Drainage around your homes

Many of you have seen me post on this subject before, however, it is one of the most important things that a home buyer/owner should be aware of. I'm not an engineer, so I'm not qualified as such, but in my 20+ years in real estate, I've witnessed several problems caused by poor drainage. Now, the first thing that most people never think about is gutter extensions. Gutters are great to have, if you live in a damp climate like we do in Mississippi. If you think about it, though, what you're doing without gutter extensions, in concentrating the water from the roofline and sending it directly at a small spot in your foundation. Now, In a perfect world, you could attach the downspouts to an underground drainage system. That, however, can be prohibitively expensive. The important thing is to get the water away, so, if you have a 5' or 6' extensions, you're probably fine. The exception to this is if you have ground slopping toward your foundation. In this case, it will be a bit more complicated geeting the flow away. If you've bought are you're buying a new home, your builder probably put in "swales" or channels for the water to flow out of the yard. If this is the case, RULE#1. Never do any kind of landscaping that would stop the flow of water in your swales. If you do, the water will back up and you'll have "ponding" or standing water in your yard. If you have or are buying an older home, many times these swales can deteriorate over the years. This can be due to the natural movement of topsoil or the sod can be thicker in places, as it matures. It is vital that you keep the water flowing and it is rather easy to re do the swales when needed. It is time well spent. I have heard many people comment about "trenches" around the home. This is what we call the drip line. If a home has no gutters, there will be a drip line around the home. This is especially true with the newer homes having high pitched roofs. The water comes down with much more force, especially in the valleys. It can actually uproot landscaping and wash "voids" from under the slab. This is when you have a problem. I hope that this information has helped someone. My contact information is below, should any one have questions or need advice. As I said, I'm not an engineer, but I can put you in touch with some great ones. Steve Houck