Three Tips to Proper Drainage for Southern Utah Homeowners

Training on draining from your local residential specialist

Whether a leaking roof or dripping faucet, one of the first things a homeowner learns is that water can be your enemy. There are countless ways water can ruin property, and it’s not just indoors where it can wreak havoc.

Just as water carves and shapes our sandstone surroundings, it can do the same to buildings and landscaping. To prevent this, your home’s exterior drainage system is meant to convey water away from your house, protecting its foundation and thereby the home it supports. Home or workplace, all buildings need a functioning exterior drainage to keep their structure safe.

What role does Watson Engineering play in proper drainage? As residential specialists in the Southern Utah area, our engineers verify there is proper drainage away from the foundation of a new home before a certificate of occupancy is granted. We provide a final grading report verifying that we’ve tested the soil compaction underneath the home, and physically verified that the drainage away from the home’s foundation meets or exceeds what is required in the Residential Building Code.

Once the report is filed with the jurisdiction the home was built in, and you move into your home, you may not think much about drainage issues and soil conditions again until you go to sell your home, or a problem becomes too big to miss.

Firm president, Tim Watson, suggests that if you aren’t controlling how water moves around your house, you probably need to take a closer look at what’s happening. “Keep the water away from the foundation,” he encourages. Here are three tips for doing that:

Landscaping Maintenance

If the landscaping was done before you moved into your home, resist the urge to modify it. Every home in Southern Utah has the potential for drainage issues because of our soil conditions. “Code requires a minimum of 5% slope in landscaped areas or 2% in hardscape areas,” explains Tim. Good landscapers understand the requirements. “Keep in mind that modifying the grading so you have flat backyard or landscaped area means you’re increasing the factors that cause settlement.”

Rain Gutters

Contractors may install rain gutters that you don’t find attractive, but Tim encourages you to leave them be. While rain gutters may not be required, it’s important to understand the benefit of leaving them in place. He encourages homeowners to extend downspouts out 4–5 feet in order to divert water away from the foundation; a drainage pipe system that takes the water further away is even better. Rain gutters require regular maintenance to make sure that the system works properly and doesn’t have major leaks or blockages.

Landscaping Irrigation
Take the time once a month to investigate your irrigation system. Check for leaks or problems that are putting too much moisture in the soil around the property. Tim breaks it down for us: “If there is moisture in the soil due to sprinklers or broken water pipes, it saturates the soils down to and below the foundation level and could lead to settlement, collapse, or even permanent damage to your home.”

And don’t forget to maintain your sprinklers! Tim recommends keeping landscaping irrigation away from the sides of your home by at least 4-5 feet.

While some of these measures require little work and money, others may require some cash and the help of a professional. We recommend trying the inexpensive options first. However, if you notice damage, reach out to Watson Engineering to visit your home and provide solutions to fit your budget.