If your home is in Wisconsin, you know that we get our fair share of rain and snow. And with all that moisture comes the risk of water seeping into your basement. One easy way to help prevent this is by ensuring there is a negative soil grade around your home’s foundation. This means that the ground slopes away from your foundation, instead of towards it. Zablocki Waterproofing Milwaukee can help you with this important task – read on for the simple steps involved in regrading the soil around your home’s foundation!
Why Regrade Your Home’s Foundation?
The soil around your foundation should slope away from your home, at a rate of about six inches for every ten feet. This helps to ensure that water will run away from your foundation, instead of pooling around it and seeping in through cracks. Over time, though, the soil around your foundation can settle or erode, causing the grading to become less effective. That’s why it’s important to check the grading around your home regularly, and regrade as needed.
Now it’s time to get started. Here are the steps for regrading your home’s foundation as a DIY project:
Step 1: Assess your Foundation
One of the first things you’ll need to do is assess the current state of your foundation. All the grading in the world won’t keep water out of your basement if you have serious foundation issues. For example, if you see any cracks, it’s important to have them repaired before you begin regrading. For small cracks, you might consider filling them yourself with epoxy you can buy at the hardware store. For larger cracks, it’s time to call the pros. Zablocki Waterproofing has a team of experienced professionals who can help with this – we’re just a phone call away!
Step 2: Gather your Materials
Once you’ve assessed your foundation and made any necessary repairs, it’s time to gather the materials you’ll need for regrading. You’ll need a shovel, some high clay content soil, and some landscaping fabric. The fabric is optional, but we recommend it because it will help keep weeds from growing up through the soil – and trust us, you don’t want to have to do this job again next year!
Step 3: Get to Work
First, use a shovel to remove any existing vegetation (grass, weeds, etc.) in the area around your foundation. You’ll want a clear area to work with.
Next, use your shovel to move scoops of purchased soil to the space around your home’s foundation. Using the shovel or a small hand trowel, arrange the soil so it is built up a few inches against your foundation wall before sloping away in a negative grade. This will allow any water that falls around your home’s foundation to roll away rather than entering your basement through cracks or holes.
Lightly tamp down the soil to ensure it stays in place. Repeat step three around the entire perimeter of your home’s foundation.
Step 4: Call Zablocki for Help
If you need help with foundation waterproofing in Milwaukee, call the experts at Zablocki Waterproofing. We’ve been helping homeowners protect their homes from basement moisture for years, and we’re here to help you too! Contact us today for a free consultation.
And that’s it! You’ve now successfully regraded your home’s foundation and are one step closer to a moisture-free basement!
We hope this has helped you better understand how to regrade your home’s foundation – good luck! And remember, if you need any assistance, our team at Zablocki Waterproofing is always just a phone call away. We offer Milwaukee basement waterproofing services for homeowners just like you. If you have any questions or need help getting started, give us a call at Zablocki Waterproofing Milwaukee. We’re always happy to help!
