Lake in the Hills Drainage Services

Excess standing water in your yard can cause major problems to your lawn and home. Standing water can kill your grass and plants, and cause your fence to rot. Standing water near your house can cause foundation problems, potentially leading to serious flooding issues. To ensure that water flows away from the foundation of your home and yard, turn to the landscape drainage experts at Daybreaker Landscapes for help.

You may be experiencing drainage issues if you have mildew or mold in your basement or crawl spaces, compacted soil, mosquito or insect issues, standing water or puddles, unhealthy plants, or a settling foundation. Daybreaker Landscapes has a wide range of possible drainage solutions, such as catch basins, French drains, retaining walls, grading, and many other options.

Our experts can evaluate your drainage patterns, identify any problems affecting proper drainage, craft a solution unique to your yard, and install the necessary drainage system.

Correcting drainage issues are essential because specific problems can erode soil and cause problems for years to come. Not only are these effects bad for softscapes, but lack of drainage can also cause the soil beneath hardscapes, such as patios, to become unstable. These types of issues cause significant frustration among homeowners and commercial property owners alike.

Our team of Lake in the Hills drainage experts has solved drainage problems for properties all over the Greater McHenry County area. In addition to new and existing homes, we also assist owners of commercial buildings, homeowner associations, and retirement communities.

Do you need help with a drainage issue that is affecting your property in the Chicagoland area? Contact us today for a solution.

Daybreaker Landscapes is headquartered in Union, but our primary service areas include Elgin, Lake in the Hills, Algonquin, Crystal Lake, Woodstock, Barrington, and many surrounding communities. Call (815) 596-0070 or contact us online for a free estimate.

Types of Landscape Drainage Systems

The type of drainage system you decide to install is crucial to being able to successfully address your landscape’s excess water issues. Choose the right system, appropriate for your unique circumstances, to correct your standing water troubles and is. The landscape drainage experts at Daybreak Landscapes will be able to analyze your specific problems and advise you about what drainage system best fits your needs.

The following are four main types of drainage systems that our landscape drainage professionals use in residential and business areas:

• Surface Drainage – Small ditches, swales or canals are dug to carry off excess water. Surface drainage is necessary in flat areas and regions with high levels of precipitation and where water pooling or flooding causes problems. These drains can be dug around buildings, walkways or driveways to immediately divert excess water.
• Subsurface Drainage – Drains are placed underground, beneath the top layer of soil at the root level, to relieve water-logged areas. This process requires deeper digging and installing pipes. A sump pump may also be necessary.
• Downspout and Gutter – Placed on a building or home, a downspout is connected to the gutter system to carry water off of and away from the structure. The downspout is placed where it will divert excess water to another area.
• Slope Drainage – Pipes are utilized to aid the natural flow of run-off water away from a structure or other area where excess water could be a problem. This process uses gravity to guide the water moving down a slope into another area.

Let our experienced landscape drainage experts at Daybreaker Landscapes correct your excess water problems and protect your home, lawn, family, pets, and plants. Call today to speak to a professional before you experience damage on your property.

Causes of Drainage Problems

Most drainage issues involve the general slope of a yard. It is critical to have water run away from your home or business. Some of the most common issues relating to drainage include:

• Standing water near the home. When water begins to accumulate around the foundation of a home, which can lead to flooding that can damage a home’s interior. Look for a dull gray or white crust on your basement walls, which is usually a sign of remaining mineral deposits from water seeping inside your masonry.
• Gardens and plant beds can be another common site of drainage problems. When these beds are not designed correctly, water often remains, and the plants ultimately die. When soil does not drain properly, then the rain begins to run off in such a way that it carries gravel, mulch, or other debris to hardscapes such as the driveway.
• All paved surfaces on your property also need to be properly sloped. When they are not, hardscape surfaces often contribute to excess water. In many cases, retaining walls can help.
• Downspouts and gutters should empty into the proper areas and should also be cleaned to ensure they are working correctly. Clogged gutters routinely lead to water accumulation in other areas around the home. If, for instance, your system is emptying onto a paved surface, it can easily create water issues.
• Often, issues with gutters and downspouts can cause problems near the front sidewalks of homes or businesses. There is typically a space between the structure and a walkway that allows for water accumulation when downspouts and gutters are clogged or have not been properly installed.
• Some homes may be impacted by water runoff from a neighbor’s yard, a common problem for people who live downhill. Though your neighbors can’t prevent the water from flowing downhill, you may be able to reroute the water into a dry well or catch basin. Constructing a swale (a shallow trench) or berm (a rounded mound of soil) can also help divert the water.

While large puddles of water can be quite obvious, other drainage issues are more subtle. You may notice certain soggy areas in your yard that never seem to dry out.

Isolated and unique issues could be causing your drainage problems, and you deserve to know all the possible solutions that are available to you. Daybreaker Landscapes will provide a complete evaluation of your property and help you understand the best corrective measures to take, especially if a solution like installing a French drain would help, or if any grading or regrading needs to be done.

Lawn Grading or Regrading

Lawn grading is the process of sloping a yard away from a home or structure. Regrading a lawn can allow you to correct sloping issues while keeping the existing grass. The slope should drop at least 2 to 3 inches every 10 feet, but no more than 12 inches every 4 feet.

Grading and regrading projects are best left to the professionals, as significant planning is typically involved. Failure to take specific preliminary steps can lead to consequences later that cause multiple problems. For example, you need to be mindful of any pipes, traps, or vents in your yard. Inadvertently covering such aspects could lead to problems later. Raising pipes and filling holes may be necessary to ensure proper drainage.

You may also have basement windows that you do not want to bury to grade or regrade. Constructing a window well is a simple way to avoid the issue while preserving some sunlight for the interior.

The process of grading a yard can be tricky. Determining the high point at which the water begins flowing in the wrong direction and the low point at which the water ends up is critical to the process. Finding and determining a level grade line can be difficult and deceiving when people rely only on their eyes. The process usually requires ground stakes, ropes, line levels, and a certain degree of patience.

Daybreaker Landscapes provides grading and regrading services for all kinds of residential and commercial properties in the Chicagoland area.

Costs of Drainage Problems

Small grading jobs can be a few hundred dollars, but much larger jobs can approach several thousand. Drainage projects can vary in price depending on the size and type of project, as surface swales, French drains, and trench drains can all have different rates per foot. Prices can also be affected by any additional work that may need to be performed. Some projects may involve demolition of existing conditions, such as driveways, to install necessary components.

Other cases could involve problem soil types that increase excavation costs or other costly excavated debris. Certain homes may also present accessibility issues.

Addressing drainage issues now can save you money in the long run. When left uncorrected, drainage issue can lead to cracks and leaks in a home’s foundation, often resulting in flooding that can cause thousands in damage.

Standing water can create additional pest problems. Mosquitoes are attracted to standing water and can carry a variety of diseases.

Contact Daybreaker Landscapes

If your home or business in the Chicagoland area is suffering from drainage issues, do not wait to address them. Daybreaker Landscapes could help determine what is causing your drainage issues and find the most economical solutions.

United States Air Force veteran Jeff Rausch founded Daybreaker Landscapes in 2010, and we are a U.S. Veteran-Owned Business and a member of the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association. Daybreaker Landscapes serves Crystal Lake, Woodstock, Barrington, Elgin, Lake in the Hills, Algonquin, and several other nearby areas.

We can provide a free estimate when you call (815) 596-0070 or contact us online today.