The house we are bought has a 100' x 100' back yard. The front portion is
one grade, the rear portion, 2' to 3' higher. A retaining wall with steps
separates the grade. The land has a slight negative pitch toward the house
as the terrain is not level. According to the home inspector, this is a bad
thing because water penetration is more likely.

We intend on removing several trees that exist on the higher grade and
leveling it to that of the lower grade. The knowledge that I'm seeking is
how to level the two grades and create a positive pitch away from the house
when the slope comes towards the home.

Has anyone done this type of work. Can you recommend any web sites that
would be helpful in understanding the process and the costs involved?

On Sat, 25 Jan 2003 23:08:58 -0500, "Billy"
wrote:

The house we are bought has a 100' x 100' back yard. The front portion is
one grade, the rear portion, 2' to 3' higher. A retaining wall with steps
separates the grade. The land has a slight negative pitch toward the house
as the terrain is not level. According to the home inspector, this is a bad
thing because water penetration is more likely.

We intend on removing several trees that exist on the higher grade and
leveling it to that of the lower grade. The knowledge that I'm seeking is
how to level the two grades and create a positive pitch away from the house
when the slope comes towards the home.

Has anyone done this type of work. Can you recommend any web sites that
would be helpful in understanding the process and the costs involved?

All I can do is add a cautionary note. You may want to get in a
professional for this. If you change the grade of your yard, and that
causes your neighbors trouble, you can be held legally responsible.
Or at least you can out here in California. So make sure when you do
your grading that the water that used to pool up in your backyard is
not pooling up in someone else's!

Rebecca

The only advice I can give you is that it really is important to make sure you
get it graded with all water running away from the house.

I doubt if you remember, but maybe you might, several years ago here in Fort
Collins we had a floor that wiped out a trailer park. That same rain came down
all over town.

My mom called me, frantic, to tell me her basement was flooding. You could
tell from looking at their yard but there was a very slight bump about 20 feet
out that kept water from flowing away from the house. The downspouts didn't
extend that far from the house so all the water from the roof was draining
back towards the house and into a basement window well. I dug a trench so fast
it would make your head spin. Once the water was heading away from the house I
had to take care of the basement and a window well that was completely full of
water and leaking into the basement. What a night.

Good luck and grade well,
Laura B.

You most likely need an landscape architect. They can be obtained on a
per job basis or by the hour. Check your yellow pages and then check
their references.

Billy wrote:
=

The house we are bought has a 100' x 100' back yard. The front portion =
is
one grade, the rear portion, 2' to 3' higher. A retaining wall with ste=
ps
separates the grade. The land has a slight negative pitch toward the ho=
use
as the terrain is not level. According to the home inspector, this is a=
bad
thing because water penetration is more likely.
=

We intend on removing several trees that exist on the higher grade and
leveling it to that of the lower grade. The knowledge that I'm seeking =
is
how to level the two grades and create a positive pitch away from the h=
ouse
when the slope comes towards the home.
=

Has anyone done this type of work. Can you recommend any web sites that=

would be helpful in understanding the process and the costs involved?

-- =

J Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.celestialhabitats.com
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/reference.html

We have had this sort of work done at a couple houses we have lived in.

It takes about a day with a skid loader, or possibly a light cat. Unless
you already know how to run a skid loader, you should hire someone who has
one and does this sort of thing for a living. Most of the people who do are
pretty good at eyeballing jobs like this and estimating the amount of fill
that has to be moved, the approximate final grade, and the cost. I wouldn't
consider it necessary to hire a landscape architect, but that's here in
rural America. Codes vary any you may have to or wish to.

Once the grade is fixed you can either install sod or seed a lawn in or
apply whatever other treatment you want. Many landscape contractors will do
both the dirt work and the sod.

--
Sam


"Billy" wrote in message
...
The house we are bought has a 100' x 100' back yard. The front portion is
one grade, the rear portion, 2' to 3' higher. A retaining wall with steps
separates the grade. The land has a slight negative pitch toward the house
as the terrain is not level. According to the home inspector, this is a
bad
thing because water penetration is more likely.

We intend on removing several trees that exist on the higher grade and
leveling it to that of the lower grade. The knowledge that I'm seeking is
how to level the two grades and create a positive pitch away from the
house
when the slope comes towards the home.

Has anyone done this type of work. Can you recommend any web sites that
would be helpful in understanding the process and the costs involved?