If you are planning to build a patio in your house, considering its slope before starting the construction project is essential.
In particular, you need to plan to ensure that the slope of your patio is proper.
Many inexperienced homeowners ask: “Should a patio be sloped towards the house?” If you are one of them, this article is for you.
Let’s check it out for helpful information!
Table of Contents
Should Patio Be Sloped Towards the House?
Never let a patio slope towards your home, as it is not safe. It will cause a lot of serious problems, which we will cover.
It can make the water flow towards your house, leading to problems for the basement, the foundations, and the crawlspace. It causes potential flooding.
So instead, you must ensure the patio slope is away from your house. The recommended slope for the pitch is a 2% drop in elevation.
What Are the Consequences of a Patio Sloping Towards the House?
If you design a patio to slope towards your house, it will lead to any moisture or water that settles on the patio toward your home.
Depending on the style and design of your home, it leads to several potentials, even severe, problems with your home. Here are some examples of that:
The Possibility of Flooding Your Home
Flood risk is common when a patio slopes towards your house, even if a drainage channel has been placed where the patio is in contact with the house.
A heavy downpour will build up enough water to get through the drainage channel, causing water to overflow into your home.
It will lead to severe damage to the floor coverings, floors, and other items you place on the floor. But it is not the most painful thing.
When water comes into contact with electronic devices, such as refrigerators and televisions, it can cause electric shock hazards.
Negative Impacts on the Basement
If your home includes underground rooms or basements, water entering the house will soon cause these rooms to be damp or flooded.
Such rooms are often not well-ventilated. Therefore, they will take longer to dry once they are flooded or moistened.
It will allow fungus and mold to thrive, leading to costly repairs and negatively affecting the health of family members.
The Problem with The Foundations
Water is constantly directed at your home, and it will soon affect the structure of the house, including its foundation.
It can cause damp issues, leading to problems with paint blistering and peeling off on the walls and the proliferation of mold in your home.
The water can also undercut the foundations and wash the footing away, leading to cracking walls and some structural problems that require the expensive repair services of local engineers.
The Problem With the Crawl Space Under Your House
Whether your house doesn’t have an underground room or a basement, don’t rush to celebrate!
Most houses have a crawl space under them where plumbing and gas, and electrical services to your family are located.
When water is directed towards your home, this crawl space is at greater risk of damage as the water will flow more freely underneath the house. It will lead to debris and mud that can clog this space over time.
Water can also damage your house’s main structural supports, severely affecting its structural integrity. In addition, flooding your crawl space can cause unpleasant odors and encourage mold growth.
How Much Should Your Patio Slope?
During the patio construction, you also need to consider its slope. So how much should a patio slope away from your house?
The recommended rate for a patio’s slope is 2% from your house to the patio’s edge. Construction companies also apply this rate to any of their projects. However, sometimes they also use a larger ratio.
Which Direction Should a Patio Slope?
As you plan to build a patio, you must make sure it slopes away from your house to drain rainwater properly.
Many believe they will be okay with placing a channel or a drain where their house meets the patio to move the rainwater flow away from their house.
Sadly, this kind of drainage usually won’t be able to handle large volumes of water. One heavy shower is enough to defeat this drainage system.
What to Do if Your Patio Slopes Towards Your House?
One of the reasons the new patio slopes toward your house is the settlement of the pavers, the ground, or the cement beneath your patio.
So what will you need to do if it is your case? There are a few solutions that you can consider. It will depend on the construction of the patio and your house.
If your patio is one cement slab, you only have two choices. The first choice is slab jacking (or concrete lifting).
The other option is to jackhammer your slab and repair the cement slab correctly by observing the sloping of your patio away from your house.
They can be expensive, but you can save on labor costs if you do them yourself.
Slab jacking is a less expensive, quicker solution to applying new concrete. But it only works well if your patio has settled and is sloped towards your house.
Cement is a cheap material but requires you to know how to finish it to avoid leaving a mess behind.
How to Fix a Patio With the Wrong Slope?
If you find that your existing patio has issues with draining water, there is a high chance it has a wrong slope.
Several ways are available that allow you to fix this problem. If you want to make your patio long-lasting and appealing, the best way is to break the current setup and start over. Alternatively, you also have the option of adding a drain.
The decision to rebuild or fix your patio will depend on how ‘flat’ your current patio is.
Add A Drain
This solution refers to placing a drain near where the water is standing.
Step 1: Start by marking this area.
Step 2: Then use a jackhammer to dig up the pavement
Step 3: Once you have removed the concrete, it is time to dig a trench and ensure it can fit at least a 2-inch layer of sand and the drain channel.
Step 4: Lay the drain before covering it with a gate.
Note: This method is quick and economical. But it only works best if you have a concrete pad for your patio. If the patio is built from stamped concrete or pavers, you will be in even more trouble, forcing you to consider starting over.
Start Over
Building your patio from scratch will make it easy for you to ensure it reaches the correct slope.
You should ensure your patio’s slope is 2% from your house to the patio’s edge.
Step 1: Your patio requires a uniform surface to put on. So before you start, you must eliminate any soft soil, rocks, and vegetation.
Consider running a pipe under your patio to drain water properly. Alternatively, you can set a French drain at the edge of your patio.
Step 2: We recommend observing your property to determine the natural tendency of the water flow.
If you notice the ground slope up from where you need to put the patio, sloping the patio to drain water away from the house will become much more difficult. It may lead to considering a more complex drain system.
Step 3: Once you have ensured that the land is uniform in level and materials, it is time to lay a new patio.
FAQs
How Much Do Patio Repairs Cost?
The patio repair cost typically is a bit more expensive compared with a sidewalk repair cost, ranging from about $3 to around $30 for each square foot.
Why Does Patio Slope Matter?
The proper patio slope is needed to help drain water after every rain or every time you wash your patio. It will help prevent water from pooling or entering your home. It is conceptually similar to why the roof is tilted.
Standing water or seeping back into your house can damage furniture and foundations. So always ensure a patio with a slope of at least 2%.
Final Thoughts
Should the patio be sloped towards the house? No! It will lead to severe consequences, affecting your home structure and your family’s health.
In addition to ensuring the patio slopes away from your home, place it at the appropriate slope, usually 2% from the house to the patio’s edge.
As a result, it will help drain properly, no matter how heavy the rain, and give you a beautiful outdoor space that can last a lifetime.
Hopefully, this article was helpful to you. Thanks for stopping by!