DIY guideGround and drainage
Build up the ground where water sits against the wall
Add soil that packs where water pools at the foundation, slope it away from the house, tamp it firm, and keep it below the siding.
- 1 hr to 4 hr
- 8 steps
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8 steps
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Start where water sat in the rain, or where a board and level tipped toward the wall. Rake any mulch or stones off it.
Get topsoil or fill with some clay in it. Sand and mulch let the water straight through.
Shovel it in highest at the wall, sloping down and away for a few feet.
Stop a hand's width below the siding or brick, and keep weep holes and window wells clear.
Pack it down with a tamper, water it, and add more where it sinks.
Lay the board out from the wall again. The level should show it tipping away.
Spread grass seed, or lay sod, so the rain doesn't wash the new soil away.
Water still sits there, or you'd have to bury the siding to slope it: ask Handyman for a landscaper.
What you need
- Topsoil or clay fill
- A shovel and a wheelbarrow
- A garden rake
- A hand tamper
- A long, straight board and a level
- Grass seed or sod
Call a pro if
- Water still pools after you've built it up
- The ground would have to come up past the siding
- Water gets into the basement
Handyman says: Still pooling? I'll find a landscaper.
Free for every home. Handyman asks a few questions, then books a pro it trusts.
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