Drainage: Dirt vs leaves mulch (rent, house, landscaping)

[don_p]

In a typical home/land, close to building structures, people use rock/stones. And then they slope the lawn away from the building structure.

I needed some dirt to slope my yard, so contemplating whether to order dirt. I do have some older leaves, from last year, do they act similar to dirt, or putting leaves there would defeat the purpose, since maybe they absorb water and keep it at that spot, creating moisture?

I dont know how these things work, like rocks vs dirt vs leaves?

[Parnassia]

Leaves will decompose down into nothing eventually. If you need a permanent solution for drainage issues, have the area properly filled and graded by a professional who knows what they're doing. You may only need to do it once. Band aiding it with mulch will probably need to be re-done multiple times.

[don_p]

Thanks for the tip. Do not afford a professional here, these days they are costing a fortune (that few afford) and not even doing jobs properly. People's tempers are running sky high. These are strange times, so we got to do and learn things ourselves. Recently called a plumber, what used to take $200 before pandemic, costed us $1500+. 1st plumber was a hookie, so lost the money. The second, a certified, said per hour rate would start the moment our van stops at your house. We barely are trying to recoup from that expense.

Sorry for the tangent, back to learning: So it seems if we put leaves mixed into dirt (say 60% leaves, 40% dirt), in short-term it will defeat the purpose (since leaves capture moisture?), but long-term (upon leaves eventual decomposition into dirt, 2-3 years), it will be fine?

Originally Posted by Parnassia

Leaves will decompose down into nothing eventually. If you need a permanent solution for drainage issues, have the area properly filled and graded by a professional who knows what they're doing. You may only need to do it once. Band aiding it with mulch will probably need to be re-done multiple times.

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by don_p

Sorry for the tangent, back to learning: So it seems if we put leaves mixed into dirt (say 60% leaves, 40% dirt), in short-term it will defeat the purpose (since leaves capture moisture?), but long-term (upon leaves eventual decomposition into dirt, 2-3 years), it will be fine?

No, that's not what I was suggesting. If there's too much leaf content it will not maintain the grade well over time because it will decay into nothing. You may need to keep adding more and more volume so water runs off properly, especially if your drainage affects a neighbor. IMHO 60% leaves is much too high. You'll want more dirt than leaves to maintain the grade. The type of dirt you use (clay, gravel, organic topsoil, etc.) will probably affect how successful any mix is too.

If you have a drainage problem best to get it fixed properly once instead of needing to fix it over and over again. So sorry, but property comes with maintenance and maintenance costs $ no matter where it's located.

[Camden Northsider]

You'll want to bring in dirt and have it gently slope away from the house. If you have a foot or two of foundation at the bottom of your home (before siding starts), pile it to just below the siding and gently slope away from house.

There are lots of ways to get dirt. Often times you will come across posts from neighbors looking to get rid of dirt they no longer need in their yard (maybe on your neighborhood's FB group if it has one, etc.). Or, if you don't have a truck, you could rent one at Home Depot and then go have a landscape supplier load dirt into the pickup bed (you should be able to do all of this for less than $100, although it's been some years so maybe prices are a tad higher now). You then drive it to your home and unload it around your house. After you get the dirt sloping away from your house (make sure it is consistent without depressions in the soil that could trap water), use the back side of a metal rake to smooth the dirt out nicely.

At this point you could decide what you are going to do on top of the dirt. You could mulch it (with a few inches of mulch or leaves on top) or you could put down some kind of landscape fabric and put rocks on top. I've never been a fan of rocks and they really suck to remove once you (or the next owner) no longer want them there.

If you decide to mulch and want it to look a little more fresh/ tidy than leaf mulch, you could get some from a landscape supplier (same way you got dirt) or in bags at most big box or hardware stores.

Good luck with your project. One thing to note-- if you have window wells or cement sidewalks next to your foundation, you might need to employ some other strategies to keep water away from your foundation.

[Shawn Ford]

If you don't have gutters, install those first.

[WoodburyWoody]

Originally Posted by Camden Northsider

You'll want to bring in dirt and have it gently slope away from the house. If you have a foot or two of foundation at the bottom of your home (before siding starts), pile it to just below the siding and gently slope away from house.

There are lots of ways to get dirt. Often times you will come across posts from neighbors looking to get rid of dirt they no longer need in their yard (maybe on your neighborhood's FB group if it has one, etc.). Or, if you don't have a truck, you could rent one at Home Depot and then go have a landscape supplier load dirt into the pickup bed (you should be able to do all of this for less than $100, although it's been some years so maybe prices are a tad higher now). You then drive it to your home and unload it around your house. After you get the dirt sloping away from your house (make sure it is consistent without depressions in the soil that could trap water), use the back side of a metal rake to smooth the dirt out nicely.

At this point you could decide what you are going to do on top of the dirt. You could mulch it (with a few inches of mulch or leaves on top) or you could put down some kind of landscape fabric and put rocks on top. I've never been a fan of rocks and they really suck to remove once you (or the next owner) no longer want them there.

If you decide to mulch and want it to look a little more fresh/ tidy than leaf mulch, you could get some from a landscape supplier (same way you got dirt) or in bags at most big box or hardware stores.

Good luck with your project. One thing to note-- if you have window wells or cement sidewalks next to your foundation, you might need to employ some other strategies to keep water away from your foundation.

Originally Posted by Shawn Ford

If you don't have gutters, install those first.

Gutters are always a good idea.


For the ground, Camden Northsider is correct. You need to build up dirt - and pack it - along the foundation so that there is a slope to move water away from the house. Then pack it some more. add more dirt if needed and pack it again. Then cover with landscaping barrier fabric and pin down - that adds another water barrier. Then you can cover it with mulch or rock. But not until you have a hard-packed dirt slope around the foundation.



And every few years you may need to add more dirt and pack it it again - just part of standard home maintenance in a area that gets rain.