Plan Before You Dig
I just recently bought a trampoline for my grandkids. I was so happy to give them that. But you know, trying to find an 11′ by 17′ spot in the yard that was flat, to put that in was difficult. Can you imagine trying to find a place for a pool or an addition?
Location, Location, Location
It’s funny, my daughter just put a beautiful addition on her house, which is bigger than my house, but nonetheless. The very first thing she called me for, after it was done, was “Dad, my yard’s a swamp now.” I said, “Yeah, I told you”. But you know dads, we’re only so smart so long. I love my daughter, but the reality of it is right now they’re looking at spending about $5,000 to $7,000 getting all this water that’s now trapped in this area, and move it away from the house. My grandkids can’t play in the yard. I mean, they’re tracking mud in this house. Not to mention it’s going to start to affect their basement.
Is Your Addition Causing Problems for Your Neighbor?
So with the planning of any addition, you should also talk about drains and downspouts. It’s important that you put that in your plan because it will be there, it will show its ugly head. And what’s really unfortunate is when your sweet neighbor, or not-so-sweet neighbor, puts a shed in their backyard and they’ve got to get it in a level spot. Or they put a pool in for the kids, or they put a new retaining wall in, or they put an addition in. And harmless or not, all of a sudden now your yard is dealing with it. And guess what, they’re not breaking the law.
Thou Shalt Not Flood Thy Neighbor’s Property
So it’s really important to be a good neighbor, to be a good steward of your own property. Make sure you’ve thought this whole thing out. Make sure you haven’t put a swimming pool in a place where they will collapse. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had to fix the terrain around pools, put outside sump systems in because they were collapsing the liners. The pool leaked and blasted out a house. The pool failed and took out the neighbor’s basement wall.
Know the Flow
It’s very important! So before you start putting everything into motion, everything into a drawing form, make sure you’ve thought about topography. Make sure you’ve thought about where everything’s going. Because if you don’t think about it before, you will think about it later, and I think it’s very important that you really take a good look at that.
So additions, pools, either from your point or the neighbor’s point, if you see it coming and you know it’s coming, even if it’s the neighbors doing it, be proactive on your part. It’s always cheaper if you do things in your timeframe, rather than the timeframe that’s put on you. So be proactive, be thinking about it and know that changes to your yard will make changes to your house. Feel free to contact us with your questions.