It’s not hard to see why this basement isn’t finished. Not only is there water on the floor but the walls show signs of higher water damage. Proper landscape drainage can go a long way to alleviating this problem.

The snow is gone but, to some degree, the ground is still soaked from the melting snow. And now, with spring showers putting more water into the soil, Woodstock residents are discovering if their landscape drainage is a problem or not.

When the ground is soaked already, rain isn’t absorbed as well; there’s no place for it to go. If a property’s landscape drainage isn’t designed properly the water may run where it isn’t wanted, such as into a home or office’s basement. If landscape drainage wasn’t specifically designed to accommodate water runoff, it’s a toss of the dice where it will go.

Many homeowners in Woodstock have spent considerable time and money turning their basements into living space – rec rooms and more. Several inches of water, diverted by poor landscape drainage, are not just a unwelcome – that water is potentially costly.

Landscape drainage that allows rain water access to finished, or even unfinished basements, is an unnecessary cost and inconvenience. It’s unnecessary because proper landscape drainage will move the water away from those Woodstock foundations.

Even if the water doesn’t go into the basement, it can create problems out in the yard. Birds may like it when a pond unexpectedly appears in a Woodstock backyard. But, homeowners realize that standing water will often kill the grass below it. Standing water can turn a carpet-like lawn into a mud pit.

Landscape design isn’t as easy as it may seem. Communities don’t allow homeowners or businesses to divert water from their landscape onto the neighbor’s yard. It’s not even neighborly to do so. Therefore, a landscape designer has to know how to divert the water without starting a feud with the neighbors; the landscape designer has to move the water in a way that will allow it to soak into the ground and nut run into a basement.

There are tricks to achieving this difficult task. For instance, a landscape designer will consider a home or office’s gutter arrangement. The landscape designer will even consider how much roof area feeds into an area of gutter and through a downspout. This may require changes at the roof level.

Otherwise, a landscape designer will often seek to move the water away from the house as it comes out of the downspouts. Where does it go from there? These are not random decisions for a qualified landscape designer.

A landscape designer may have to design a place that is suitable for considerable water to soak into the ground. From above, it looks like just another area where the grass grows. But, below, a trap is waiting for the water that might otherwise run into a basement. The trick is to move the water away from the foundation. This can be accomplished by extending the piping at the bottom of the downspout and moving it away from the house.

Other adjustments in the topography of a Woodstock yard can make a big difference in determining where the water flows, keeping in mind that a landscape designer can’t make additional water flow into a neighbor’s yard.