:: WATER MANAGEMENT ::

Remarkably, a large part of landscaping is correcting grading and drainage problems. Homes that were built from 1930-1970 typically do not have functioning drainage systems around the foundations. In addition, one of Maryland’s key environmental goals is to reduce stormwater runoff, to keep hazardous chemicals from reaching local streams and the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

So if you have had the unfortunate experience to discover that you need to waterproof your basement or alleviate a drainage problem in your yard, correcting these issues will also have an important environmental benefit by mitigating stormwater runoff.

We have experience implementing both interior and exterior strategies for rainwater management.

INTERIOR DRAINAGE STRATEGY
1) The basic approach: Install a sump pump that exits outside to a rain garden.

2) The advanced approach: If there has been significant basement water buildup, we undertake the following more extensive strategy:

  • Break out the existing concrete floor where the walls meet the foundation.
  • Dig out the dirt to two feet down.
  • Lay gravel, Typar (geotextile cloth) and drainage pipe around the house and draining downward toward the sump pump. With this approach, if groundwater starts to rise, it hits the drainage pipe before getting to the floor level, and you’ll be high and dry.

EXTERIOR DRAINAGE STRATEGY
1) The simple approach: Regrading. This simply means adding or removing soil around the house to ensure that the soil-level is highest at the house-level and drains downward from there, preferably into a rain garden or French drain.

2) The advanced approach: Parging and waterproofing the foundation. In this approach, we:

  • Dig down to the foundation around the exterior of the house.
  • Clean and parge the wall with a concrete and fiberglass slurry.
  • Waterproof the wall with a foundation coating.
  • Line the trench with Typar (geotextile cloth).
  • Place a layer of gravel.
  • Lay a perforated drainage pipe.
  • Backfill the area.

Obviously, if you can solve the problem with the simple approach, that's preferable. We will assess your specific draininage situation and develop the plan that is best suited to keeping your home dry and warm.

For a drainage and landscaping assessment, please contact us.