Why Is Landscape Around Your House’s Foundation Important?
What makes landscaping around your house’s foundation so important? Little things like mulching your flower beds will benefit your foundation tremendously. This article will teach you why landscaping around your house’s foundation is vital, the consequences of poor landscaping, and nine various strategies to improve your landscape.
Why Is Landscape Around Your House’s Foundation Important?
When it comes to foundation damage, water is the ultimate culprit. Water that accumulates at the base of your foundation might compromise the structural integrity of your home. If it rains and your land is particularly flat, water may end up everywhere. Water may be guided to where it needs to go with proper landscaping, such as street gutters, dry wells, and swales.
The Consequences of Poor Landscaping
If you don’t have appropriate landscaping, your home may suffer in a variety of ways. Here are a couple of such examples:
Water may cause mold if it collects at your foundation and leaks into your basement or crawlspace. Mold might begin to develop once it is inside. Mold, in addition to being unsightly, may cause major health issues such as eye and skin irritation, coughing, and lung infections.
Mosquitos like to reproduce in shallow water and lay their eggs in stagnant or quiet water. Bugs might already be an issue if you live in a humid climate. Improper landscaping can result in pools of water, which can attract pests.
Too much water can cause plant death – If you have poor landscaping, your lawn will become an over-watered swamp. Plants require oxygen just as much as they do water. If water has nowhere to go and saturates the soil, your grass and plants may drown.
Pooling water can enter your basement through cracks, gaps, window wells, or porous concrete if you have a basement foundation. Once inside, water can create a variety of problems. Learn more about foundation leak repair.
Water may cause foundation damage – Foundation damage can be a serious financial and safety risk. If your foundation is exposed to water for an extended length of time, it might begin to compromise the structural integrity of your home. Settlement, cracks, bent walls, numerous stuck windows/doors, and other structural deterioration.
How to Landscape Around Your Home’s Foundation
Plant trees away from your foundation – Tree roots can be twice as broad as the canopy of the tree. They inflict harm and consume all of the moisture in your soil if they begin to develop beneath your foundation. Smaller, decorative trees such as magnolias or myrtles are typically suitable for your foundation. Larger trees, such as Oak, Pine, American Elms, and willows, are not suitable for foundations.
What can you do if you already have trees on your land that are not suitable for foundations? Don’t be concerned. To keep the tree’s roots in control, you can add a root barrier or irrigation line. If necessary, you can have the tree removed.
Remember to mulch your flower beds – Mulch helps retain moisture and keeps the soil from becoming overly dry in the summer. Clayey soil that goes through a dry-to-wet cycle can shrink when dry and swell when moist. This is known as expansive soil, and it can put a strain on your foundation, causing damage
Ensure that your flower beds slope away from your foundation – The soil surrounding your house should slope at least 6 to 10 inches away from your foundation within 10 feet. This will direct water away from your home and prevent it from seeping into the soil around your foundation.
Call RLM Retrofit Foundation right away.
If you want expert assistance, contact RLM Retrofit Foundation, an award-winning and high-performing firm. We specialize in foundation restoration, waterproofing, crawl space repair, waterproofing, concrete lifting, and other services. Now is the time to schedule a Foundation Inspection Near Me Manhattan Beach.
