Bad yard drainage can be a home or business owners worst nightmare. The following posts gives you the basics of grading a yard so you have good drainage. It’s super important to have water drain AWAY from your property! We always suggest you hire a professional to help you grade your property correctly the first time. This post is meant to help you understand the steps so that you can oversee your project and know enough about what you want to hire the right help.

Planning and Potential Problems

Before grading the yard around your home or building, make sure it’s free of pipes that go to the house. Some pipes are buried just below the surface, so do a comprehensive search before you begin and plan accordingly. Make sure to create window wells for basement windows so they can provide light. Never cover windows with soil.

Find Your Slope

During your walk around the yard, figure out which way the yard is sloped. Then run a tight string with a level on it from the high point to the low point. Measure the ground at your lowest point all the way up the string and you will know how much slope you have.

Order a Load of Dirt

It’s best just to have it delivered to you. Bray Topsoil and Gravel has you covered and can deliver whatever you need right to your doorstep!

Find the High and Low Points in Your Yard

With a can of spray paint, you can mark the highest and lowest points in your yard. The water will start the draining process at the high points. The water will end up in the low points. Unless you are funneling the water to an area on purpose, you don’t want to have any low points that can’t keep the water moving. Use a wheelbarrow to dump piles of dirt at your lowest points to raise them higher. As you try to keep water away from your home, make sure the dirt around your house is higher than the slope measurement you took earlier.

Smooth the Dirt

You can use the back of a rake. Pull dirt gradually from the high points to the lower points away from the house.

Stamp Down the Dirt

You can use a sheet of plywood too stamp down the dirt after you’ve smoothed it. Make sure to jump and walk heavy on the plywood to make sure you fill everything uniformly and have it all compacted. You don’t want the dirt to settle or you’ll have areas that stay wet due to poor drainage after they have settled.

Plant New Grass

Once the grade of your yard is correct and the soil is stamped uni-formally, you can plant new grass. Toss some seeds over the freshly graded dirt. Then churn and spread the seeds lightly with a rake. You don’t want the seeds too deep but you do want them buried and out of sight from birds who would love to eat them. Some seeds may remain on the top of the soil but that’s OK for now.

Soak the Dirt

Use a hose to give the seeds water.

Cover the Seeds With Hay

Spread hay or yard clippings to hide the seeds on top of the soil and to help keep the soil moist.

Soak The Yard With Water Again

Watering everyday will help the grass to grow above the hay in about a week’s time.

Make Sure to Pick the Right Ingredients

Just like it takes good ingredients to create a tasty meal, it takes good and easily spreadable soil to provide a good lawn in the end.

Bray Topsoil & Gravel can deliver top quality soil and fill dirt directly to you in the Greater Cincinnati Area!

Request a Quote (859-635-5680) And We Will Contact You Shortly!
Calculate How Much Material You Need For Your Project

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About Bray Topsoil & Gravel

Topsoil and gravel delivered to you by Bray Trucking, a specialized aggregate hauler servicing the Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana region.
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