How to grade a yard for proper drainage?

Your yard includes more than just the grass and soil. There are also your landscaping and even underground drainage systems. The way your yard is graded plays a pivotal role in how well it will drain and how much water will pool in it. If your yard slopes toward a drainage area, a small grade will be able to capture the water and direct it away from your home. Large slopes will require more effort to keep water from pooling.

How to grade a back yard for drainage?

It’s best to grade the entire yard at the same time to get an accurate idea of the slopes you need. A 4-inch-per-foot slope should drain most rainwater away from your home. Any slopes steeper than that can cause water to back up and overflow, especially after big rainstorms. Before beginning the grading, lay a 4-inch thick, level gravel base, compact it, and fill in any low spots with more gravel. When the gravel is level,

How to grade a back yard for proper drainage?

For a DIY drainage project, you’ll need a level yard and a good set of tools. We recommend a combination of a laser level, a yard ruler, a tape measure, and a shovel. After you measure your yard’s length, width, and slopes, you can lay out your proposed drainage system. You can either use a free online drainage calculator or a simpler calculator.

How to grade a backyard for good drainage?

Even if you have a well-drained yard, if one area is low-lying and prone to puddles, it can lead to problems. The first thing you need to do is find the low points and grade them. You can determine if your yard has a low spot by walking around and paying attention to how the ground feels. If the ground is depressed in one area, that’s where you need to grade.

How to grade a yard for proper drainage in Texas?

Before doing any slope grading, you need to make sure your existing grade is level and even. You can use a laser level for this. If your yard slopes towards any water runoff, you’ll want to fill in the lower areas with additional soil. The uppermost areas may not benefit from extra soil, but you don’t want to leave a channel that allows water to drain towards your home.