8 Ideas To Drain Water Away From Your House

While it can start out as a minor problem, a drainage issue can cause bigger issues when it comes to the safety and integrity of the structure of your home.

Let’s go over how to spot drainage issues, what causes them and how to fix them by diverting water away from your home.

What Are The Signs Of A Water Drainage Problem?

Water may seem harmless enough, but it can cause a number of problems for homeowners – ones that can be a minor inconvenience or cause thousands of dollars of damage.

Here are a few red flags to look for in and around your home and why you’ll want to redirect water away from your home:

• Foundation issues: Foundation damage can impact the value of your home or, worse, make it unsellable. A few signs of structural damage include cracked or bowed walls, doors that stick or don’t close properly, or uneven floors.
• Pooling or standing water: If water is pooling in your yard or sitting stagnant, it can quickly become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other pests.
• Soggy ground: Soggy ground can also negatively affect your plants, grass and flowers. When water has nowhere to go and saturates the soil, it fills the pockets of air that normally deliver much-needed oxygen to roots.
• Basement leaks: Water in your basement can get in through window wells, cracks in the walls or floor, mortar joints or certain types of concrete. Basement leaks can cause efflorescence, flaking walls and even foundation issues.
• Mold and mildew: Mold loves to grow in damp places, so if poor drainage causes water to gather in or around your home, you could experience mold issues. Mold not only causes damage to your property but can also cause health issues.

What Causes Water Drainage Problems?

There are several reasons a homeowner could have water drainage problems. Let’s take a closer look at some common causes of water drainage issues.

Grading

One of the biggest culprits is the grading of the yard. Grading is a landscaping technique that gently slopes the yard away from the home. It is at such a slight angle that people may not even know their yard is sloping at all.

It may take time for water to get absorbed by the soil, so when there are heavy rains, the water sits on top of the lawn. If the lawn is flat, the water will stay there, pooling. If there is any grading, the water will flow in the direction of the slope. If your yard slopes toward your home instead of away from it (negative grading), then you have an even bigger issue than pooling.

“Negative grading can cause water to accumulate near the home,” says Tom Wallace, a certified master inspector. “The grading or soil should always slope away from the home to prevent water from accumulating near the foundation.”

Compacted Soil

Once water does make its way into the soil, there could be another problem – the soil won’t absorb it. Clay soil is more dense than other soils and doesn’t easily absorb water. Hardpan soil is the same way. This type of soil is usually found just below the top layer and can be any soil that is extremely compacted.

Compacted soil makes it hard for anything to get through. Think of hardpan soil this way – it’s like walking through a brick wall instead of one that’s made of Jell-O. Hardpan soil is usually caused by such things as improper watering, repeated plowing, heavy construction machinery, pollution or environmental changes.

Gutter And Downspout Issues

Maybe the problem isn’t as complicated as the slope or soil. Hopefully, it’s just the gutters and downspouts. Gutters collect water runoff from the roof and send it down the downspouts. The downspouts are then supposed to empty the water a safe distance from the home.

If your gutters are clogged, the water has nowhere to go, so it spills over, runs down the side of the home and lands right next to the foundation. If your downspouts are too short, they won’t transport the water far enough away from the home.

Driveway Slope

Your yard isn’t the only place that holds water when it rains and snows. Your driveway could also pose a problem, especially if it is connected to your house. Just like your yard, your driveway should slope away from the home. If it doesn’t, you may need to hire someone to resurface or install a new driveway.

Along with grading issues, you could have cracks in your driveway that allow water in. If your driveway butts up against your house, you may have a gap where the two meet. This lets water run down the exterior of the foundation, instead of properly draining away from it.

How To Divert Water From The Home

As a homeowner, not much is scarier than hearing you have a water issue. The first thing that comes to mind is the foundation.

The good news is there are a number of ways you can lower the impact water can have on your home by redirecting its path. Here are our top eight ideas on how to drain water away from your house:

1. Clean Your Gutters

It’s very important to maintain and clean your gutters to avoid clogging and protect your home in the long run. Start by cleaning near the downspout, then climb a sturdy ladder to inspect and clean the gutters along the edge of the roof. Reach into the gutter and pull out any leaves, twigs and other debris that may cause clogging. Use a trowel to get anything that is difficult to reach or grasp.

After you pull out all of the gunk, flush the gutter. If the water flows through the gutter just fine but isn’t coming out the other end, you may have a blockage in the downspout. In that case, you may have to detach the downspout to work on it further.

It is best to clean your gutters at least twice a year – when you prepare for the start of summer and as you complete your fall cleaning. Regular maintenance can also help you avoid the cost of repairing or replacing your gutters in the years to come.

2. Extend Your Downspouts

“It is recommended that downspouts are extended at least 6 feet away from the home to divert the path of water away from the foundation,” says Wallace. If your downspout ends less than 6 feet from your home, add an extender. These devices easily attach to your existing downspout and typically cost less than $10.

You can find downspout extensions at your local hardware store or online.

3. Create A Rain Garden

A rain garden helps collect runoff, slows it down and helps it filter into the ground. The garden consists of mulch, multiple layers of soil and plants that can tolerate wet environments.

Create your garden at least 10 feet from the house and make sure the yard slopes toward the garden. This way, the water will flow into the garden and not toward the foundation.

4. Install A Rain Barrel

If you are unable to extend your downspout because of its location, a rain barrel could be another option. Instead of the water dumping onto the driveway or ground, it would dump into a rain barrel. The barrel holds stormwater until you can get rid of it, usually by reusing it to water your lawn.

A rain barrel is especially helpful in reducing your water usage and lowering your water bill. While many people store their rain barrels beneath their downspouts, you can place the barrel anywhere water collects from overhead sources.

If you decide to install a rain barrel on your property, make sure you place it on a flat surface that can hold the weight of a full barrel. You’ll also want to get a rainwater diverter, which keeps mosquitos out and prevents debris from flowing into the barrel.

5. Seal The Driveway

If your driveway runs parallel to the side of your house, you can prevent water from getting into the space between the structure and pavement by creating a seal.

The first step is removing as much debris from the space as possible. You can do this with a leaf blower or high-powered vacuum. Once cleaned, fill the crack with landscape foam. The foam will expand to fit the space and provide a seal between the pavement and the wall.

Since the foam expands, you may have to use a utility knife to cut across any excess to make it level. Once the foam is level with the driveway, you’ll want to smooth tar caulk over it to create a flexible, waterproof seal.

6. Install A French Drain

A French drain collects water below the surface and transports it away from the home. Putting one in your yard involves digging a trench about 2 feet deep and lining it with water-permeable landscape fabric. Once you lay the fabric, add a few inches of gravel and lay down a drainpipe that has several holes punctured in it.

Once you lay the pipe, add more gravel on top, then add sod over it. While it sounds easy enough, it can be pretty labor-intensive and will require you to rip up part of your lawn. You may want to consider hiring a professional.

7. Improve The Grading

According to Wallace, “Negative grading often occurs due to poor design, soil displacement or structural settling.” Whatever the reason, you can fix the issue by re-grading your yard.

If you only have a few problem areas, you may be able to get away with only fixing those spots. But if your yard has major drainage or sloping problems, you may have to tear up your entire yard and start from scratch.

Either project will involve examining your yard, determining the degree of the slope, digging up parts of your yard and adding, removing or moving soil. Then, you’ll need to rake and till the ground before adding new sod. The scope of work will depend on how much of your yard you’ll need to regrade and what your landscaping ideas entail.

Just like a French drain, this project requires a good amount of physical labor and is better left to professionals. While you work, consider installing a French drain since you will be ripping up your yard anyway. This will provide double-duty drainage.

8. Install A Sump Pump

A sump pump helps remove water from under your home’s foundation by collecting it in a sump basin (located under your house). Then, it pumps the water away from your home through a discharge pipe.

You can pay to have a sump pump installed in your home, but be aware that this will require breaking through your basement floor and installing a pipe through your wall.

The Bottom Line

Water drainage issues can cause serious damage to your property, so it’s important to take action.

While there are many DIY fixes homeowners can take, depending on the severity of your drainage problems, it can be worth it to call in a professional for help. An experienced professional can inspect the home and provide the best solutions and pricing specific to your problem.

If you need extra cash to help handle any water damage to your home, consider a cash-out refinance to leverage your equity to cover repairs. See what your options are and get started on a cash-out refinance today.