Making the Grade in Rainy Weather
When was the last time you walked around your house? If you are like most people, you go in the door and out the door and never venture around the house. However, I highly recommend you do it once a month to check out the home and specifically the grading. All the rain we’ve had is great for landscaping and our water supply but sometimes it can create a problem for our home. And a leaking basement, water pooling in the yard or around foundation is no fun. If you are having drainage problem near your home, first check to make sure all down spouts are carrying the rain water away from the foundation. If the rain spouts are working properly the problem maybe with the grading of the land near the foundation of your house.
A properly graded yard will slope away from the foundation of a house allowing for water to flow away from the foundation. Landscaping professionals recommend a slope of 5 percent or 6 inches for every 10 feet.
How do you determine if you’re the grade around your foundation is correct? This is where your high school algebra comes in handy… just kidding. I prefer the old fashioned way of figuring out the slope way from your house.
- 2 stakes
- String
- A tape measure.
- A string level
Drive one stake into the ground near the foundation of the house. Then tie one end of the string around the stake at ground level. Measure out 10 feet then drive the second stake into the ground. Wrap the other end of the string around the second stake at the point where appears to be level with the first stake, using the string level make it exactly level. Now, measure the height of the string on the second stake.
With a properly graded slope, the measurement is 6 inches or more. It the measure is less than 6 inches you may need add fill dirt to adjust the slope to the proper incline. After you built up the soil around the foundation, you will need to repeat the measurement.
It is a good idea to contact the local utility company to locate any buried lines or wires. In Howard County contact Miss Utility through their website https://www.missutility.net/ or call 1-800-257-7777