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Rain Water and Concrete Landscape Edging

Homeowners know water management starts at the top. A roof in good condition sheds the rainwater off. The gutter system then takes over channeling that water down and away from your foundation. However, not all rain will fall on your roof, some will just land on the ground next to your foundation. A properly landscaped home will have a slight slope away from the foundation for this purpose, to move water away from your home.

Home Foundation

A foundation is a four-sided hole in the ground with the home and its roof as the cap to keep the hole dry. The soil around your home was sloped properly when it was built. However, over time soil settles and can create depressions near your foundation. Now the soil is sloped like a funnel, channeling water into your basement. This is the cause of that funky smell some basements have. To keep water out, check for depressions next to your foundation and if found, fill them in with soil and slope it away. Don't put so much soil in that it touches the siding. Maintain a 2 to 3-inch gap between the ground and your siding.

Custom concrete edging adds value and beauty to your home and when installed properly takes into account watershed. It is highly recommended to have a functioning gutter and downspout system before installing concrete edging to move water to your lawn. After installing concrete edging, many times longer downspout extensions will be needed. However, sometimes a home's roof design will not allow for gutters on two ends. Combine this with a slope and now a different solution is required. At the bottom of a slope, concrete edging should have holes drilled in this area to let water flow out. These holes are drilled at the bottom of the edging and are hidden by grass. Another solution is to dig a tunnel and place a PVC pipe with a 90-degree elbow at each end. Every spring check to make sure these water escape ways are still open.