If heavy rains come down, water should flow away from your house safely into your yard. If it collects around your house or makes your lawn a swamp, you probably have a grading problem.  The most important line of defense for your home’s integrity is professional Drainage Grading. A properly sloped landscape will keep water from pooling and help prevent unnecessary damage to your basement, crawl space, and landscaping over time.

Understanding the drainage grading: The foundation of Yard health

Drainage Grading is a technique in which the land is reshaped to direct rainwater away from your house’s foundation so it will flow into a safe area, such as a storm drain or a designated drainage ditch.

Signs that indicate your property has poor grading.

• Standing Water: Puddles that persist on the lawn for 24 hours or more after a storm.
• Foundation wall cracks: When water is in contact with concrete, it exerts hydrostatic pressure and puts the structure under stress, resulting in “Foundation Wall Cracks”.
• Spongy Turf: Soft, muddy areas of grass that never seem to dry out.
• Musty Odors: Infestation of mold and mildew by water penetration into crawl spaces or basements.

How Poor slopes can damage your structural foundation.

Every time the water has nowhere to run, it becomes a wrecker. If your soil slopes toward your home, instead of away, the soil around your foundation will become oversaturated.

The water saturation of soil causes your foundation walls to experience hydrostatic pressure, or the pressure from the water inside the soil, which is very strong. This pressure builds over a period of time, resulting in bowed walls, fine cracks, and leaks. In addition to structural damage, repeated pooling can smother turf grass, erode soil, and mar the landscape.

 Comprehensive Yard Drainage Solutions

Professional yard drainage providers examine the topography of your land and put in place the correct yard drainage solutions.

 1. French Drains

A French drain is a trench that is filled with gravel and has a perforated pipe. It helps to reroute groundwater from areas of concern. Water is let through the gravel and into the pipe and vents safely away from the premises.

 2. Install Catch Basins and Sump Pumps.

Catch basins (drainage boxes with grates) collect surface water runoff in areas where re-grading is not enough to create a slope. Sump pumps are then used to move water out of low areas such as basements, deep yards, etc.

 3. Swales and Berms

A swale is used to guide water gently down a slope; it is a shallow ditch with vegetation. Berms are embankments built up to divert water from certain areas.

 Why Professional Land Grading Services Matter

Correcting your home’s slope is seldom a do-it-yourself project. Small mistakes can cause water to end up on your neighbor’s side of the fence or make your flooding problems worse.

Professional land grading services involve the use of specialized machinery and leveling tools to determine the slope’s accuracy. A typical requirement for the industry is a minimum 5% slope away from a home’s foundation. This requires that there be a minimum 6″ drop in elevation within the first 10 feet of the structure.

Experts also recognize the makeup of the soil. Clay soil holds water and swells a lot, while sandy soil drains fast and is easily eroded. These soil variations are considered in a grading plan to provide long-term stability.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the recommended slope of the grading for proper drainage?

The general guideline for drainage grading is 6″ over a 10′ distance from the foundation of your home. This assures a safe 5% slope, which keeps water draining away from structural concrete.

When you are considering a French drain vs. re-grading, how do you know when to use one vs the other?

Re-grading is often the most important solution when the soil slopes towards the house. A French drain may be needed, however, if your yard has a high water table or is located at the bottom of a hill. A French drain will capture and divert the water that grading can’t remove from the subsurface.

Is my septic system affected by poor drainage in my yard?

Yes. Water that gets accumulated on top of your septic drainfield hinders the absorption and treatment of wastewater from your septic tank. This can cause system backups and early failure of the drainfield.

Do I need to do regular landscaping to correct my property drainage problems?

Simple landscaping, such as mulching or planting flowers, won’t correct structural drainage issues. Permanent water pathway changes with actual subsoil and dirt contour changes are accomplished by True property drainage fixes.

What is the typical duration of a land grading project?

Typically, most residential-grade jobs take 1-3 days to complete, depending on the yard size, the problem with the slope, and if other drainage components are required on the site, such as pipes or catch basins.