It's inevitable and normal that a concrete slab will eventually develop some cracks.
Maintain your grade for a happy foundation
Who doesn't love a solid foundation and a dry basement?
It's fairly common that we get questions about grading around the perimeter of a home.
Grading is simply the level of the ground around a house. A positive grade slopes away from your home, directing water to flow away from the house and back into the yard. A negative grade slopes toward your home, trapping water and funneling it right into your foundation (this is bad).
A few quick notes before we get into a step-by-step how-to for grading around your home:
All water that falls within ten feet of your house should have a clear path away from your home without ponding. The ground should drop one inch for every one foot away from the house for the first 5-10 feet. Screened topsoil from your local supplier is the best choice for grading, but bagged top soil can also be used. Window wells should extend 2-3 inches above the top of the grading.
STEPS TO A PERFECT POSITIVE GRADE:
- Clean the area you plan to grade. Remove weeds, leaves and any mulch that may be in the way.
- Remove and replace any worn window well covers. Remember to clean out the inside of the window well.
- Starting against the house, start pouring soil until it reaches slightly above the desired level.
- Compact the newly poured soil with a shovel or a tamper.
- Continue to add soil along the house’s foundation.
- Once the soil is at the desired level against the foundation, pour more soil further away to create a slope of approximately 1 inch per 1 foot away from the house.
Finally, for your viewing pleasure, here's a video of me grading a foundation:
Good luck!
Brian
