Drain Water Away from Your Home

Rain showers, thunderstorms, tropical storms, thaws, and other forms of inclement weather can all result in a large amount of water collecting around your home in a short period of time. Without adequate drainage, excess water can damage your roof, walls, foundation and landscaping. Draining water away from your home starts with installing a sound gutter system that has extensions to carry the water away from your home. Adding a gentle downward slope to the ground around your home is also helpful. If additional drainage is necessary, you can install a French drain, which very effectively redirects water away from your home.

Steps

Maintaining Your Gutter System

1. Invest in a gutter system. If your home doesn’t have any gutters, consider investing in a gutter system – especially if you live in a rainy climate. Gutters collect the rain water that runs off the roof of your home and deposits it onto the ground. A good gutter system will direct rain water away from your home, which keeps it from leaking into the foundation and washing the foundation soil away.
   • Most residential gutters are made from aluminum. Aluminum gutters are affordable and will last a long time.
   • Gutters made with vinyl, galvanized steel, or copper are also available.
   • Unless you have previous experience installing gutter systems, have a professional install them.
2. Inspect your gutters for effectiveness. In order for gutters to work properly, they must remain free of clogs, holes, and sags. The most common gutter problem is blockage. Leaves, needles and other debris get trapped in the system, causing rain water to spill off your home too close to the foundation. Inspect your gutters closely and remove any debris that you find.
   • If you find that your gutters are sagging, check the hangars. These can deteriorate over time, but can easily and cheaply be replaced.
   • Check for leaks and holes in the gutters, as well. If you find any, gutter sealant can be purchased at any hardware store.
3. Clean your gutters regularly. Gutters should be routinely cleaned of debris at least once per year. If your home is surrounded by a lot of trees, clean them out twice per year. Inspect your gutters after big rainstorms, as well, since these can cause a significant buildup of debris. Use a sturdy ladder to get up to the gutters. Wear rubber gloves and clear the muck out of the system by hand.
   • Follow up the debris removal with a good flushing of water from your garden hose.
   • If you prefer, you can hire a professional to clean your gutters. The charge for this service varies, depending on the size of your home, but usually ranges from $50 to $250.

Extending Downspouts and Increasing Ground Slope

1. Inspect your downspouts. Downspouts are the parts of the gutter that run vertically from the roof gutter to the ground. They should direct water at least six feet away from the foundation of your house. If yours currently don’t do this, you can add extensions to make them more effective. These extensions are inexpensive and relatively painless to install.
   • Elbows and extensions can be obtained at any hardware store.
   • Typical cost is just under $20 per extension.
2. Install downspout extensions. This is done by attaching an elbow to the end of the downspout and then connecting the extension piece. The extension piece will be several feet of straight pipe. In most cases, these extensions are installed by simply screwing them on.
   • Make sure to direct the water at least six feet away from your home’s foundation.
3. Avoid pointing your downspout extensions toward your driveway. In winter, water deposited onto your driveway can freeze, causing a number of dangerous situations. The ideal spot for water to come out of the extension is on a sloped part of the ground, so that the water continues to drain further away from the house.
   • Make sure the water doesn’t end up on an incline that slopes back down to your home. This will result in the water draining straight back to the foundation of your home.
4. Inspect the ground slope next to the foundation of your house. Overflowing gutters and inefficient downspouts can erode the ground around the foundation of your home. This erosion will create a trench in the soil that traps the water there. If you see any gaps like this around your home, fill them in with soil. Firmly pack the soil in place for best results.
   • Avoid soils with high clay content, since these drain poorly. Purchase granular soil with a high sand content.
   • You can buy bagged soil at any home improvement store. How much you need to buy depends on the size of your home and how steep you want to make the downslope.
   • Buy one bag and start the job. Once you know how much area one bag covers, you'll have a good idea of how many more you'll need to finish the job.
5. Add enough dirt to create a gentle slope. Instead of just filling the gaps in with soil, add a slight excess of it. This will create a gentle slope that leads away from the foundation of the house, preventing water from collecting around the foundation. This gentle slope should extend, at minimum, about two or three feet from the house.
   • Pack soil around your house and slope it downwards at about one inch (2.5 cm) per foot (30 cm).
   • Be sure to pack the soil firmly when creating the slope.

Installing a French Drain

1. Locate and mark the underground utility lines on your property. A French drain involves digging a trench in your yard. It’s not difficult to do yourself, but it’s important that you contact your local utility company a few days before you begin the work. Have them locate and mark all of the underground utility lines around your home.
   • These underground utilities include gas, water, sewage, electric, and phone lines.
   • If you damage any of them while you’re installing the French drain, repair costs can be significant.
2. Draw a drainage plan. Make a simple sketch of your property. Include the house, driveway, porches, the street and any other applicable features. Go into your yard with a line level or builder’s level and use it to figure out where the high and low spots are. Note these spots on the sketch, then draw arrows showing how the water tends to flow on your property.
   • You now have a diagram to help you properly and efficiently redirect drainage away from your home.
   • You should never plan to redirect water to run onto your neighbor’s property. If you are considering directing water into the street or storm sewer, find out what regulations apply by contacting the city for information.
3. Start digging the trench. A French drain is essentially a gravel-filled trench that includes a perforated pipe which acts as a drain around your home. Begin the digging four to six feet away from the foundation of your home. Make the trench about six inches wide and about 24 inches deep. The trench should extend to the lowest part of your yard.
   • The end of the trench can level off, or you can have it go around your yard like a fence.
   • You can dig the trench manually with a regular shovel. You can also purchase tools made specifically for trenching, like trenching shovels or trenching hoes, at a hardware store.
4. Install a layer of gravel and the piping. There will be loose soil at the bottom of the trench. Compact it tightly. Lay washed gravel on top of the compacted soil in a layer that is one to two inches thick. You will lay the piping on top of the gravel. The piping should be perforated with two rows of holes running down its length. Lay the piping so that the holes point down toward the earth, not up toward the sky.
   • If you lay the piping with the holes pointing up, they will get clogged with gravel and the drain will not work properly.
   • Never lay piping directly onto the soil. The gravel beneath it helps to properly disperse the water, along with the gravel surrounding it.
5. Fill the trench with gravel. After you’ve put your piping in place, use washed and rounded gravel to fill in the trench. The gravel pieces should be one inch or larger in diameter. The gravel should completely fill the trench within one inch of the surface.
   • Cover the remaining inch of space with a piece of sod. This will disguise the trench.

Related Articles

• Install a Drainage System Around the Foundation of a House
• Reduce Stormwater Runoff at Your Home
• Choose a Gutter System
• Protect a Basement from Flooding

Sources and Citations

See also

• Remove Ice from Gutters
• Clean a Dishwasher Drain
• Unclog a Kitchen Sink
• Plunge a Sink
• Make a Basement French Drain
• Clear a Clogged Drain with Vinegar
• Unclog a Bathtub Drain
• Use a Plunger
• Unclog a Sink Naturally
• Make a Pop up Drain Stay Closed

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