Drainage is a system of drains, pipes, sewers, and wells that help keep excess water away from your home and backyard. You can learn more about the two main types of drainage here.

When a drainage system isn’t properly installed, there are regular floods on the property which can lead to very serious problems such as damaged property foundation, the spread of diseases, etc. 

Some of the common reasons behind poor drainage are inadequate grading on the property that results in water buildup or water flowing toward the house. 

So, what can you do to improve your drainage and make sure you don’t end up with a problem that’s beyond fixing? The following are some common questions on the topic that will help you determine your course of action.

Will Gravel Around the House Help Drainage?

Rocks may improve drainage depending on how your home is positioned. If the soil is sloping away from the foundation, then gravel can certainly help keep excess rain water from it. If it’s not, then rocks won’t do much to help. You’ll need to fix the grading around the foundation first.

As for your garden, gravel can be used to redirect water in the backyard to ditches that will carry the water away from your home. 

It’s best not to use very small stones that could clog drain pipes.

Is Sand or Gravel Better for Drainage?

Water moves through gravel faster than through sand, so it’s probably better to use gravel. However, to secure more stability to gravel bedding, it could be a good idea to place a layer of sand beneath the gravel.

What Is the Minimum Fall for Drainage?

As we mentioned, the slope around your house should go downhill, that much is clear. However, the math for calculating the ideal fall, slope, or gradient – however you want to call it – is a bit complicated. In order not to get too technical, it’s enough to say that it would be ideal to have a ¼ inch slope downwards for every 1 foot away from your home.

The optimal gradient for drainage is determined in the initial stage of planning the house, but if for any reason it turns out to be inadequate and you end up with water pooling around your house and flooding your foundation, then you need professional plumbers’ help. 

What Are Some Other DIY Tricks for Runoff Water?

There are a few tricks you can do yourself to keep excess water away from your foundation. We mentioned sand and gravel. Some other things you can do:

1. Plant some plants at the base of the slope to slow down runoff water. If plants at the base of the slope don’t work out for you aesthetically, you can dig a shallow trench instead.
2.  Try installing some containers (a cistern) to collect runoff rainwater from the roof.

These tricks can help to some extent, but again, if you experienced flooding on your property, chances are the problem will become bigger with clogged drains, flooded structure, etc. If that happens, don’t wait up!

Contact us and we will be happy to solve your problem.