil and debris, and it flags honest risks like shallow rock before any machine rolls.
The equipment shows up when we said it would — machines and trucks both ours. We clear, dig, grade and haul to the plan, and you hear about anything unexpected immediately.
We walk the finished ground together. Grades checked, debris gone, surface left seed-ready or build-ready as the plan called for. Done means you say it is done.
Common questions about french drains across Williamson & Rutherford counties, south of Nashville. Don't see yours? Give us a call — we're happy to help.
Brush, trees, stumps and debris cleared off lots and acreage — and hauled away. One crew takes the ground from thicket to usable.
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Standing brush, cedar and saplings ground into a clean mulch layer right where they grew. No burn piles, no hauling, no torn-up topsoil.
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Building pads, gravel drives, yard regrades and drainage corrections. Dirt shaped so water moves away from what you care about.
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Footers, basements, trenches, ponds and tear-outs. Excavators sized to the job, with our own trucks to move the spoil.
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Everything between raw land and the first pour: clearing, cut and fill, pad building, compaction and access. One crew, build-ready ground.
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Screened topsoil and fill dirt delivered by the truckload. Dumped where you point, or spread and graded by the same crew.
Learn MoreWhy Franklin yards hold water after rain: clay over limestone, construction hardpan and bad fall. How grading, swales and drains fix it, and what it costs.
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What regrading a yard costs in 2026, when a drainage fix needs regrading versus a drain, and why Middle Tennessee clay makes grade the whole game.
Read more →Based on Lewisburg Pike in Franklin, working a 20-mile radius south of Nashville. Thirty years on this specific dirt, and the people who quote your ground run the machines on it.
Excavators, dozers, track loaders and our own dump trucks. Clearing, dirt work and hauling in-house means your job never stalls waiting on a subcontractor.
We walk the property, price it in writing with a real timeline, and flag honest risks like shallow rock up front. The number holds unless the scope changes.
Clear it, grade it, haul it, landscape it — one crew owns the whole sequence, so nothing falls between contractors and the finish actually gets finished.
Overgrown lot, yard that will not drain, pad that needs cutting, or a landscape ready for a redo? Call or send the form and we will walk the property with you and hand you a free written quote.
Tell us about your project — we’ll get right back to you.