A wet basement is never a good thing. Whether it’s a little dampness or full-on flooding, moisture in your basement can cause foundation damage that affects the structural integrity of your entire home.
The grading of the land around your home plays a huge role in keeping your basement dry. To protect your home, it’s critical to learn how to spot inadequate grading and what steps to take to fix it.
What is Yard Grading?
In the context of your yard, grading doesn’t refer to quality, but to slope. The grade of your yard encompasses both direction and steepness.
- A “positive grade” means that the land slants down and away from your home (i.e., your home is at the high point)
- A “negative grade” means that the land slants down towards your home (i.e., your home is at the low point)
- A “neutral grade” means that the land around your home is flat
Within those general terms of positive and negative, experts measure grade as the change in elevation divided by horizontal distance. Say the distance from your home to the edge of your property is 100 feet—that’s the horizontal distance.
Then, you need to look at how high the land is at your foundation versus at the property line to see how much the elevation changes. If the land is two feet lower at the property line, you calculate 2 feet divided by 100 feet to determine that your yard has a 2% positive grade.
The higher the number, the steeper the grade. Generally, a steep grade indicates a big change in elevation over a short distance, while a shallow grade means a more gradual change in elevation over a longer distance.
How Land Grading Impacts Basement Waterproofing
A flat lawn, or one that slopes towards your house, is bad news for basement waterproofing. Without gravity to direct water away from your foundation, your home is inherently exposed to more water and greater hydrostatic pressure (the pressure of water in underground soil pushing against your foundation).
Constant water exposure and water pressure increase the likelihood of:
- Recurrent leaks
- Foundation cracks
- Seam seepage
- Mold or mildew growth
- Efflorescence on walls
- Damaged drywall
- Water marks and stains
While internal basement waterproofing measures can help, poor grading may mean they require more frequent upkeep or prove inadequate to keep basement water issues in check. The only way to truly address the issue is to fix the fundamental grading problem so that water can consistently drain away from your home.
How to Spot Grading Problems
You can usually see land grading if the grade is steep. If it’s clear that your home is lower than the surrounding land, your basement is likely at risk of water damage simply because water flows towards your home rather than away from it.
Sometimes, however, land grading is so gradual that it’s hard to see the slope with the naked eye. In these cases, other signs can help identify grading problems that you need to address. These signs include:
- Pooling water
- Unhealthy grass
- Spongy soil
- Abundant mosquitoes
- Consistent basement water issues
An overabundance of water causes all of these problems. To address the root cause, you’ll need to work with a landscape contractor to regrade your lawn so water flows away from your home naturally.
Keep in mind that even if your yard was graded properly at one point, you may still end up with a poorly graded property over time. Soil settling, yearly freeze-thaw cycles, and erosion can change the slope of your yard over the years.
If you notice signs of poor grading, it’s important to act as soon as possible. Even minor water damage can have long-lasting impacts on your home. Addressing the problem and preventing it from recurring are critical to protecting your home.
If you need help with basement waterproofing solutions in Rochester or the region, call BelowDry Basement Waterproofing today. We are your go-to basement waterproofing experts, and we’re here to put our 15+ years of experience to work protecting your home. You can call us for a convenient weekday or weekend appointment, and you can rest assured that we are available 24/7 for emergency service. Our team is committed to finding long-term, comprehensive basement waterproofing solutions and delivering outstanding customer service. BelowDry Basement Waterproofing—Solving Your Wet Basement Problem for Good!