One of the best ways to prevent your home from incurring water damage is with smart landscaping. Using landscaping techniques like grading, hardscape design, and strategic planting can help direct water away from your home.

During the Spring, landscaping can be especially important. Even in heavy Spring rains, the right landscaping can help prevent water damage and basement flooding.

Here are 6 landscaping strategies to implement this Spring to protect your home against basement water damage…

1. Grade Your Yard

Walk around the perimeter of your home and pay attention to how your yard is graded. The idea is to have your yard slope away from your home. This can help direct rain flow away from your house. Anywhere where the landscape does not slope or slopes toward your home, change to slope away from your home.

2. Check Your Downspouts

Just like with your grading, you want your downspouts to direct water away from your home. The more water around your basement, the more can seep in and cause flooding. Make sure that your downspouts are all pointing away from your home. You should also consider adding extenders.

3. Install A French Drain

A French Drain is a drainage system designed to direct water away from your home. It is a trench with a perforated pipe that runs along the bottom. The trend is filled with gravel and sloped away from your home. They can help direct heavy rains away from your home and prevent basement flooding.

4. Use Permeable Paving

Permeable paving is a type of paver material that absorbs water, letting pass through to the ground. Rather than pooling and risking flooding your basement, the water can be naturally absorbed by the ground. These are especially good for any areas touching your home like walkways to doors and outbuildings.

5. Plant Native Plants

Native plants are plants that grow naturally in your area. They are adapted to the amount of normal rainfall. They can absorb more water from the ground than non-native plants. This helps reduce the groundwater table, reducing your risk of basement flooding.

6. Add A Rain Garden

A rain garden is not just a functional feature, it’s a very attractive one as well. A rain garden is a garden that is planted in a depression in the ground. This depression captures rainwater, allowing it to soak into the soil. This can help trap water and prevent it from pooling around your home. A rain garden can significantly reduce your risk of basement flooding.

These six landscaping tips will not only make your yard look great, but they’ll also help protect your home. Using these Spring landscaping techniques directs water away from your home. This reduces the amount of water available to seep into your basement and cause flooding.

Working with a water damage mitigation specialist, like ERS, can help. We will work with you to develop a strategy to protect your home against any Spring flooding.  We can recommend landscaping techniques, as well as other strategies to protect your home.