Hardscape, Grading, and Drainage

Slope finished grade away from foundations about 6 inches over the first 10 feet (roughly 5 percent) to keep water off the structure.

Slope paved surfaces about 1 to 2 percent (1/8 to 1/4 inch per foot) so they shed water without ponding, always directing it away from buildings.

Read slope ratios as run to rise: a 4:1 slope has 4 feet of horizontal run per 1 foot of vertical rise and is gentler and more stable than 2:1.

Use a builder's level, transit, or rotary laser to set consistent elevations and grades across the site.

A French drain is a gravel-filled trench with a perforated pipe that collects subsurface water and carries it to a discharge point.

Catch basins collect surface water at low points and route it through buried pipe; grates keep out debris.

Direct downspouts onto splash blocks or into piped extensions to move roof runoff away from the foundation.

Use bioswales and permeable pavers to slow runoff, filter pollutants, and promote infiltration where stormwater rules apply.

Place and compact aggregate base in thin lifts (about 3 to 4 inches each) so full density is achieved throughout.

Compact subgrade to a specified percentage of maximum dry density (commonly 90 to 95 percent) to prevent later settlement.

On expansive clay, manage moisture and use proper base and drainage details because the soil swells when wet and shrinks when dry.

Build paver pavements on a compacted aggregate base with a sand setting bed and edge restraints to keep pavers from spreading.

Provide control joints in concrete slabs (spaced in feet about 2 to 3 times the slab thickness in inches) so shrinkage cracks form in controlled lines.

Set permeable pavers over an open-graded stone base so stormwater infiltrates through the joints.

Set the leveling pad on compacted, level base at proper depth, since a poor base is a leading cause of wall failure.

Provide gravel backfill and weep holes or drains behind walls to relieve hydrostatic pressure from saturated soil.

Taller walls (commonly over 3 to 4 feet) usually require engineered design, permits, and geogrid reinforcement.

Stabilize slopes during establishment with erosion-control blankets, mulch, and quick-establishing groundcover rather than leaving bare soil.