In North Texas, when it rains, it pours. Rarely does the Dallas area enjoy just a few days of drizzle. Instead, the region is prone to short, powerful thunderstorms that can dump a couple inches of water on often-parched soil in a matter of hours. Without proper drainage to direct that water away from your property, a downpour can lead to water damage in your house or yard. Fortunately, drainage issues are generally easy to resolve. Here are a few pointers to protect your residence and tips on when to call in a pro.
The problem with poor drainage
“The most common drainage issues for residential properties include poor grading, improper slope, inadequate or clogged gutters and downspouts, and compacted soil,” says Davey Devlin, co-owner with his wife, Haley, of Scapes Incorporated, a full-service landscape design firm in Dallas. The hard soil in North Texas makes matters worse because it’s difficult for water to soak into the ground, leading to surface runoff and standing water problems, adds Devlin.
Ignoring these problems can have serious consequences, including foundation damage, soil erosion, structural issues with the house, and the growth of mold and mildew. Standing water around the perimeter of a home can also seep inside the house, damaging floors, or cause wood siding to rot. Many homeowners fail to notice that soil has built up in different areas over time, particularly around flower beds, notes Rick Baker, director of business development for M. M. Moore Fine Gardens & Masonry in Addison. The company provides garden design, installation, and management services and drainage solutions to clients throughout the greater Dallas metroplex. You should be able to see four to six inches of concrete below the siding of your home, or the weep holes can become clogged causing water to flow into your house, he explains.
Although damage to your home is the biggest peril, inadequate drainage can lead to costly landscaping issues too. “Most plants do not like what we call ‘wet feet,’” Baker notes. Standing water in your yard can cause root rot in trees, shrubs and grass, which can be expensive to remove or replace. Overly saturated soil also promotes the growth of moss, which can smother a lawn and spread onto walkways or driveways.
Keys to managing water runoff
The first step to addressing drainage issues is to identify the source of the problem. Often, the solution is as simple as moving water farther away from your property. “If you can take the [gutter] downspouts out to the street or away from the house a good 10 to 15 feet and keep your gutters clean, you can avoid a lot of drainage issues,” says Baker.
Connecting downspouts to grate-covered underground basins, called area drains, can be beneficial in areas with high water volume by helping distribute and manage the water more effectively. Similarly, installing French drains, which involve laying PVC pipe wrapped in special fabric underground, can channel large volumes of water to the street.
According to Devlin, if you want to put in a French drain yourself, buying the right materials is key. Although big-box stores sell readymade kits with corrugated black plastic piping, they’re not guaranteed to be leak proof, can collapse underground and don’t have the same longevity as other, more rigid pipes. So be sure to do your research, or simply leave it to the professionals.
When to call in a pro
Sometimes it can be necessary to modify the topography of the landscape to direct water away from the house, which requires specialized equipment to determine the amount of slope in different areas. In this case, it’s best to call in a pro, but that doesn’t mean fixing the issue will cost an arm and a leg. Says Baker, “By taking good elevations, we often find we can change the grading or dig a swale, like a trench, and guide water through that swale instead of installing a drain you have to manage.”
Persistent standing water or excessive pooling after rainfall, as well as signs of foundation damage or water intrusion, such as damp baseboards or buckling floors, are also key indicators it’s time to bring in a drainage expert. Some contractors offer a free initial consultation to assess simple drainage issues and provide a quote, while landscape architects or engineers generally charge a fee for the evaluation and a detailed plan.
He recommends homeowners ask friends and neighbors for recommendations for licensed contractors, research online reviews, and get references from the contractor, as well as a breakdown of costs and timeline for the project. Although managing water from heavy rains can be a nuisance, investing in the right drainage solution can go a long way to protecting your property and enhancing your landscape.