Making your backyard a summertime haven
UPGRADES: Protect your home while saving on energy
We’re heading full force into summer, and for many of us, our idea of a great summer starts with a great backyard.
What’s the first thing we look at when checking out a backyard? Grading — that’s the slope of the property surrounding the house that helps direct water away from the foundation, not toward it. This helps protect against basement leaks. For every foot (30 centimetres) away from the foundation wall, the ground should drop at least half an inch (one cm). So over a six-foot span (1.8 metres) you should have at least a three-inch (seven-cm) drop.
If you ever want to test it you can do a hose test. Get your garden hose and point it horizontally to your foundation wall, about five inches (12 cm) away. Turn the hose on and as the water’s running, check to see the direction the water flows. It’s a quick way to make sure water is moving away from your home.
That’s also why I don’t like plants and shrubs up against the foundation wall. Every time you water them, you drive water directly to your foundation. Any tiny cracks will allow water to penetrate, and if your basement is finished, this can be an expensive fix.
Shrubs against your foundation wall and exterior can also trap moisture against your home’s exterior when they get bigger, which could lead to mould, termites or other insects. You’re better off moving those garden beds and shrubs away from your house.
What about trees? I love them, and they can help block the heat and sunlight from entering your home if planted in the right spots. But again, don’t plant them too close to your home. The extra foliage will direct water and precipitation to your home’s exterior and roof. This can increase the chance of a leak; it will wear down your exterior siding faster, and when the leaves drop in the fall, they could end up in your gutters, potentially clogging them.
Ideally, you also want to keep trees away from any sanitary lines, too. A tree’s roots can grow to be two to three times wider than its canopy, and the roots can wreak havoc on plumbing and weeping tile, especially if your home still has clay pipes. If there’s a tiny crack in the plumbing underground, the leaking water will attract tree roots to it (roots seek out water), and then they can grow into the pipe itself, causing a blockage and potentially a sewer backup in the basement.
It’s one thing to protect your home, but it’s also important to make it work efficiently. One way is by helping block out heat, and there are a couple of backyard projects that can help do that.
As I mentioned before, you can strategically plant trees around your home to block out the heat (not too close) but you can also install awnings on your windows. Awnings are an old-school solution that can reduce heat gain by about 55 to 77 per cent. In some areas, awnings can save homeowners as much as 25 per cent on their energy bills.
You could also hire a pro to build a pergola on the sunny side of your house. Pergolas are wooden exterior structures, usually in the backyard against the house, that have vertical posts supporting large crossbeams and joists. (If the pergola is free-standing it usually has four support posts. If it’s built off the side of a house it will have two.) Pergolas are great because they can help block out the heat and cut cooling costs, and they look good too.
Watch Mike Holmes on Holmes Makes It Right on HGTV. For more information visit makeitright.ca.