Who do I call when my lawn "yard" slops toward my house?

Question

From what I know your lawn is suppose to slop away from your house. Well we get water every really really good rain in our basement. After we had a patio put in in the back it is really noticeable that the yard slops toward the house. So we are like that is why we get the water when it rain for a few days. So what specialist is out there that can and tell us what we can do?

Will we really have to tear up the whole yard to level it? Or can't you just throw dirt around the side and slop it down?

Answer 1

There is probably a "French drain" Underground near the foundation and it's stopping up. Usually these are covered with a layer of gravel to allow drainage of run off water and the drain pipe has holes in it which allows the water to get in and be diverted to another place away from the house. Kinda look around for a black pipe about 8" in dia. end sticking out of the ground, that'll be it.

Answer 2

Add dirt to slope it down from the foundation.  Does your house have gutters and downspouts?  You may want to extend the downspouts toward the downhill side of your home to carry away the water coming off the roof.  You can use plastic piping (3 or 4 inch) and bury it before you add dirt to slope standing water away from the foundation.  Like they said, don't forget to seed.

Answer 3

Without a basic picture of your yard it's extremely difficult to give an accurate answer.

I would opt to contact a reputable landscaper and go over some design changes.Here by code the dirt/lawn should not be within 6" of walls (top of concrete).The problem I have is with the contractor installing the patio did not inform you of what they saw in surrounding elevations.

I am a wall,flatwork,landscape contractor and feel it's my responsibility to inform owners of potential problems.There are many options for your problem,unfortunately it is not a one size fits all answer.

My Best

Answer 4

I'd call a landscaper--if you don't know someone you trust, call a couple.  Or call a house builder and ask who they use/trust for landscaping a lawn--you don't want someone who specializes in trees and flowers; you want an expert in getting the slope right.

You can probably dig a small ditch on the high side of the house to direct the water away.

If you just build up more dirt around the house, you might have trouble with that.  My house is on a crawl space (I'd love a basement!), and I was told that, if I built up the dirt too much, it could hold water under the house.  

Also, look into adding a sump pump.  You'd have to pay to get it done, of course.  They would put a shallow "well" in the basement (below floor level) and put a pump in it. The water would fill the well before it came into the basement; then the pump pumps it out.  Voila!--no more water in the basement (as long as the pump is working--don't put anything on the floor; if it rains hard and the electricity goes out you're flooded again).  

You might also call the local codes department and ask how they would recommend you handle it.  Just be careful how you word it, as they might be able to force you into a given action.  (When our septic field failed, I learned that, if there had been standing water in our yard when the inspector came out, he could have forced us into installing a bubbler system.  There wasn't, so he could only make a recommendation and give us a permit.)

Answer 5

The whole yard should have been surveyed to check the slope and correct it BEFORE  the patio was put in.

I would call a Landscape Architect to check the site and cost to redo the patio and reslope the property. It will be expensive, because the patio will probably have to be removed and replaced. There may be a simpler fix, but I would ask a LICENSED professional (LA's are licensed), how to fix it.

Answer 6

do not put dirt up the wall higher than the damp proof course or else you will have even more damp walls.. in any case the rain would still soak thro the soil & run down anyway!

The patio should have never been laid to slope towards the house..

Either lift & relay properly or alternatively if there is a drain close enough then form a chanel to run off the rainwater before getting close to the external walls of the housethis will mean digging up part of it anyway so you might as well go the whole hogg & seal the wall with a bitumen based sealant like synthaprufe or similar product

Answer 7

you throw dirt down and slop it down easy as that dont forget to seed