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7 Tips For Landscaping Around Your House

exterior view of a landscaped house

Are you thinking about landscaping around the foundation of your house? Unless you’ve selected types that need virtually no water, you could be setting yourself up for serious foundation problems that will be expensive to repair.

Before you start landscaping around your house’s foundation, ensure you understand what you should and shouldn’t do. In this guide, we’ll explain what causes foundation issues (including landscaping and soil), tips on how to avoid foundation damage, and who can help you protect your home with trusted foundation repair solutions.

7 Tips For Landscaping Next to Your Foundation in the Bay Area

In the Bay Area, landscaping to protect your foundation means dealing with the local climate and soil. Here are some easy ways to keep extra water away from your home’s foundation:

1. Grade Your Yard to Divert Water Away

Water pooling around a foundation.

Your home’s yard should slope away from the foundation. If done correctly, water won’t be able to pool around the foundation and cause problems (like in the image). A landscaper or a foundation repair contractor can help you with this.

2. Clean Your Gutters Regularly

When gutters get clogged, water spills over the edge and pools near the foundation. In Northern California, where we get plenty of rain, it’s smart to clean your gutters regularly, especially during fall when leaves are falling.

3. Install Downspout Extensions As Needed

crew installing discharge lines and downspout extensions

The clay soil in the Bay Area holds water, which can cause problems for foundations. Adding downspout extensions helps move rainwater farther away from the house so it doesn’t soak into the soil near the foundation.

4. Install an Underground Downspout and Bubbler Pot

For heavy rains, underground downspouts with bubbler pots help channel water away from your foundation and release it in a controlled way. This reduces the chance of water building up close to your home.

5. Install a Drain Tile System

The clay soil here expands when wet and shrinks when dry, which can affect foundations. A drain tile system keeps water from getting into the soil around your foundation, which helps prevent shifting during wet and dry seasons.

There are exterior and interior drain tile systems. Installation of the exterior system in an existing house involves excavating down to the footer, digging a shallow trench, filling it with gravel, laying down a perforated pipe, and then covering the pipe with more gravel, and finally backfilling. Excess water in the soil will now flow into the pipe and be channeled away from the foundation.

Installing a drain tile system – interior or exterior – is a major construction project and should only be handled by professionals. Please don’t try this as a DIY project.

6. Don’t Plant Trees Near the Foundation

Large trees can soak up water from the soil around your foundation, which can make the soil shift. In Northern California, planting big trees at least 20 feet away is a good idea to avoid this problem.

7. Plant Drought-Resistant Vegetation Near the Foundation

The Bay Area’s dry summers mean you might need to water plants more often. When you water plants near the foundation too frequently, the excess water seeps into the soil around your home’s foundation, which can cause the soil to expand and shift. 

This movement puts extra stress on the foundation and can lead to cracks over time. Instead, choose drought-resistant plants that need less water. This helps keep moisture levels balanced around your foundation and reduces the risk of costly damage. A professional landscaper can recommend low-water plants that thrive in your area while protecting your home.

Water Causes Most Foundation Problems

Most people are surprised to learn that water causes most foundation problems. Here are a few things homeowners need to know about the impact of water before they start landscaping around the foundation of their home:

Shrubs next to a home's foundation
  • Poor Drainage: If water builds up in the soil around a foundation without a way to drain off, it can cause serious structural damage over time.
  • Expansive Soil: Expansive soils swell when they absorb water and shrink when they dry out, causing movement under the foundation. If your home sits on expansive soil, it’s important to control groundwater to prevent this cycle from damaging your foundation.
  • Tree Roots: Large tree roots can extend as wide as the tree canopy, drawing moisture from the soil around the foundation and causing voids. This can lead to sinking foundations, especially during drought conditions. For more information, see our California Drought And Your Home’s Foundation article.

To sum up, landscaping to divert water away from your house is key to a healthy foundation. Excess water in the soil around the foundation that can’t drain off will, over time, cause problems that will be expensive to repair.

Keep Your Foundation Safe With Bay Area Underpinning

BAU inspector shaking hands with homeowner at front door.

If you keep the above tips in mind before landscaping around the foundation of your house, you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble and money. If you think you might have a foundation problem and you live in Northern California, contact our team at Bay Area Underpinning today for a free inspection. We’ll evaluate your home and its foundation, and provide you with a no-obligation estimate on customized repair solutions.

Ted Dryce

Ted Dryce

Content Writer

Ted is an SEO Content Writer who has been with Groundworks since 2021. He’s covered home repair topics ranging from crawl space encapsulation to regional soil conditions. When he’s not working, Ted is performing improv comedy and working on his own creative projects.

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