Phoning around for french drain in Cape Town takes time, and every company asks the same questions. Send one job card instead and we pass it to drainage contractors and septic installers who serve Cape Town and nearby areas of Western Cape. They quote on the work, travel, disposal and how soon they can come.
French Drains in Cape Town
French drain work in Cape Town is mostly booked by owners of plots and older houses for septic tank drainage, and by homeowners dealing with damp walls, wet lawns and runoff. Tell the contractor which kind you need, the slope and the soil, so operators serving Cape Town and the rest of Western Cape can quote accurately.
Want to know more first? Our french drain guide covers the options, what to check and what affects the price.
Septic tanks and drainage in Cape Town
Cape Town has an extensive sewer, but off-sewer areas are many: Kommetjie, Noordhoek, Hout Bay's upper slopes, Philippi horticultural area, Joostenberg and the Atlantic coast farms rely on septic tanks and conservancy tanks. Sandy soils on the Cape Flats mean a high winter water table, so soakaways flood in the wet months and sealed tanks are common. Granite and shale on the mountain slopes can need rock breaking. Industrial areas such as Montague Gardens and Paarden Eiland use grease traps and conservancy tanks. Honey sucker operators serve the metro from Epping, Montague Gardens and the Cape Flats, and portable toilet hire is busy at events.
Typical french drain requests in the area come from:
- Houses: a trench for a septic tank at an older house, or a stormwater drain along a damp wall
- Estates and complexes: stormwater french drains around units and communal gardens, with septic trenches where off-sewer
- Restaurants, shops and offices: stormwater trenches for parking and retail frontages, and septic trenches for rural shops
- Factories, mines, sites and events: drains on yards, depots and building sites where runoff would otherwise pond
- Smallholdings and plots: a longer septic trench on a smallholding, plus drains that carry runoff off the yard
- Lodges, guesthouses and venues: larger trenches for peak guest loads and drains that keep paths and decks dry
- Farms and game farms: septic trenches for homesteads and drains that protect buildings and roads from runoff
- Schools, churches and clinics: long trenches for school and church septic systems, and drains keeping playgrounds dry
Local tips for Cape Town
In Cape Town, the most common systems are conservancy tanks on the Cape Flats, septic tanks with soakaways on mountain slopes. Operators and suppliers mostly work from operators in Epping, Montague Gardens and across the Cape Flats. A useful tip: ask for a pump-out before winter if your tank sits in low-lying sandy ground.
French Drains usually means trench, perforated pipe and clean stone, for 5 to 60 m of trench, 90 to 110 mm pipe, lasts 15 to 30 years if maintained. Ground in the area: sandy Cape Flats with a high winter water table: soakaways flood.
What to include in your request
- Whether the drain is for a septic tank or for stormwater
- Roughly how long the trench needs to run, and on what slope
- Soil type (clay, sand, rock) and whether the ground floods
- Where the water must go: a pit, a lower garden or a stormwater drain
- Whether an old drain must be dug up and replaced
The more detail you give, the more accurate your quote will be.
Service area: Cape Town and surrounds
Operators, contractors and suppliers on our network work in Cape Town and surrounding areas, including Century City, Woodstock, Epping, Montague Gardens, Paarden Eiland, Claremont, Salt River. Give the suburb, holding or farm name so the quote can include travel, and say how soon you need someone.