Drainage Between the House & Patio

Significance

• A patio built against the home without a drainage system allows excessive amounts of water to seep into the ground against a home's foundation. This may result in water pooling in crawl spaces, leaking basements and even collapsed foundations.

Prevention

• Take special steps when constructing patios against your home. Back-fill against the home should be tamped to prevent settling during the patio excavation process. Install drainage pipes against the home to carry patio water away from the foundation if you lack adequate space to slope the patio away from your home.

Considerations

• Create proper patio drainage by sloping the patio away from your home. Both the EPA and Brian Krause of Woodstar Energy recommend a minimum slope of 1/4-inch per foot the patio extends from the house.