How to Determine Drainage Grades

Proper drainage around a building is the best protection against water penetration. This moves the water away from the foundation before it has a chance to make it into the basement and ruin personal belongings, building finishing and its structure. To determine if the current drainage is sufficient, you need to calculate the number of inches of drop for every foot. A good rule of thumb is that a lot should slope 1 inch down for every linear foot around a building, for a minimum of 6 feet.

Measuring tape
Hammer
Wood stakes
String
Level

Instructions

- 1
  Hammer a stake into the ground at the top of the slope for which you are determining the grade. Make sure the stake is as straight as possible.
- 2
  Measure from the edge of that stake 10 feet down the slope and hammer a second stake in this location.
- 3
  Tie a string to the top of the lower stake and run it to the upper stake. Use a level on the string to level it perfectly flat and tie the string to the second steak. Double check that the string is level and make adjustments if necessary.
- 4
  Measure from the ground up to the string on both stakes. Subtract both measurements from one another. The result is the number of inches of drop over 10 feet.
- 5
  Divide the result by 10 if you want to determine the "per foot drop" for the lot grade.

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