Unless you want a home that looks as if it were designed by Pablo Picasso, then you’ll be wanting a foundation that’s level and graded. If you’re familiar with the Spanish artist, you’ll know that his art is a little bit topsy-turvy: a nose being over here, a mouth being over there. It’s an unusual way of painting a portrait of your girlfriend. Your house, however, can’t be ‘left open to interpretation’ on the levelling and grading front. You want a foundation that’s perfectly level and graded. Today, we’ll list a few reasons why it’s important to go with a building team that’s known for its house levelling and grading skills.

Not every site is level
Even if your house looks perfectly level, it won’t take long to discover that it could do with some professional levelling. This will avoid major headaches down the track which we’ll discuss below.

It assists with proper drainage
Part of why levelling and grading your residential site is so important lies in the idea of proper drainage. When your home isn’t perfectly level or well-graded, it’s more susceptible to drainage issues. This can lead to erosion, flooding and pests that are attracted to stagnant water. It imperative to ensure all surfaces grade away from the foundations so water doesn’t pool and penetrate the subsurface.

It prevents erosion
With improper drainage comes erosion. Soil erosion occurs when an erosive element such as water disrupts the upper layer of soil. It can render your land infertile and is a costly issue to fix. This is a serious landscaping issue that can be prevented by house levelling and grading – another reason why it’s so important.

It leads to a stronger foundation
You can’t have a strong home without a strong foundation – and you can’t have a strong foundation without it being level and graded. A ‘uniform settlement’ refers to a landscape that is constant and even, leading to a strong foundation when the soil is well compacted. A ‘differential settlement’, on the other hand, is something we want to avoid. This refers to an uneven settling in the foundation, causing stress and cracking in your foundation. Levelling, soil compaction and grading helps to create a smooth, uniform settlement for your foundation to be laid.

Driveways and pathways will be flat
Imagine how annoying and, furthermore, dangerous it would be if your driveway or garage wasn’t perfectly level. You’d have to be sure as hell that your handbrake is up every time you’re parked; otherwise, you’d have a few avoidable crash repair bills on your hands!

It’s pretty easy to see the importance of house levelling and grading before laying your foundation. That’s why you need to choose a pro builder who gets the site 100% level and graded every single time. If possible hard surfaces such as impervious paths etc around the home are a huge help in controlling water and keeping it away from the subsurface soils. Techniblock meets that criteria and are Melbourne’s leading foundation and construction experts. Talk to the friendly team at Techniblock to make sure your home has the best foundation possible and to offer advice where necessary.