How Yard Grading Can Prevent Flooding Around Your Home

You may have heard about the concept of yard grading before. It’s a common recommendation when it comes to drainage issues. But then, what is yard grading? This essential landscaping technique is fundamentally about creating a strategic slope that directs water away from your property's foundation. 

Also referred to as levelling, yard grading protects against all the issues associated with poor drainage.

The idea also implies installing a professional system. In the long run, it can prevent the frustration and damage related to soggy yards. It’s part of the landscape design industry and ensures your yard is healthy and safe.

Grading, Hand in Hand With Earthwork

Yard grading isn’t the type of project you have to do yourself. Unless you know what you’re doing and you have some heavy equipment for the job, chances are you’ll need a yard grading contractor instead.

Some of the equipment involved includes skid steers, loaders, bulldozers, excavators and graders, just to name a few. The job implies removing or even reshaping your current soil and surface, but everything has to be done with a drainage plan in mind.

Soil may also have to be removed if you have too much and it doesn’t correspond to the plan. Drainage is improved along with all this earthwork, as the project is meant to cover everything.

Once the actual grading is complete, the soil is compacted. The new slopes developed during the process will be stabilized to ensure there's no erosion later. Along with erosion, water pooling is successfully prevented too. After all, yard grading is often associated with top-notch drainage. But grading alone isn’t always enough. Long-term protection also depends on compliance and proper system maintenance. That’s where companies like Faircloth Stormwater step in. They offer inspection services and maintenance planning that help property owners keep their drainage systems effective and up to code.

Pushing Water Away

So, what’s yard grading then? While it can be done with aesthetic purposes, the truth is often done for practical reasons.

One of the elements in the process includes pushing water away.

Whether from rain or just general moisture, water tends to pool around. When grading is done by the book, a professional will make sure it’s directed away from different structures. This way, it will drain normally, rather than infiltrate structures like the foundation of your home or garage.

Yard grading will protect your garden, but also your foundation, basement and other similar structures.

Aesthetics Vs. Functionality

Yard grading is mainly a functional project, but it can also be an aesthetical one. If you’ve always struggled with moisture and dead plants, chances are water isn’t draining properly. If the soil is wet even during the summertime, drainage is definitely an issue.

But once the yard is redone, yard grading could also be an aesthetical improvement. There are countless options there. If you’ve always tried to maintain a garden, you’ll be able to install topsoil. You can get some grass seed or perhaps some plants. Trees and other similar elements can also go in.

Normally, all these things are discussed in the initial plan, so they can be considered for the yard grading project. Professional landscapers consider grading as a holistic process. They not only solve water management issues but also create opportunities to enhance your outdoor living space.

A Completely New Design

Sometimes, yard grading could be a small project. If you only have a couple of areas where water tends to pool, you may not need a massive upgrade. But other times, you may require a full yard renovation, meaning everything must go away.

Keep in mind that slopes, angles and grades aren’t everything. For instance, if the soil has been constantly eroded for years, drainage could be an issue even if the slopes are in the right places.

Therefore, yard drainage comes with some changes, but the materials in your yard may also have to be replaced. You may require new soil, among other things.

Specific plants will also help in the process because they absorb moisture, so they prevent water from pooling. Once again, these new slopes aren’t everything. But then, certain types of plants or grasses will require particular types of soils to thrive, hence the necessity of upgrading the soil as well. 

Plants like ornamental grasses, sedges, and certain native species can be exceptional at managing moisture. Switchgrass, for example, has deep root systems that help absorb excess water and prevent erosion.

Other Benefits of Yard Grading

Yard grading isn’t all about improving drainage by changing slopes and updating soil. It has numerous other benefits too, many of them related to this aspect though:

1. Less risk of developing mold and mildew.
2. Less risk of waterlogged soil.
3. A top-notch nutrient distribution for plants.
4. Higher curb appeal and value for the property.
5. A healthy overall landscape.

Once again, while there are small bits you can probably do yourself, this is a structural process for your yard, so it should be left to a professional.