Warning! Start the grading below the line of stucco. We are having to demo all of the stucco and remediate any damage done by moisture . Stucco is like a sponge. No one gave us a homeowners manual on how to protect the exterior when we bought the home 23 years ago.

Yep! I'm doing the same thing, with a shovel and a lawn rake. Seems like everyone that has a grading video wants to show off their Bobcatting skills. I'm grading a yard and can't put a bobcat or even small excavator so it's pick and shovel for me. Dragging a palete is a good idea. I use a long landscaping timber with bubble level taped to the top and 5lb. weigths on each side of the timber.

@SuitTV

Жыл бұрын

That works too! It's boring and meticulous work, but props to you for doing it.

@FiXaMuS

Жыл бұрын

@@SuitTV Don't forget about our trusty wheelbarrow haha

@SuitTV

Жыл бұрын

@@FiXaMuS haha yes. Need one of those!

Thank you. I found this more helpful than the 10 Videos I saw before this one.

@SuitTV

Ай бұрын

I'm glad! I tried to keep it short and sweet.

Thank you. Very helpful.

I have a similar project in mind for this week. This helped allot. Thanks.

@SuitTV

2 жыл бұрын

I'm glad it helped. It sure is tedious but worth it in the long run. Its great not having any puddles in the yard when it downpours too.

Thank you very much. This is what I have to do. Very helpful.

@SuitTV

3 жыл бұрын

Glad to help. Good luck!

Great information and commentary! Love the grading process and this was good info. Liked and Subscribed...

@SuitTV

5 ай бұрын

Thanks, I'm glad it helped you.

Let me just say, got damn bro you put in some work good for you. I’m going to need to do this to my house too. Thanks for the video.

@SuitTV

5 ай бұрын

Ha yea it was really hot that summer too. It was some good old hard work though. Well worth it now. Good luck with yours!

Excellent.

Sick, thanks

What process did you use to determine the slope you needed with the stake and string? Also how did you determine how much dirt you would need?

Thanks...trying to do my own patio project and my grading is off so this really helped me!

@SuitTV

10 ай бұрын

Awesome, glad it helped. Good luck

I feel empowered to try

@SuitTV

2 жыл бұрын

Persistence and patience are key. Good luck!

Great video. I definitely have a grading issue as my crawlspace has water accumulation during the rainy season. I did not consider how I would source the dirt, so something to think about before starting the project. I guess I was naively thinking I could just relocate dirt from other parts of the yard or buy some from a local home improvement store if it’s not too much.

@bgBlea

Жыл бұрын

consider a french drain with sump pump and fix the vapor barrier

@snoopytran8807

Жыл бұрын

I’ve considered the sump pump but decided going straight for it because with the water accumulation it would probably run nonstop and then break. Might do it after the grading as additional mitigation.

@bgBlea

Жыл бұрын

@@snoopytran8807 not sure what you mean by straight for it. The French drain brings the water to the pump. Very easy to replace if it ever breaks. I'm in the PNW and we get a lot of rain. No problem after 2 years

@snoopytran8807

Жыл бұрын

Oops sorry, I meant decided against doing it first before the grading. If you are in PNW then you are definitely getting more rain than I am. Did you address your soil grading first adjacent to the crawl space or was it already correct before installing the sump pump?

@bgBlea

Жыл бұрын

@@snoopytran8807 I think these are 2 separate issues, at least in my case. My house is 3/4 down a hill so no matter what, water flows under the house. It did accumulate in the crawlspace because of... well laws of physics. The sump pump keeps my floor joists dry and not rotting (very very important, think structural integrity). Think of the french drain + sump pump in the crawlspace as the under the house "grading on steroids". If your house is on top of a hill grading should be good enough. If on a slope or valley think of all the ways to divert water :). It gets even more complicated with the type of foundation you have, some are protected some are not and so on. Make sure you don't have cracks in your foundation as well, that would let water pouring in. I think of outside grading as minimal in my case, more like landscaping, keeping it dry to walk around the house when it rains. If I grade any which way too much I flood my neighbors. I hope this helps a bit 'cause it is the most I ever wrote as a reply :) Best of luck. BTW not an expert

Cool video. Can you tell me how you calculated the height of the grade on the stakes?

@SuitTV

Жыл бұрын

Thanks. I just used a string line on the stakes. I made it higher on the side where my house was and lower toward the curb.

@waltercastro2015

Жыл бұрын

Just eye ball 😁.

Do I need to add French drains in addition to grading my yard, or will grading suffice?

@SuitTV

2 жыл бұрын

Grading does the job perfectly! French drains are only really needed if you have a problem low area that a lot of water builds up in and you can't grade.

couldn't you shift existing dirt from the low side and fill in dirt on the high side? Seems that would have saved you from having to raise the fence, at that.

@SuitTV

5 ай бұрын

No because then the dirt on the low side would be much lower than the curb and that would cause water buildup there

Did you do any compacting?

@SuitTV

3 жыл бұрын

When I did the paver walkway which I have a separate video on yes I compacted a lot. For this I did not because I ended up putting sod down on top so I wanted the grass roots to easily go into the soil. If you plan on putting gravel or stone dust on top then you should definitely compact. I just did this on another part of my yard where i installed turf. I'll release that video in a few weeks.

Was wandering if they load it or you had to load then unload it again with shovels?

@heywubbby4814

2 жыл бұрын

it just depends, some guys might be enticed by a little extra to do it for you others might not

Do you grade first then install drain?

@SuitTV

Жыл бұрын

You can do either but I would install the drain first so you don't have to dig it all after it's nicely graded.

*What is the rate of grade for your yard (don't know the correct term). Example if your yard is 25' from house to street how many inches is it lower at the street than at the house? One guy on a YT video said 1 inch per foot, seems reasonable I just haven't found recommended ratio for an average "flat land" house. Do you remember what ratio you used?* I have standing water after every rain and also might have a water leak. The mud bog is 5'x5', is 2' from the house and it's negatively sloped for 30' across the northern front. No basement issue but I would like to do it close to correctly. *Actually 25" (2' !) lower grade at the street seems like a lot in 25', maybe 1' for the first 10' then level off to 1/2" the last 15'. Any ideas you can pass my way would be appreciated.* Thanks (...ps I enjoyed listening to your voice on this video - wink wink) but really I do need the info while I have the extra dirt from the neighbor and my physical energy : D

@JohnFX3

2 жыл бұрын

I believe the industry standard grade for "flat" that slopes is 1 degree, which works out to about 1" drop every 5 feet. I think dropping 1" every foot would be a very noticeable slope that would not appear level to the eye.

@DannisTheManace

2 жыл бұрын

An inch of rise for every foot away from your foundation.

How in the world did you get a company to give you the much “free” dirt for $100?

@SuitTV

2 жыл бұрын

lol I don't know, I guess they had an oversupply and wanted to get rid of it. Try asking pool excavation companies who sometimes get rid of the dirt for free.

@bradsnyder8645

Жыл бұрын

Also try an excavation company / construction waste landfill. I got clay fill dirt for $7/ yard that way.

huh so that's how you do it...

My turn....

@SuitTV

2 ай бұрын

Good luck!

grade job

@SuitTV

11 ай бұрын

Haha, thanks. What grade would you give me?

It’s a mess

@SuitTV

2 жыл бұрын

Lol oh yea, you're getting dirty

Slow your roll on calling it a truck.

@coldenfees9172

2 ай бұрын

Seems like he is doing plenty of truck things to me.

Grading means to make level... This was a sloppy video and I'd recommend you hire a professional