Property grading has nothing to do with property zoning, and development rights in this instance. Here we are thinking of the natural, or artificial arrangement of the soil, sand, rock, gravel, sediment, or other material on your property. And in this instance particularly how this gradient determines the contour of the land, and the way water drains. So how do you know your home is graded properly?
What Happens If Your Land Is Not Graded Properly?
Other words for terrain-grading include slope, incline, pitch, and rise. There are four possibilities you need to consider here:
- The grading contour slopes towards your dwelling, gradually weakening the foundations.
- The lay of the land around your home is level. Water cannot drain naturally, it is permanently damp.
- The contour slopes gently away from your home on all sides. You are in a good space.
- The grading slopes steeply away at one or more sides. Heavy rain could result in soil erosion.
How to Determine the Grading Around Your Home
By now you may be thinking you should have checked this before you purchased the property. Few first-time Canadians buyers do. It’s one of the tricks some only learn after bitter experience. Do the following to determine whether your home is graded properly, or not:
- Lay your hands on a ball of twine, a rubber mallet, and two wooden stakes sharpened on one end.
- Drive one stake partly into the ground close by the foundation. Any side of the house will do for now.
- Measure and cut a piece of twine say fifty-feet long one. Tie one end to the stake one foot above the ground.
- Drive the second stake into the ground say forty-feet away. Tie the other end of the twine to it, again one foot above the ground.
- Take up any slack so the twine is taut as you can you can get. Align a spirit level with it, to determine the general grading direction.
- Slide the twine down to the ground at the higher point. Adjust the twine up at the lower point until the twine is level.
- The grading at this point is the ratio between the forty-foot length, and the height of the string above ground at the lowest point.
Repeat the exercise at the other three sides of the dwelling. Use this information to determine the gradient around your home. As a general rule of the thumb the fall should be one inch, for every foot for the first five-to-ten-feet around a house.
Here’s Hoping You Get a Good Report
Most homes in Calgary are wisely built with due allowance for the gradient of the terrain, but there are exceptions. You may be able to correct minor deviations yourself. However, if your home is permanently damp or you have soil erosion, you may like to contact Valiant Exteriors for experienced advice.
More Information
What Is the Rake of a Gable Roof?
It Pays to Have Eavestroughs in Calgary
Calculating the Gradient of a Slope (MadCap BY Public Domain)