Water, water, everywhere…but what to do with it?

Creating and maintaining adequate drainage slopes around a building can reduce the risk of water leakage or seepage into basement / crawlspace areas. We recommend that this be done, for example, where the ground adjacent to the building is sloped inappropriately, flat or sloping towards the building.

Factors contributing to water penetration issues into basements / crawlspaces can include:

• soil adjacent to a building that causes water to pond or that is flat / sloped toward the foundation
• sidewalks that act as a barrier to drainage or that have a negative slope toward the foundation
• planters that trap water
• gravel that discourages drainage of water away from the foundation.

Sloping the soil away from the building and sealing any gaps between sidewalks / driveways that are adjacent to the foundation wall with an appropriate expandable sealing material can improve drainage. Installation of a waterproof barrier below the planting soil that is sloped away from the foundation may assist with effective drainage away from the house.