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frontierslandscape

Protecting Your Investment - Drainage Around Our Homes

Landscape drainage in newly constructed subdivisions is quite often not the greatest. This poor drainage can often be attributed to poor soil conditions, lack of permeable surfaces, or poor grading. Having poor drainage around your home can lead to a whole list of problems, and should be corrected immediately. Grading the surface away from your house will help to keep the foundation dry and minimize the risk of water penetrating into your basement. In extreme situations, where there are slopes draining towards your house, retaining walls and/or swales should be used to reverse the grade and slope it away from your house. These retaining walls should include a weeping tile and clear gravel wrapped in a geotextile filter fabric in order to help the wall shed any water from behind it. Patios and decks should also be slopped away from your house in order to shed any rain or snow melt towards a permeable surface. For best results, your downspouts from your roof should also be directed towards these permeable areas, like your lawn, in order to quickly disperse water into the ground. A home is one of the largest, if not the largest investment you will ever make in your lifetime. By taking steps to promote positive drainage around your home, you will be protecting your investment from potential flood and moisture damage.