Why is water running toward my house instead of away from it?

Water runs toward a house when the ground beside it tilts the wrong way, usually because soil has settled against the foundation, a low spot has formed, or the original grading was never right. Ground that tilts toward the house is called a negative grade, and the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District calls it an undesirable condition.^[4] The district recommends that the ground slope away from foundation walls, ideally at least a 5% grade for ten feet, which means at least a six-inch drop over those ten feet.^[4]

The usual reasons the slope has reversed

Soil settled next to the foundation. When a house is built, the trench around the foundation is backfilled. If that soil was poorly compacted, it sinks over the years. The district says sinkholes near outside walls usually develop because the soil along the structure was poorly compacted, and that over several years the soil settles and causes a depression or hole.^[6] A shallow dish along one wall turns into a channel that carries water to the foundation instead of away from it.

Low spots and depressions. Wet areas that persist for several days after rain or snow are commonly caused by improper grading (low spots or depressions) or poor infiltration of water into the soil.^[7] If the puddle is touching the house, or sits where the ground should fall away, the grade is the likely culprit.

Roof water landing in the same place. When it rains hard, an average sized home can experience hundreds of gallons of runoff coming from the roof.^[2] A downspout that drops water beside the wall, or a gutter that overflows, digs the soil out and washes in the low spot that then holds more water. The district lists gutters that need to be cleaned or are undersized, downspouts and sump pump pipes, and poor grading around foundation walls as possible causes of wetness or erosion near foundation walls.^[3]

Soil that will not drink water. Poor infiltration can be caused by compacted soils, soil with high clay content or soils with a shallow depth to bedrock.^[7] Water that cannot soak in stays on the surface and follows whatever slope it finds.

A lot that was graded badly from the start. New construction can leave the finished grade pitched toward the house. In a new development under bond, the builder may be responsible for fixing drainage problems that arise as a result of inadequate grading.^[3] If your house is new, ask your builder or locality about that before paying for a fix.

Reading the slope on your own lot

You do not need tools to see the pattern. Walk around the house during or just after a steady rain and watch where the water goes. Note which walls get puddles, where the gutters spill and whether water arrives from a neighbor's yard or a slope behind the house. A long straight board or a string stretched from the wall out across the lawn also shows whether the ground rises or dips beside the foundation.

Photos taken in the rain are worth keeping. They help a contractor see what is going on, and they help if the cause turns out to be a builder's grading or a neighbor's runoff.

Why it matters

The district notes that most wet basements are a result of water problems outside of the house.^[3] It also warns that wet basements and wall or foundation cracking can have serious consequences for your home's structural integrity and your health, and should be addressed right away.^[3] For the cracks themselves, see what cracks in a foundation mean.

What fixes it

The cure depends on the cause, and often it is a combination. Grading the soil so it falls away from the walls, with clay-rich fill compacted in layers, is the core repair; how a yard is regraded walks through it. Carrying the water somewhere safe matters as much. The district's rule is that whenever you are redirecting runoff, you must send it to a suitable outlet, and it warns that redirecting runoff without soaking it into the soil can negatively impact neighboring properties.^[5] Gutters, downspout extensions and drains may also be part of the plan. If the whole yard floods, read why a yard floods when it rains.

When to call a licensed pro

Call one when the ground slopes toward the house along a wall, when water gets into the basement or crawlspace, when cracks appear, when the area is large or steep, or when the water is coming from a neighbor's property. Digging counts as excavation under Virginia's utility damage prevention law, which defines excavation to include grading, trenching and digging,^[8] so a locate request is needed first; see do I need to call 811 before digging in Virginia.

Virginia's Board for Contractors defines a landscape service contracting specialty that covers altering a land area by excavation, clearing and grading, including removing stumps and roots below grade.^[9] Check the licence on DPOR's License Lookup before you sign.^[1] Ask for a written quote that names the areas to be regraded, the slope aimed for, where the water will end up, how the soil is compacted and the lawn restored, and who calls 811. For what drives the price, see how much yard grading costs in Virginia.

Loclis lists licensed Virginia businesses by category. Browse excavation and grading services or read more excavation answers. To get quotes for your own yard, describe the job once.