The Importance of Proper Yard Grading for Drainage

Grading refers to shaping and sloping the ground around your home so that water drains away properly. It's an important part of what landscapers need to think about as they work.

A poorly graded yard can lead to several problems, and understanding these can save a lot of time, effort and money in the long run.

Water Damage to Your House

The most significant risk of improper grading is water damage to your house. A yard that slopes towards the building can cause water to pool around the foundation. This is a serious issue, especially during heavy rainfalls or Winnipeg's big snow melts. Water accumulation can weaken foundations, leading to cracks, leaks, and even basement flooding. If you have water coming into your basement, poor grading around the house is one possible cause.

You want about 6 inches of drop over the first 10 feet away from the foundation. This is around 5% slope. If you have a newer home, less than 10 years old, you may want your landscaper to use an even steeper slope in the area 3 to 4 feet from the foundation. This area will settle quite dramatically in the early years and you might see settling happening 20 years or more after construction of the house. Increasing the slope here will reduce the need for frequent regrading.

Soil Erosion

Another concern is soil erosion. Poor drainage patterns can cause water to move across the yard in ways that wash away topsoil.

Landscape Health

Your yard's overall health can suffer from poor grading. Standing water can lead to fungal lawn diseases, root rot and drowned plants. Conversely, areas that drain too quickly might not retain enough moisture, stressing plants and lawns.

Usability of Your Lawn

If you don't have enough slope for the water to drain away, you can end up with parts of your lawn that very often have a puddle in them.

Wet areas can also become breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which is particularly relevant in Winnipeg. Even though many mosquitoes come from wetlands around the city, standing water in your yard can still make the problem worse. Do not make your own private wetlands right in your backyard!

To avoid this you will want around 1–2% slope so water moves, but slow enough not to cause erosion.

Patios and Grading

Unlike an interior space which is built perfectly level, an outdoor patio needs a 1% to 2% slope to ensure that water drains off the surface. If the slope is less than 1%, there is a risk that even minor shifting will lead to puddles on the patio surface. A small proportion of water from rain and melting snow can be absorbed by the patio surface but the rest needs to flow down off the edges of the patio.

A slope greater than 2% becomes very obvious, and may feel uncomfortable underfoot. Our experience says that 1.5% is optimal.

We are professional landscapers with a lot of experience so when you hire us for a landscaping project we always carefully take care of grading as a part of the landscaping work we are doing.