If you consistently find water gathering near your foundation after a storm in Chicagoland, you are not just being bothered by water – you are facing a potential structural threat. One of the primary reasons for foundation damages from improper soil grading and poor drainage in the Midwest, where the combination of heavy clay soil and heavy seasonal storms leads easily to water infiltration, is professional landscaping services.
Why It Is Worth Talking About
Landscaping contractors around Chicagoland really look to a good understanding of the soil structure and how it works since most soils here are heavy clay, so after rainfall water doesn’t penetrate well compared to sandy soil. Water will end up running towards your house if the slope of the area around your house was either a flat or a reverse one or has been so much that due to years of foot traffic and mown the ground was compacted.
The potential losses are big. The fact that the soil around the foundation settles is pretty typical and also one of the factors that usually go unnoticed for many years. Most of the time, this situation comes from improper backfilling during the initial construction of the house. Coupled with increased frequency and intensity of storm events in the city of Chicago, a marginal drainage setup in this case could quickly develop into a basement flood, mold, or even foundation cracking scenario. As a result, grading has very little do with aesthetics only, it is mainly a matter of foundation’s health.
Important Aspects When It Comes Time to Landscaping Contractor Hiring
Homeowners often fail to tackle the issue of subsoil pooling early due to their being only slight warning signs of it. However, if you catch the problem earlier through such subtle signs you will save yourself a big repair bill in the future.
Practical Tips: How to Spot Your Landscaping Issue
Puddles of water still present after the rain has been gone for at least 24 hours, especially those that are no more than 10ft from the wall of the building
Very damp grass or even grass that feels spongy where soil goes lower down that the water is held in these places
Water eroded paths or areas or spots where mulch has been taken with the water away
Florid deposits (those white stains caused by salts) along the basement/walls of the foundation
Bad smells or even paint peeling down at ground level near your basement if that is happening
Mosquitoes in large numbers being attracted towards only a very small section of the lawn may very well be a sign that the reason of the area is that they are getting fed by stagnant pools of water here
An individual occurrence of any of the mentioned points here may not be something that a house holder is concerned about straight away at least in the case when all that can be done is a quick check. However, when two or three of them happen together or when one of the issues keeps on recurring, there is no doubt that it is your property that the grading and the professional level of your drainage setup are not up to the level, and you need to address your property immediately.
Major Missteps and Other ObstaclesA great many of property owners attempt to take on DIY projects without understanding the entire situation of how water moves around on their property. These types of efforts usually just send the problem to another section of the yard instead of making it go away. Compactor subsoil is yet something that can be overlooked because of the surface lawn looking healthy. However, too short a mow and frequent human activities can compact the soil to such levels that water becomes a surface layer. Even a fine-looking surface grade will then not help and you will see a pooling surface on the ground despite the grade being fine.
Top-Notch Options: Expert Landscaping of Green Day Pro Landscaping
Professional landscaping contractors are exactly the people who have seen similar issues in the past and have the tools to accurately find the solutions and provide effective treatment. To start with a proper assessment requires to do more than merely look at water that is collecting in the lawn area – besides that one area we also must check all water sources upstream that contribute to drainage of that spot including water running off from roofs, hardscapes, and even grade changes of the neighboring lots and homes that might be involved in the situation!
Recommended Services
- Regrading and slope correction to re-establish adequate fall from buildings
- French drain installation to capture and redirect underground water
- Swell constructing for gentle routing of surface water
- Downspout extensions and dry wells to contain roofwater from the concentrated areas
- Permeable hardscapes, e.g. patios & pathing materials, are great ways to keep rainfall as an asset and not a liability in a landscape
We base our residential and commercial landscaping services on the exact same fundamental concept : managing water is the basis for all well-kept and sustainable landscapes! It is not merely about a single household in a suburban setting that gets water running in different places from the time to the time but even if it is a multi-acre commercial property, the water problem is not something just restricted to the lawn and soil! In the long run if such a problem continues it may cause a significant structural damage like roof failure or parking area pavement destruction or even damage to the structure foundation!
If you’re considering hardscapes or concrete work to fix surface runoff, check out our article on Why Quality Concrete Services Matter for Your Home or Business.
Advantages of Acting Early
Solution to the problem when the grading problem has not reached the worst level will be so much cheaper than dealing with foundation issues later on. This way the investment made in plantings and grass and also hardscapes will not be water damaged repetitively, liability risks for the property owners in managing icy walkways and parking lot areas will be avoided as well and all of this is a result of addressing water drainage problems and preventing the freezing conditions caused by inadequate drainage.
Industry Standards and Best Practices
If you want quality grading work, professional contractors will use the slope specifications that are known and widely accepted industry standards rather than trying to do a rough visual estimate or guess at a problem. In addition, the recommended minimum grade away from the house is generally 1-2% in the first few feet. At times steeper grades may be necessary on sites with heavy clay soils that are typical of the Chicagoland area. These known best practice guidelines are the only way you can distinguish between an enduring repair and a quick fix. Also, it explains why collaborating with reliable landscaping professionals who are well-informed on how the local soil reacts is of even higher importance here compared to other parts of the country that have naturally well-draining ground.
Ready to Protect Your Foundation? Request Your Free Drainage Assessment
To protect your home against the water damage, don’t wait and see until a water-related problem appears again. Green Day Pro Landscaping is an excellent choice for homeowners and commercial property owners in the greater Chicago metropolitan area to seek our services for on-site drainage and grading inspection. Our team will go through walking the area, find potential places where water has been pooling underground that could be harmful to the structure, and come up the best suggestion with us – there will be no pressure, no guessing. Contact your free quote right here and secure your house and the property for the upcoming storm season before the rains have caught up with you ,
Conclusion
Generally, foundation issues are the last problems that people find out as they rarely start off suddenly as a result of a single issue but, rather, they develop stealthily through many years of neglect when water remains on the surface undrained and the soil structure is not maintained through a series of minor changes brought by a landscaping job. In the case where a simple grading issue would be a good enough reason to contact professional landscaping services and a major structural repair would be a consequence if one didn’t act upon the minor issue, you are one smart property homeowner of a Chicagoland! Whether it is a regrading for the backyard of a house, or a drainage system for a commercial premises, or a confirmation from someone about the persistent problem of having a wet area, Green Day Pro Landscaping can bring in all their technical knowledge and soil analysis skills to provide a complete solution at the first attempt.
FAQs
1. How do I know if my drainage problem requires professional landscaping help?
Check if there is a puddle near your foundation after the rain has stopped that lasts a day or two, your basement reeks of the basement smell, you have seen eroded soil and spongy grass, then, you need the services of professional landscaping for these problems. These are usually symptoms of grading that you should not take lightly.
2. What are the differences between grading and drainage?
Grading is a physical slope of your land while drainage refers to systems such as French drains or swales moving water after it has been running. For the most part, professional landscaping services deal with the two aspects of work simultaneously because good grading actually minimizes the quantity of drainage infrastructure necessary.
3. What is the minimum slope my lawn should have away from my house?
Usually, the slope should have at least one or two percent falling away from your foundation for the first few feet. Around Chicagoland’s heavy clay soil, landscaping contractors often suggest slightly steeper grading because of this, as a clay soil can hardly absorb water rapidly.
4. Are the problems with water runoff and soil erosion in commercial places and homes the same?
Absolutely!. Professional landscaping services for large sites such as parking decks, sidewalks, and retention areas help handle these types of problems on the scale of a larger business or residential site. If you own or manage such sites, the risk to be held liable for water-related slip-and-fall incidents, for example, icing and pooling will be a very high concern. This, however, is a speciality, and professional landscaping services have the skills for the same.
5. Generally, what is the price to professional grading and drainage correction?
Depend on the size of the land, the type of soil, and the amount of drainage work required, the price would change significantly. We can give the price of Green Day Pro Landscaping’s professional landscaping services that include an on-site visit and transparent estimate of the work in advance of your purchase that will allow you to be fully-informed before signing any contract.