Lawn grading

fsudoops – posted 22 April 2008 17:29

I just bought a house several weeks ago and after the first significant rain fall I have water in the basement. I know this is due to the poor grading from the house since the house inspector pointed it out before I bought it. What is the best way to fix the grading? I was thinking of tilling the part of the lawn that is too elevated and removing that dirt and placing it where there is not enough dirt and then re-seeding. Is that all there is to it? Do I just place the tilled (or new if I have to purchase more) dirt on top of the low lying grass? I know how much I have to slope it away from the house and how to measure that. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Alex_in_FL – posted 24 April 2008 04:07

Its not that simple. Waterflow depends upon soil porosity, type (sand/clay/organic), soil packing. You need to have an expert look at the problem. You may need a perk test too.

One thing you can do is make sure the land slopes away from the house.