# How to choose a drainage and gutter company in Houston Source: https://thehoustonhomeowner.com/trades/drainage-gutters Publisher: The Houston Homeowner (https://thehoustonhomeowner.com) > Texas has no drainage or gutter license, so insist on a written plan that shows where the water goes, confirm the design does not push water onto a neighbor, and check with the Houston Permitting Center before anything connects to the street or the storm sewer. ## License Texas has no state license for drainage, grading or gutter work. Anyone can install gutters or dig a French drain. If the work includes plumbing connections, a licensed plumber is required for those. Your protection is a written plan, insurance, and a company that has worked on Houston's flat clay lots for years. No state license exists for this trade in Texas. Permits: Gutters and downspout extensions on your own lot do not need a permit. Connecting a drain to the curb, the street or the city storm sewer, cutting a curb, or changing grade in a mapped floodplain involves city rules. Confirm with the Houston Permitting Center before the work is designed. ## Walk away if - They propose a French drain without saying where it discharges. - The plan sends water toward a neighbor's lot. Texas law holds you liable for that. - They cannot show you a sketch with slopes and outlet points. - They want to pile fill against the house or bury the weep holes in the brick. - They quote gutters without measuring the roof area or counting downspouts. - They will not provide a certificate of insurance from their insurer. ## Ask before you hire - Where exactly does the water go once it is collected, and what happens if that outlet is underwater in a heavy rain? - Can I see a sketch with the slope of the grade, the drain lines and the discharge points? - How many downspouts will the gutters have, and what size downspout for my roof area? - Will any part of the work touch a neighbor's drainage, the curb or the street? - How will you keep the final grade below the slab's weep holes and brick line? ## Houston specifics Houston is flat, the soil is clay, and it rains hard. Water does not soak in and it does not run off on its own, so it sits. Water that sits against a slab for a season is the start of foundation movement, mold in the walls and a wet crawl under a pier-and-beam house. Drainage is not landscaping here. It is foundation protection. Gutters matter more than they do in dry cities. A roof dumping thousands of gallons at the corners of the house in a single storm is the main reason Houston slabs settle on one side. Downspouts should carry water several feet from the foundation, and the gutters need enough downspouts and a large enough size for the roof area. A gutter company that does not measure the roof is guessing. French drains work in clay only when they have somewhere to go. The outlet is the whole design. A drain that ends in a buried gravel pit in clay fills up and stops. A drain that daylights to the street, to a low point far from the house, or to a sump that pumps to the curb keeps working. Ask about the outlet first. Grading is a quiet trap. The ground should fall away from the house, but fill piled against the brick covers the weep holes and invites termites and moisture into the wall. Keep the final grade below the brick line. Floodplains add rules. Some of Houston is in a mapped floodplain where changing grade or adding fill is regulated. The Harris County Flood Control District maps tell you if your lot is one of them. ## Reading a drainage bid A complete bid includes a sketch of the lot with the slope direction, the gutters and downspouts with sizes and counts, the drain lines with pipe type and diameter, the catch basins, the outlet and what it connects to, how the yard is restored, the insurance certificate, and the warranty on the work. If the bid does not say where the water goes, it is not a drainage bid. ## Frequently asked **Do drainage contractors need a license in Texas?** No. Texas does not license drainage, grading or gutter contractors. The checks are a written plan, insurance, and references on Houston lots like yours. **Can I drain my yard onto my neighbor's property in Texas?** No. Texas law prohibits diverting surface water in a way that damages another property. A drainage plan that moves water across the line can make you liable. A good contractor designs to the street or to a safe outlet on your own lot. **Do I need a permit for a French drain in Houston?** Usually not for a drain that stays on your lot. Connecting to the curb or the storm sewer, cutting a curb, or regrading in a floodplain brings city rules into it. Ask the Houston Permitting Center before the work is designed. --- The Houston Homeowner is an independent publication. We do not accept payment for placement, rankings, or reviews, and no home service company owns or sponsors this site.