Water Runs Toward My House Instead of Away
A damp line on the basement wall after every storm, mulch washed against the siding, a puddle at the foundation. The yard slopes the wrong way. The quick win is the downspout. The real fix is the grade. Lumen Landscaping regrades yards and carries downspout water away across Hamilton: call (905) 906-0671 or send the form for a free written quote.
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The problem
What you are seeing
You notice it in the basement first. A damp patch on the wall that matches a spot outside, a musty smell after a storm, a line of white on the block where water has been. Then you look outside and see it: the mulch in the bed has washed up against the siding, the grass beside the foundation stays wet long after the rest of the lawn, the walkway tilts toward the door, and when it rains hard, the water on the patio runs toward the house and pools at the wall.
This is the most urgent drainage problem a yard can have, because the low point is the one place water must never be. Every other puddle in the yard is a nuisance. This one is feeding the foundation, and a basement wall that is wet every spring eventually lets water through.
The cause is almost always simple. The ground against the house was backfilled when it was built, and backfill settles. A ring of lawn that once sloped away now dips toward the wall. Garden beds have been built up until they sit above the foundation line. A downspout lets out right at the corner. The fix is simple too, if it is done in the right order: stop the water that is being delivered to the wall, then rebuild the slope so the rest leaves on its own.
Our Work
Lawns and yards we have rebuilt
Why the yard slopes toward the house
Every house we regrade has at least one of these at the wall, and most have two or three.
- Settled backfill: The trench dug around the foundation when the house was built was filled back in loosely. Over the years it settles, and the lawn that sloped away now dips at the wall.
- Beds built up at the wall: Years of mulch and topsoil added to a foundation bed raise the soil until it sits above where it should, holding water against the wall and sometimes above the top of the foundation.
- A downspout at the corner: A downspout that lets out at the foundation puts a roof's worth of water into the settled ring with every storm. It is the single most common cause, and the cheapest to fix.
- A walk or patio that tilts in: Interlock or concrete beside the house that has settled on the house side sends every rain toward the wall instead of away. That is a sinking patio problem and a foundation problem at once.
- The driveway or the neighbour: A driveway that falls toward the garage wall, or a neighbour's grade that sends water across the line, can deliver more water to one corner than the roof does.
- Window wells and clay: A window well with no drain fills and leaks straight to the basement. On clay, which much of Hamilton sits on, water against the wall has nowhere to soak away and sits there until it finds a crack.
Google reviews
What our customers say
“The team did an excellent job re-sodding our backyard. They were professional, careful working around our pool, and the finished result looks fantastic.”
“I recently had Lumen remove the surface of our weed-infested lawn and replace it with fresh sod on the larger of two areas, and river rock on the smaller area. It was a pleasure dealing with Jeff at Lumen.”
“Excellent experience with Lumen Landscaping. Efficient, knowledgeable, hardworking, and my lawn looks fantastic. Highly recommend! I had Lumen landscape a second project one year later. Same terrific experience.”
The fix
How we send the water away from the house
First, the downspouts. Every downspout that lets out at the wall gets extended past the settled ring, on the surface or in a buried line that carries the water to a low point or the street. It is the quick win and the first thing we do on every one of these jobs.
Then the grade. We regrade the first few metres from the house so the ground falls away from the foundation, building the soil up at the wall where backfill has settled and taking it down where beds have crept too high, and we keep the soil below the siding and the brick line while we do it. Where the house sits close to the neighbour, a shallow swale between the two carries the water out to the street. Then we re-sod or re-plant what we have dug. That is the work on our grading page, and the yard is finished by the same crew.
When the ground will not take it. On clay, or where water has been getting in for years, a French drain along the wall or weeping tile collects what the grade cannot shed and carries it away. Our yard drainage page explains each of those. A patio or walk that tilts toward the house is lifted and re-set with its slope the right way as part of the same job, and if the water is pooling elsewhere in the yard too, our page on water pooling in the yard covers the rest of the lot.
What not to do. Do not pile soil against the siding or wood to force a slope; it rots the wall and hides the foundation. Do not fill or block a swale to raise the ground; in Hamilton the homeowner is responsible for keeping the lot graded as it was approved, and routine landscaping is limited to fill of 15 cm or less with no change to drainage onto a neighbour. In Oakville a Development Engineering Permit is needed before the grade is changed under the site alteration by-law, and in Burlington the site alteration by-law regulates grade and drainage changes and asks about any work within half a metre of a lot line. And before any trench, Ontario One Call gets a locate request, which the law requires and which takes about five business days.
Check this yourself first
A straight board, a level and a rainy afternoon will prove the slope and find the water.
- Board and level at the wall: Lay a straight board on the ground from the foundation outward and put a level on it. If the far end sits higher than the wall end, the ground falls toward the house. Do it at every corner and at the damp spot.
- Match the damp inside to the outside: Mark where the basement wall gets wet and find the same spot outside. Nine times out of ten there is a downspout, a dip or a built up bed right there.
- Look at the soil line: Check how high the soil and mulch sit against the house. Soil should stay below the siding and the brick line, with the foundation showing. Beds that have crept above it hold water against the wall.
- Follow the downspouts and the window wells: Trace each downspout to where it lets out, and look in the window wells after a rain. Water in a well, or a downspout ending at the foundation, is water being delivered to the basement.
- When to call: Water against the wall after a storm, a basement that is damp every spring, or a patio or walk that tilts toward the house is worth fixing this season, before the freeze. Call (905) 906-0671 and we will take a look.
Planning
What a lasting fix includes, and what changes the price
A lasting fix always includes
- Every downspout carried past the settled ring, before anything else
- The first few metres from the house regraded to fall away, with the soil kept below the siding and brick line
- Beds taken down where they have crept above the foundation
- A swale between close houses so the water has a way to the street
- Patios and walks beside the house re-set with the slope the right way
- A French drain or weeping tile where the ground will not take water
- Sod or planting put back where we have dug, and a locate before any trench
What affects the price
- How many sides of the house slope the wrong way
- Whether downspouts can be extended on the surface or need a buried line
- How much soil has to move, and whether beds and shrubs have to come out and go back
- Clay, which means a drain as well as a regrade
- A patio, walk or window well that has to be re-set or drained as part of the job
- Permits, where a town requires one for a grade change
A typical fix, in plain words. Picture a back corner where the basement wall is damp every spring, with a downspout letting out at the foundation and a bed built up against the siding. We carry the downspout to the back of the lawn, take the bed down so the foundation shows and the soil falls away, regrade the corner and re-sod the strip we dug. The next storm runs away from the house and the wall dries out. In Oakville the same corner gets the same work with the permit sorted first.
Every quote is written and free, and materials are billed at what they cost us with no markup.
Related
Related pages
Services: yard drainage and grading. Related problems: water pooling in the yard, a bumpy or uneven lawn and a sinking interlock patio. Areas: Hamilton and Oakville. More answers on our FAQ page, and more problems we fix.
FAQs
Water toward the house questions
Far enough that water leaves the settled ring around the foundation and keeps going, which usually means the first few metres. We regrade that band to fall away from the wall, keep the soil below the siding and brick line, and make sure the water has somewhere to go after that, a swale or the street.
Start there. A downspout letting out at the foundation is the most common cause, and extending it past the settled ring often takes care of most of the problem. If the ground still falls toward the house, rain alone will keep the wall wet, and the grade is the real fix.
Settled backfill. The trench dug around the foundation when the house was built was filled back loosely, and it has been settling ever since. The lawn that once sloped away now dips at the wall. Building it back up and re-sodding puts the slope back the right way.
No. Soil and mulch against siding or wood rot the wall and hide the foundation. The slope is built by shaping the first few metres, not by burying the house. If the beds have crept up over the years, they come down, and the plants go back in at the right height.
Then the regrade includes a swale or a drain that catches it before the wall. Water from a neighbour's lot is its own conversation, and our page on runoff from the neighbour's yard explains what the by-laws say and what the fix on your side usually looks like.
In Hamilton, routine landscaping with fill of 15 cm or less, no change to drainage onto a neighbour and no swale touched needs no permit; more than that is a site alteration permit. In Oakville a Development Engineering Permit is needed before the grade is changed. In Burlington the site alteration by-law regulates grade and drainage changes. We tell you which applies.
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Get Free Quote
Get a Free Quote to Protect Your Basement
Tell us where the wall gets wet and where the downspouts let out, and send a photo of the corner if you can. We will take a look, tell you what is delivering water to the wall, and get back to you fast with a free written quote.