.svg)
When it comes to protecting your home, one of the most overlooked factors is the grade of the land surrounding your foundation. Proper grading plays a crucial role in water management, keeping rainwater directed away from your home’s foundation and preventing serious issues like water intrusion, high humidity, wet basements, and even structural damage.
In this blog, we’ll explain the difference between a positive grade and a negative grade, how improper grading can develop over time, and the steps homeowners can take to maintain their property’s health and appearance.
A positive grade means the ground slopes away from your home’s foundation, allowing rainwater and runoff to naturally drain away from the structure. This is essential for keeping your basement dry and protecting your foundation from erosion and water damage.
A negative grade occurs when the land slopes toward your home, directing water toward the foundation. This can quickly lead to issues like pooling water, foundation leaks, wet basements, and, over time, costly structural repairs.
Unfortunately, many homes are built with grading issues or develop them over time due to neglect and natural wear on the landscape.
Even if your property was graded correctly during construction, landscape conditions and maintenance practices can alter the grade around your home’s foundation. Here are a few common ways this happens:
When gutters and downspouts aren’t cleaned regularly, rainwater overflows and spills directly onto the ground near your foundation. Over time, the force of the water hitting the same areas erodes the soil, potentially converting a positive grade into a negative one. This subtle shift can go unnoticed until water problems begin to appear inside the home.
Areas around your home’s foundation should be carefully maintained with mulch, plants, or ground cover. Mulch not only improves the look of your landscaping but also helps hold soil in place. If mulch isn’t reapplied each year, rain can wash away exposed soil, eventually affecting the grade and increasing the risk of water pooling around the foundation.
For properties with natural slopes, grass acts as a protective barrier, preventing soil erosion. When bare patches form and grass stops growing, those areas become vulnerable to rainfall. Over time, water runoff will carry soil downhill, damaging the yard and altering the slope of the land. If not addressed, these areas can become uneven and difficult to stabilize, making it nearly impossible for grass to regrow naturally.
Maintaining a positive grade around your home’s foundation isn’t just about avoiding puddles — it’s about protecting your home’s structural integrity and interior comfort. Poor grading can lead to:
By ensuring that your property’s grading directs water away from your foundation, you safeguard your investment and improve the long-term health of your home.
At Gravitt Property Solutions, we offer professional grading services to homeowners all over north Georgia designed to improve water management around your home and yard. Whether your property has developed grading issues over time, or you need site prep for new construction or landscaping projects, our team can provide tailored solutions to protect your home and land.
Our grading services include:
If you’ve noticed water pooling around your foundation, bare spots on your lawn, or uneven areas in your yard, it might be time to have your property’s grade professionally evaluated.
Gravitt Property Solutions is proud to serve homeowners across North Georgia with reliable, affordable grading services. We’re fully insured, known for quality work, and we offer free estimates so you’ll know exactly what your property needs to stay protected.
📞 Call us today to schedule your free estimate for our quality grading service.
