My basement went from damp to dry after I regraded just one side of the house

I mean, I always had a musty smell and some water marks on the basement wall after heavy rain. Last fall, I finally measured the slope on the side where the downspout empties, and the ground was actually sloping back toward the foundation for about 4 feet. I dug out and added about 6 inches of packed soil over a weekend to get a proper slope away. It's been 8 months now, and that wall has been bone dry through spring rains. Has anyone else fixed a damp issue with just grading, or did you need to do more like a french drain?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan_ramirez14d ago

That 4-foot stretch of ground sloping back toward your house is basically a welcome mat for water... glad you finally kicked it out. I spent a whole summer digging a french drain before I even checked my own slope, which was doing the same dumb thing. Felt like an idiot when a bag of dirt would have fixed it.

joelwells14d ago

Man, @morgan_ramirez, that's the story of so many "fixes" around the house.

owens.ben5d ago

Felt like an idiot" is a homeowner's motto.