When building a home, drainage should be a principal concern. Poor site drainage leads to extensive after-the-fact damage to roofing, siding, the foundation, and more. Before construction commences, work with an experienced excavating contractor to ensure proper land grading, no matter a site’s topography. Here’s what you should know.

What Is Negative & Positive Drainage?

Water runoff should move away from a home’s foundation and walls through gravity. Effective land grading—the process of creating a level base or specific slope—makes runoff possible. When your excavating contractor establishes a positive grade, the ground will slant away from your home. Positive drainage, wherein water flows toward lower elevations and far from your home, is the result of skillful grading.

On the other hand, negative drainage is the opposite. It happens when gravity and slope pull water toward a structure instead of away from it because of unsatisfactory soil grading. Water that puddles around the walls of your foundation is damaging. Repeated upheaval and settling of the surrounding soil because of excessive moisture weakens foundations.

Why Is Drainage Important?

Expect seepage, mold growth, musty smells, frequent flooding, and dampness in the basement and crawl spaces from negative drainage. Before construction, have an excavating contractor grade your lot. Extra precautions are necessary if you’re constructing a home at the foot of a steep incline because of rapid runoff.

Moreover, an excavating contractor will assess the stability and composition of the soil and water table. All of these site conditions have an impact on concrete foundations. With proper drainage, however, your foundation will be stable and supportive for decades to come.

Work with an experienced excavating contractor like at Jeff Simek Construction Company of Ogema, WI, to ensure your property has positive drainage. For over 25 years, they’ve provided outstanding site development, land clearing, and grading services throughout Price County using the latest machinery. Call (715) 767-5295 for estimates, or visit their website to learn more about their approach to excavation.