Grading and Drainage

Homeowner Use and Maintenance Guidelines

The final grades around your home have been inspected and approved for proper drainage of your lot. Our surveyor completes a drainage certification, and then the local building authorities, as well as Lucullan, inspect the site. Yards drain from one to another. You and your neighbors share an overall drainage plan for the community. Use caution when installing landscaping, fencing, or additions t your home to prevent causing water problems on adjacent lots.

Drainage

Typically, the grade around your home should slope 1 foot in the first 10 feet, tapering to a 2 percent slope. In most cases, drainage swales do not follow property boundaries. Maintain the slopes around your home to permit the water to drain away from your home as rapidly as possible. This is essential to protect your foundation. Failure to do so can result in major structural damage and will void your warranty.

Exterior Finish Materials

Maintain soil levels 6 inches below the siding, stucco, brick, or other exterior finish materials. Contact with the soil can cause deterioration of the exterior finish material and encourages pest infestations.

Roof Water

Do not remove the splash blocks or downspout extensions from under the downspouts. Keep these in place at all times, sloped, so the water drains away from your home quickly.

Rototilling

Rototilling can significantly change drainage swales. You can minimize this by rototilling parallel to the swales rather than across them.

Settling

The area we excavated for your home's foundation was larger than the home to allow room to work. In addition, some trenching is necessary for the installation of utility lines. Although we replaced and compacted the soil, it does not return to its original density. Some settling will occur, especially after prolonged or heavy rainfall or melting large amounts of snow. Settling can continue for several years. Inspect the perimeter of your home regularly for signs of settling and fill settled areas as needed to maintain positive drainage.

Subsurface Drains

Occasionally Lucullan installs a subsurface drain to ensure that surface water drains from a yard adequately. Keep this area and especially the drain cover clear of debris so that the drain can function as intended.

See also Landscaping.

Lucullan Limited Warranty Guidelines

We established the final grade to ensure adequate drainage away from home. Maintaining this drainage is your responsibility. If you alter the drainage pattern after closing, or if changes in drainage occur due to lack of maintenance, the limited warranty is void.

Backfill Settlement

Backfilled or excavated areas around the foundation and at utility trenches should not interfere with the drainage away from your home. If these areas settle during the first year, Lucullan will fill the areas one time and subsequently will provide you with fill dirt to maintain positive drainage.

Erosion

Lucullan is not responsible for weather-caused damage to unlandscaped yards after the final grade has been established or the closing date, whichever occurs last.

New Sod

New sod installation and the extra watering that accompanies it can cause temporary drainage problems, which normally happen during unusually severe weather conditions.

Recommendations

Lucullan documents the grades that exist at the time of delivery of your home or as soon thereafter as possible. The ground must be dry and free of frost to make these determinations. Once final grades are set, Lucullan will inspect drainage problems reported in writing during the warranty period, compare grades to those originally established, and advise you on corrective actions you might take.

Soil Information

We provide soil information when the purchase agreement is written or as soon thereafter as it becomes available. Landscaping recommendations are designed based on soils and engineering reports and thus may vary slightly.

Swales

Lucullan does not alter drainage patterns to suit individual landscape plans. Typically, a lot receives water from and passes water on to other lots, so grade changes often affect adjacent or nearby lots. Lucullan advises against making such changes. After heavy rain or snow, water may stand in swales for up to 48 hours.

Under Concrete

Lucullan will fill visible sunken areas under concrete during the first year.

Winter Grading

Due to weather conditions, especially during winter and early spring, the final grade may not have been established at the time of closing. We document the status of your grading at the time of delivery. When conditions permit, grading work will continue. Confirm that we have completed your grading before beginning landscaping.