Warning! Start the grading below the line of stucco. We are having to demo all of the stucco and remediate any damage done by moisture . Stucco is like a sponge. No one gave us a homeowners manual on how to protect the exterior when we bought the home 23 years ago.
Yep! I'm doing the same thing, with a shovel and a lawn rake. Seems like everyone that has a grading video wants to show off their Bobcatting skills. I'm grading a yard and can't put a bobcat or even small excavator so it's pick and shovel for me. Dragging a palete is a good idea. I use a long landscaping timber with bubble level taped to the top and 5lb. weigths on each side of the timber.
Be sure your dirt remains below the top of the foundation is your house is slab on. I helped a friend take hers down after water seeped into her house after a rain storm. She had put in a rock walkway and brought it up too high.
Great video. I definitely have a grading issue as my crawlspace has water accumulation during the rainy season. I did not consider how I would source the dirt, so something to think about before starting the project. I guess I was naively thinking I could just relocate dirt from other parts of the yard or buy some from a local home improvement store if it’s not too much.
I’ve considered the sump pump but decided going straight for it because with the water accumulation it would probably run nonstop and then break. Might do it after the grading as additional mitigation.
@@snoopytran8807 not sure what you mean by straight for it. The French drain brings the water to the pump. Very easy to replace if it ever breaks. I'm in the PNW and we get a lot of rain. No problem after 2 years
Oops sorry, I meant decided against doing it first before the grading. If you are in PNW then you are definitely getting more rain than I am. Did you address your soil grading first adjacent to the crawl space or was it already correct before installing the sump pump?
@@snoopytran8807 I think these are 2 separate issues, at least in my case. My house is 3/4 down a hill so no matter what, water flows under the house. It did accumulate in the crawlspace because of... well laws of physics. The sump pump keeps my floor joists dry and not rotting (very very important, think structural integrity). Think of the french drain + sump pump in the crawlspace as the under the house "grading on steroids". If your house is on top of a hill grading should be good enough. If on a slope or valley think of all the ways to divert water :). It gets even more complicated with the type of foundation you have, some are protected some are not and so on. Make sure you don't have cracks in your foundation as well, that would let water pouring in. I think of outside grading as minimal in my case, more like landscaping, keeping it dry to walk around the house when it rains. If I grade any which way too much I flood my neighbors. I hope this helps a bit 'cause it is the most I ever wrote as a reply :) Best of luck. BTW not an expert
Grading does the job perfectly! French drains are only really needed if you have a problem low area that a lot of water builds up in and you can't grade.
couldn't you shift existing dirt from the low side and fill in dirt on the high side? Seems that would have saved you from having to raise the fence, at that.
When I did the paver walkway which I have a separate video on yes I compacted a lot. For this I did not because I ended up putting sod down on top so I wanted the grass roots to easily go into the soil. If you plan on putting gravel or stone dust on top then you should definitely compact. I just did this on another part of my yard where i installed turf. I'll release that video in a few weeks.
*What is the rate of grade for your yard (don't know the correct term). Example if your yard is 25' from house to street how many inches is it lower at the street than at the house? One guy on a YT video said 1 inch per foot, seems reasonable I just haven't found recommended ratio for an average "flat land" house. Do you remember what ratio you used?* I have standing water after every rain and also might have a water leak. The mud bog is 5'x5', is 2' from the house and it's negatively sloped for 30' across the northern front. No basement issue but I would like to do it close to correctly. *Actually 25" (2' !) lower grade at the street seems like a lot in 25', maybe 1' for the first 10' then level off to 1/2" the last 15'. Any ideas you can pass my way would be appreciated.* Thanks (...ps I enjoyed listening to your voice on this video - wink wink) but really I do need the info while I have the extra dirt from the neighbor and my physical energy : D
I believe the industry standard grade for "flat" that slopes is 1 degree, which works out to about 1" drop every 5 feet. I think dropping 1" every foot would be a very noticeable slope that would not appear level to the eye.
lol I don't know, I guess they had an oversupply and wanted to get rid of it. Try asking pool excavation companies who sometimes get rid of the dirt for free.
Warning! Start the grading below the line of stucco. We are having to demo all of the stucco and remediate any damage done by moisture . Stucco is like a sponge. No one gave us a homeowners manual on how to protect the exterior when we bought the home 23 years ago.
Thank you. I found this more helpful than the 10
Videos I saw before this one.
I'm glad! I tried to keep it short and sweet.
Yep! I'm doing the same thing, with a shovel and a lawn rake. Seems like everyone that has a grading video wants to show off their Bobcatting skills. I'm grading a yard and can't put a bobcat or even small excavator so it's pick and shovel for me. Dragging a palete is a good idea. I use a long landscaping timber with bubble level taped to the top and 5lb. weigths on each side of the timber.
That works too! It's boring and meticulous work, but props to you for doing it.
@@SuitTV Don't forget about our trusty wheelbarrow haha
@@FiXaMuS haha yes. Need one of those!
I have a similar project in mind for this week. This helped allot. Thanks.
I'm glad it helped. It sure is tedious but worth it in the long run. Its great not having any puddles in the yard when it downpours too.
Thank you very much. This is what I have to do. Very helpful.
Glad to help. Good luck!
Thank you. Very helpful.
Great information and commentary! Love the grading process and this was good info. Liked and Subscribed...
Thanks, I'm glad it helped you.
Let me just say, got damn bro you put in some work good for you. I’m going to need to do this to my house too. Thanks for the video.
Ha yea it was really hot that summer too. It was some good old hard work though. Well worth it now. Good luck with yours!
Be sure your dirt remains below the top of the foundation is your house is slab on. I helped a friend take hers down after water seeped into her house after a rain storm. She had put in a rock walkway and brought it up too high.
Excellent.
Sick, thanks
What process did you use to determine the slope you needed with the stake and string? Also how did you determine how much dirt you would need?
Thanks...trying to do my own patio project and my grading is off so this really helped me!
Awesome, glad it helped. Good luck
Great video. I definitely have a grading issue as my crawlspace has water accumulation during the rainy season. I did not consider how I would source the dirt, so something to think about before starting the project. I guess I was naively thinking I could just relocate dirt from other parts of the yard or buy some from a local home improvement store if it’s not too much.
consider a french drain with sump pump and fix the vapor barrier
I’ve considered the sump pump but decided going straight for it because with the water accumulation it would probably run nonstop and then break. Might do it after the grading as additional mitigation.
@@snoopytran8807 not sure what you mean by straight for it. The French drain brings the water to the pump. Very easy to replace if it ever breaks. I'm in the PNW and we get a lot of rain. No problem after 2 years
Oops sorry, I meant decided against doing it first before the grading. If you are in PNW then you are definitely getting more rain than I am. Did you address your soil grading first adjacent to the crawl space or was it already correct before installing the sump pump?
@@snoopytran8807 I think these are 2 separate issues, at least in my case. My house is 3/4 down a hill so no matter what, water flows under the house. It did accumulate in the crawlspace because of... well laws of physics. The sump pump keeps my floor joists dry and not rotting (very very important, think structural integrity). Think of the french drain + sump pump in the crawlspace as the under the house "grading on steroids". If your house is on top of a hill grading should be good enough. If on a slope or valley think of all the ways to divert water :). It gets even more complicated with the type of foundation you have, some are protected some are not and so on. Make sure you don't have cracks in your foundation as well, that would let water pouring in. I think of outside grading as minimal in my case, more like landscaping, keeping it dry to walk around the house when it rains. If I grade any which way too much I flood my neighbors. I hope this helps a bit 'cause it is the most I ever wrote as a reply :) Best of luck. BTW not an expert
Cool video. Can you tell me how you calculated the height of the grade on the stakes?
Thanks. I just used a string line on the stakes. I made it higher on the side where my house was and lower toward the curb.
Just eye ball 😁.
Do I need to add French drains in addition to grading my yard, or will grading suffice?
Grading does the job perfectly! French drains are only really needed if you have a problem low area that a lot of water builds up in and you can't grade.
couldn't you shift existing dirt from the low side and fill in dirt on the high side? Seems that would have saved you from having to raise the fence, at that.
No because then the dirt on the low side would be much lower than the curb and that would cause water buildup there
Was wandering if they load it or you had to load then unload it again with shovels?
it just depends, some guys might be enticed by a little extra to do it for you others might not
Do you grade first then install drain?
You can do either but I would install the drain first so you don't have to dig it all after it's nicely graded.
Did you do any compacting?
When I did the paver walkway which I have a separate video on yes I compacted a lot. For this I did not because I ended up putting sod down on top so I wanted the grass roots to easily go into the soil. If you plan on putting gravel or stone dust on top then you should definitely compact. I just did this on another part of my yard where i installed turf. I'll release that video in a few weeks.
I feel empowered to try
Persistence and patience are key. Good luck!
*What is the rate of grade for your yard (don't know the correct term). Example if your yard is 25' from house to street how many inches is it lower at the street than at the house? One guy on a YT video said 1 inch per foot, seems reasonable I just haven't found recommended ratio for an average "flat land" house. Do you remember what ratio you used?* I have standing water after every rain and also might have a water leak. The mud bog is 5'x5', is 2' from the house and it's negatively sloped for 30' across the northern front. No basement issue but I would like to do it close to correctly. *Actually 25" (2' !) lower grade at the street seems like a lot in 25', maybe 1' for the first 10' then level off to 1/2" the last 15'. Any ideas you can pass my way would be appreciated.* Thanks (...ps I enjoyed listening to your voice on this video - wink wink) but really I do need the info while I have the extra dirt from the neighbor and my physical energy : D
I believe the industry standard grade for "flat" that slopes is 1 degree, which works out to about 1" drop every 5 feet. I think dropping 1" every foot would be a very noticeable slope that would not appear level to the eye.
An inch of rise for every foot away from your foundation.
How in the world did you get a company to give you the much “free” dirt for $100?
lol I don't know, I guess they had an oversupply and wanted to get rid of it. Try asking pool excavation companies who sometimes get rid of the dirt for free.
Also try an excavation company / construction waste landfill. I got clay fill dirt for $7/ yard that way.
grade job
Haha, thanks. What grade would you give me?
huh so that's how you do it...
My turn....
Good luck!
It’s a mess
Lol oh yea, you're getting dirty
Slow your roll on calling it a truck.
Seems like he is doing plenty of truck things to me.
Grading means to make level... This was a sloppy video and I'd recommend you hire a professional