What Is The Best Gravel For Drainage Around The House?

The best gravel for drainage around the house is washed round gravel or river rocks. For your drainage projects, try selecting rocks that are 1.5 inches in diameter or larger. This will allow sufficient space between rocks for water and rain to flow naturally through. 

Gravel such as Pea Gravel is not recommended for Footing drains and French drains. The reason for this is gravel such as Pea Gravel is small in size and can lead to clogging and poor drainage.

Will Gravel Around The House Help Drainage?

As a general rule, yes, gravel allows water to flow through it easily assisting with drainage. However, there are a few caveats. The gravel needs to be large enough to allow water to easily flow through. If the spaces are too small, you will still end up with water clogging in your yard.

Larger gravel stones allow for faster water flow and can direct runoff away from the house. This is used to prevent water damage to the house and foundation.

Understanding The Importance Of Proper Drainage?

Understanding the importance of proper drainage is crucial. It prevents runoff, foundation damage, soil erosion, and sinkholes. Here are the main reasons why drainage is important.

Helps Reduce Soil Erosion And Sinkholes?

Proper drainage helps prevent sinkholes and reduces soil erosion by preventing buildup and ensuring water flows away from your home and yard effectively.  Soil erosion happens when excess water builds up on the soil surface and can’t be drained away leading to the erosion of the top layer of soil. Sinkholes on the other hand form when groundwater dissolves underground rock, filling the voids with water which can lead to the ground collapsing.

As a result, proper drainage should be a priority as soil erosion and sinkholes should be a concern for homeowners.

Keeps Plants From Drowning In Too Much Water

Having gravel or river rocks in your flower beds allows for water to flow away from the surface. This will prevent water from pooling on the surface and keep the plants from drowning in the body of water. The water flowing through the rocks will allow the water to reach the deeper root systems of the plants and trees in the yard.

Maintains Soil Nutrient Levels

Having proper drainage reduces soil erosion and improves aeration in the soil. Plants and trees require nutrients and oxygen to thrive along with adequate water levels to assist in the healthy growth of the Flora. 

Drainage also allows for the nutrients to flow into the soil aiding as fertilizer.

Prevents Runoff

Proper drainage efficiently collects and directs excess water away from your yard and home. When rainwater can’t easily soak into the ground, it pools and flows over the soil surface as it runs off. This can cause soil erosion and flooding. 

With a dedicated drainage system, the water can be redirected elsewhere eliminating runoff and other issues caused by the water.

Protects Your Homes Foundation From Water Damage

Drainage systems divert rainwater and groundwater away from your home’s foundation. This is especially important for areas that get short bursts of heavy rains. Diverting rainwater and groundwater away from your home’s foundation reduces the risk of mold and mildew growth, foundation structure issues, and water damage to your property.

You should also consider grading the yard if you live in an area with high volumes of rain.

Prevents Water Pooling And Mosquitos

Drainage prevents water pooling as it can channel the water away from the building. Standing water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes thus the risk of mosquito-borne diseases increases. Eliminating pooling water cuts off their breeding grounds.

Prevent Flooding in Your Yard

Efficiently channeling excess water away from your property will reduce the risk of pooling and flooding in your yard. If you live in an area that has long periods of rain or heavy downpours, a drainage system should be a priority.

Sand Vs Gravel For Drainage

Gravel is superior to sand for drainage purposes. However, each has its pros and cons and has its unique use cases.

Gravel

Gravel is superior for drainage applications. The larger gravel stones allow water to flow freely between them. As a result, excess water drains more quickly through them reducing the pools of water on the surface. Gravel also provides aeration to the soil, a key component for plants to grow.

Another benefit of gravel is that gravel comes in different sizes allowing you to tailor the gravel stone to your drain needs. You would opt for gravel, and specifically larger stones to cater to high volumes of water.

Sand

Sand, on the other hand, is quite different. The smaller particle allows water to drain at a very slow pace. The opposite of the larger gravel stones.

A great use for sand is the partial water filtration properties that it offers which can come in handy if you want to filter some runoff water.

The Best Gravel For Drainage

River Rock

River rock is arguably the best rock to use for drainage. Interestingly, River rock is considered a type of gravel. River rock is stones that are naturally shaped and smoothed by moving water such as in rivers.

River rocks are small to medium in size ¾ inch to 2 inches. This allows you to tailor the size of your River rock to the drainage system you require.

Pea Gravel

Pea gravel is a naturally rounded, small, and smooth rock. The shape allows water to flow easily through it aiding in the draining of the water. Pea gravel is found near bodies of water and ranges from ⅛ inch to ⅜ inch in size. They come in a variety of natural colors such as browns, greys, and white.

You can use this in the garden, but not for French drains or Footing drains. There are better options for these drains.

Crushed Stone, Clear Stone, and ¾ Washed

Crushed stone, clear stone, and ¾ washed are common stones used for their consistent size and drainage characteristics. They could be used as a base for concrete slabs or under a decking area.

The reason for its popularity is due to its porous nature and ability to filter and absorb water. It is also useful to help prevent soil erosion.

Decomposed Granite

Decomposed granite is a naturally weathered and eroded form of granite, resulting in a fine-grained material that offers excellent drainage through the stones. It is essentially big pieces of granite broken down finer. It is used in a number of other landscaping applications such as walkways, patios, and driveways.

Marble Chips

Marble chips can be used around plants and flower beds to prevent over-saturation of water. Marble chips have a very high pH level and will eventually leach into soil making the soil more alkaline. Please keep this in mind because many native plants and native trees may not thrive in soil that has high pH levels.

Should You Use Large Or Small Rocks For Drainage?

Using small or large rocks for your drainage depends primarily on your drainage needs. For example, larger rocks or gravel allow for heavier flows of water to pass through them and are preferred to smaller rocks. Larger rocks also can’t be compacted as you would with smaller stones. Having said that, smaller stones such as decomposed granite could be used for walkways, allowing just enough compaction and water to drain away from the surface.

Conclusion

There you have the best gravel for drainage around the house. There are numerous benefits to having a proper drainage system in your yard and why you should use gravel. We hope you found this post helpful.

If you need landscape construction services in the Phoenix area, or an outdoor kitchen installed, please contact us today.