Here’s the thing: if your backyard floods every now and again, you might not think much of it — especially if you don’t go out in your lawn often (hey, some people are allergic to the sun… it’s not that weird…) — but homes in flood prone areas that experience regular flooding are much more likely to have basement water damage. It’s fairly common to have yard drainage problems; if you live in a mountainous and rocky area that just repels the water or in a dry desert region with very flat landscapes, whether you live around soil that is too dry to support more than a few cacti, or on soil that’s more absorbent than a sponge and creates a forest around your house — really anything can lead to annoying drainage problems.
Lucky for you, here are a few helpful yard drainage solutions that will keep your basement safe from any frustrating (and also kind of dangerous) water damage problems:
- It sounds contradictory, but you could be having drainage problems because the soil in your yard is too dry, and instead of soaking up excess rainwater, it acts like a slick surface and transports the water to another, more absorbent location (e.g., your house). One option is to create a ditch that runs through your lawn and which acts like a magnet for excess water. These ditches can actually be pretty cool aesthetically, especially if you line the ditch with colorful rocks and maybe put in some hardy foliage, like ferns or tall grasses. If your lawn is naturally a bit bumpy, making your own ditch is a natural way to augment the landscape surrounding your house.
- If you live in a flat region, you can try something called a “rain garden.” This is pretty much just a big depression in your yard where excess rain water collects; as long as you make sure to line it with fertile soil that will absorb the water, you can start growing a garden in that particular area. This might be a little tricky if you don’t have much gardening experience. But a successful garden definitely looks cool, and with a little bit of planning, the annoying rainwater will end up doing the hard work for you!
- If you happen to be in the market for a new driveway or patio too, you can actually turn that project into a water drainage solution by choosing a porous material with small gaps that will allow water to seep in. Instead of just laying down a slab of concrete or asphalt and calling it a day, this type of landscape design features a bunch of small, flat “stones” of concrete or asphalt that fit together like a puzzle. [Note: This is more of a “hire a professional landscape design company’ project, and not a “Do It Yourself” project.]
If you really don’t know where to start, the best thing to do is to consult a waterproofing and landscape design company. These professionals can evaluate your lawn and figure out which lawn drainage solutions will be most effective. Even if this costs a little more than a sketchy DIY drainage project you found on Pinterest, just remember: paying for water damage cleanup in your basement will cost a lot more. References.
