What is the difference between grading and leveling a yard?

• <div><p>Grading refers to the sloping of your yard away from your house’s foundation. It’s a landscaping term you probably know well if you’ve ever had to push your lawn mower up a steep slope.</p><p>Leveling is the solution to grading issues since it involves making your yard flat and smooth (and easy to push a lawn mower through).</p></div>

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Q: Why is grading a yard important?

• <div><p>Yard grading is a key component of proper drainage because runoff naturally moves with respect to gravity. If you have low spots in your yard, rain and snowmelt will settle there and oversaturate the soil, promoting root rot and fungal growth. If the low spots are near your home&rsquo;s foundation, you could even end up with foundation leaks or structural damage due to poor yard grading.</p></div>

Q: Why would someone level a yard?

• <div><p>People level their yards for practical and cosmetic purposes. If you have a very steep slope in your backyard, you might have a hard time with lawn maintenance. Or, if you want to entertain in the summer but don&rsquo;t have a flat yard, building a patio would be quite difficult. </p></div>

Q: How long does a perc test take?

• <div><p>A perc test takes an average of around two hours, but it can range from one hour up to around six hours. Perc tests that require wider or deeper holes and those that require multiple holes dug throughout your property will take longer because there&rsquo;s more excavation involved. The actual filling of the hole and monitoring to gauge the rate of percolation should take under an hour per hole.</p></div>

Q: What environmental factors should be considered in lakefront landscaping?

• <div><p>Environmental considerations include native plant selection, wildlife habitation, erosion prevention measures, and managing water runoff patterns to protect the lakefront ecosystem.</p></div>

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Rototilling questions, answered by experts

Yard grading is a key component of proper drainage because runoff naturally moves with respect to gravity. If you have low spots in your yard, rain and snowmelt will settle there and oversaturate the soil, promoting root rot and fungal growth. If the low spots are near your home’s foundation, you could even end up with foundation leaks or structural damage due to poor yard grading.

People level their yards for practical and cosmetic purposes. If you have a very steep slope in your backyard, you might have a hard time with lawn maintenance. Or, if you want to entertain in the summer but don’t have a flat yard, building a patio would be quite difficult.

A perc test takes an average of around two hours, but it can range from one hour up to around six hours. Perc tests that require wider or deeper holes and those that require multiple holes dug throughout your property will take longer because there’s more excavation involved. The actual filling of the hole and monitoring to gauge the rate of percolation should take under an hour per hole.

Environmental considerations include native plant selection, wildlife habitation, erosion prevention measures, and managing water runoff patterns to protect the lakefront ecosystem.

Grading refers to the sloping of your yard away from your house’s foundation. It’s a landscaping term you probably know well if you’ve ever had to push your lawn mower up a steep slope.

Leveling is the solution to grading issues since it involves making your yard flat and smooth (and easy to push a lawn mower through).

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