Preston Sandlin is a home inspector and real estate investor in Charlotte NC. He has been performing home inspections and buying real estate in Charlotte NC for over 12 years. He is a member of the North Carolina Home Inspector's Association, the Charlotte Regional Realtors Association, and the BBB. For more information please visit our websites: http://askthecharlotteinspector.com/ http://www.homeinspectioncarolina.com/
Question: What might cause standing water in my yard?
Answer: If your yard, or some portion of it, remains wet and soggy for extended periods after periods after a rain shower, it probably means the natural drainage ways have been blocked and have settled, and there isn’t enough grade in your yard to allow water to drain properly.
Most yards were originally graded so that water was able to flow from the front of the home to the street and from the back of the home into a ditch or storm sewer. Patios, walkways, mounds of mulch or planted beds, and even tress can add to the raising of the ground surface.
If this is the case, you may need to consider installing subsurface drainage around your yard. In addition, you should take a good look at ht landscaping around your home. Many homeowners who like a manicured yard are often tempted to mound mulch in plant beds, around trees and against their home’s foundation, for aesthetic purposes, as well as keeping away weeds or undesirable ground cover. How could this affect your yard’s drainage?
Unfortunately, this practice may produce the unintended result of encouraging water to pool in different areas of the yard. If water pools around the foundation, it can cause considerable damage to the home.
The fill around your home should be compacted and graded to slope away from the home for a minimum of ten feet, making the frond six inches lower than the ground surface at the house wall. This will drain surface water away from the wall and help prevent water from standing against the wall. Planting and mulching around outside wall should be done carefully to preserve drainage away from the wall.
Following these tips can lead to a dryer yard and a dryer home.
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