How to regrade a yard after basement waterproofing
Use compacted native soil or a clay-loam mix to build a slope that drops at least six inches over the first ten feet away from the foundation. Filling low spots and eliminating negative slopes prevents surface water from pooling near the foundation and dampening the block walls after heavy rain.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1building a deck or concrete patio over the area to cover itDid this help you?
- 2extending downspoutsDid this help you?
- 3clearing and checking guttersDid this help you?
- 4regrading the soilDid this help you?
- 5removing wood that can trap waterDid this help you?
- 6Installing shutoff valves to divert waterDid this help you?
- 7Adding a smart shut off before the filterDid this help you?
- 8Adding a check valve after the filterDid this help you?
- 9running sump pumps continuouslyDid this help you?
- 10adding a dehumidifierDid this help you?
- 11using a hybrid water heater with a heat pump to reduce humidityDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I noticed a damp patch on the foundation block after a heavy rainfall where the trees are planted. Does the grading need to be fixed and the trees taken down?”source ↗
“What should I fill with or any other suggestions?”source ↗
“I’m not interested in having a deck”source ↗
“I can’t wrap my head around this being a drainage/drain tile issue or if the ground is just very saturated after the storm with a high water table and my system is doing the best it can.”source ↗
“Recently had a whole house filter installed and for a few weeks it was running great. I was sitting in my basement at the exact moment one of the canisters cracked and water started spewing out everywhere.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4Can you use fiberglass insulation in a basement after flooding?
- 2Will grass fix water pooling in yard after regrading?
- 17Why does my newly seeded lawn pool after heavy rain?
- 16Why is water coming up through my basement floor during heavy rain?
- 3Yard drain backing up without rain
- 5Sinkhole appeared in my yard near the house