Chevy Chase MD Drainage and Erosion Control

How do you know if your Chevy Chase MD property is having drainage and erosion control issues?  It’s a fairly common question, and fortunately, the signs are easy to spot.  Here are the major ones:

  • Various areas of your lawn are soggy, or have plainly visible standing water for days after it rains
  • Wind and rain cause visible soil erosion. You can literally see the buildup at the bottom of hills, and it’s slowly changing the lay of your land.
  • You get streams (and sometimes rivers) flowing through your property during heavy rains
  • There’s soil buildup on your driveway, sidewalks, and walkways after a thunderstorm
  • Any mulch you have in place around your property keeps getting washed out
  • Standing water tends to collect on your patio, driveway, and walkways after a rain storm
  • You start seeing cracks in the walls of your basement and/or notice water seeping into the basement
  • Cracks begin forming in and along your foundation

The last three items on this list are especially problematic.  It’s one thing if water is standing in your yard a safe distance from your home.  That’s annoying but not a direct threat, but if the water is seeping into your basement or your foundation, over time, it will inevitably cause major damage, which is going to lead to expensive repair bills.

You don’t want that, and we can help.  The first step in our process will be to come pay you a visit and assess the severity of your Chevy Chase MD property’s drainage and erosion control problems.  There are no cookie cutter solutions where these kinds of issues are concerned, and depending on how bad the problem is, the solution might be simpler and more straightforward than you think.

For relatively minor Chevy Chase MD drainage and erosion control issues, simply planting the right kind of ground cover, in the right areas could be all it takes.  Where that is concerned, you’ve got lots of options.  Broadly speaking, they fall into three categories:  Ferns, flowing creepers, and shrubs.  The list below is hardly comprehensive, but here are a few of the alternatives we could use:

Ferns

  • Christmas Fern
  • Cinnamon Fern
  • Lady Fern
  • Wood Fern
  • And Royal Fern

Flowering Creepers

  • Great Blue Lobelia
  • Virginia Bluebells
  • White Wood Aster
  • Woodland Phlox
  • Violets
  • Joe Pye Weed

Don’t let the fact that the word “weed” appears on one of the items on the list.  It’s a very attractive plant and provides tremendous protection against erosion.

Shrubs

  • Red Chokeberry
  • Black Chokeberry
  • Ninebark
  • Silky Dogwood
  • And Elderberry

If some type of ground cover can be made to work, then there’s usually a wide degree of latitude in terms of what specific plant is used.  In most cases, it comes down to personal preference, because each provides a different aesthetic.

While it’s true that some Chevy Chase MD drainage and erosion control issues can be solved with nothing more than the addition of strategically placed ground cover, that’s not true in every case.  Sometimes, a more robust solution is required.  Should that prove to be the case, we’ve got you covered there too.

The next step up we can consider is the addition of a well-placed retaining wall.  Simply put, the retaining wall prevents erosion by serving as a brake, physically preventing the soil from making its way downhill.

While a retaining wall by itself can certainly serve to redirect the flow of water, sometimes that’s not enough.  In those cases, a retaining wall combined with some type of drainage system will get the job done.

Drainage systems come in two basic flavors:  Aboveground and below ground.

Aboveground drainage systems can be as simple as a trench designed to collect runoff and shunt it to a safe location.  Below ground systems like a French drain accomplish the same basic goal, but are less visible to the naked eye, depending on how they’re constructed.  Both can be made to work, but here, it mostly depends on the particulars we find on your property.

Once we’ve assessed the particulars of your Chevy Chase MD drainage and erosion control problem, we can draft a project plan and provide recommendations if and where ground cover is necessary.  Our project plan will include a no-obligation quote so you’ll have a firm understanding not only of the exact basket of technologies we’ll use to solve the problem, but also precisely how much it will cost to remedy the situation.

Assuming you’re comfortable with everything, our next step will be to arrange a time to come out to your property and solve the problem for you.

The bottom line is, nobody likes having to deal with drainage and erosion problems, but it’s even worse to have to deal with the inevitable fallout that occurs by not dealing with the problem and hoping for the best.  That’s never a good strategy, and fortunately you don’t have to.

We’ve been proudly serving the region since 1997 and have literally decades of experience dealing with drainage and erosion issues of all shapes and sizes.

Whether your landscaping needs range from the purely practical (solving for the aforementioned problems) or incorporate other elements in addition to these for purely aesthetic reasons, we’ve got you covered.

Since the day we first opened our doors, we’ve built our reputation by exceeding the expectations of each and every customer we serve, and we can’t wait for the opportunity to work with you.

Gaithersburg MD Drainage and Erosion Control

Does your Gaithersburg MD property have drainage and erosion control problems?  It might, but how do you know?  Here are a few of the more common signs:

  • Your yard stays soggy and/or has pools of standing water in it for days after a hard rain
  • Mulch or soil tends to collect on your patio, sidewalks, and driveway after it rains
  • Soil washes down the higher elevations to the lower when it rains, collecting at the bottom
  • Cracks begin appearing in the walls of your basement and/or foundation
  • You begin noticing water seeping into your basement

None of these are good news, but the last two are especially troublesome, because if your drainage issues are causing water to collect close enough to your home to cause those things, and the problem isn’t addressed immediately, it could lead to staggering repair bills for you.

If you see any of these signs, give us a call.  The first thing we’ll do is come visit you and assess the scope and scale of your Gaithersburg MD property’s drainage and erosion control problem.  Once we understand how serious the problem is, we can make a formal recommendation and write a detailed project plan that includes a no-obligation estimate so you’ll know exactly what it will take to fix the problem once and for all.

In some cases, if your Gaithersburg MD property’s drainage and erosion control issue is relatively minor, the problem can be solved via clever use of ground cover.

There are tons of great options here, but broadly speaking, they fall into three categories:  shrubs, ferns, and creepers.  Here are some examples in each category that will get the job done:

Shrubs

  • Red or Black Chokeberry
  • Ninebark
  • Silky Dogwood
  • Or Elderberry

Ferns

  • Royal Fern
  • Wood Fern
  • Lady Fern
  • Cinnamon Fern
  • Or Christmas Fern

Creepers

  • Joe Pye Weed
  • Violets
  • Woodland Phlox
  • White Wood Aster
  • Virginia Bluebells
  • Or Great Blue Lobelia

Often, which type of ground cover you select comes down to personal preference and what aesthetic you’re going for, but in some instances, your soil composition and other details will cause us to recommend one over another.

Sometimes though, ground cover alone isn’t enough, and in those cases, we’ve got other options available.  A well-placed retaining wall will go a long way toward solving the issue, because it serves as both a physical barrier that prevents the movement of soil and because it serves to redirect water safely away from your home.

As good as retaining walls are though, they work even better when used in conjunction with a drainage system.  It’s a more comprehensive and expensive solution, but it will absolutely solve your issue.

In any case, once we make the assessment, we can recommend an approach that will get the job done.  Give us a call as soon as you’re ready!

College Park MD Drainage and Erosion Control

Is your College Park MD property suffering from drainage and erosion control issues?  How do you know?  It’s an excellent question and one we get quite regularly from our customers, so we wanted to take a moment to post the answer here.  There are a number of common signs you’ve got drainage and erosion issues, including:

  • Areas of your lawn that are soggy for days after a rain storm
  • You get soil collected on your sidewalks, and driveway after it rains
  • Pools of standing water on sidewalks, driveways, and patios
  • Cracks in the foundation of your home, or in the walls of your basement (if you have one)
  • Water seeping into your basement

While none of those are good, the last two are especially troublesome, and if left unchecked, could cost you thousands of dollars in the long run.

Fortunately, there are several good solutions to College Park MD drainage and erosion control issues, and we’ve got the experience to deal with yours, no matter how bad they might be.

The first step to fixing your problem will be pay you a visit at your property and assess the situation.  In some cases, where the problem is fairly mild, it’s possible to address it with well-placed ground cover.

There are tons of great options on that front, and broadly speaking they fall into three categories: Ferns, Colorful Creepers, and Shrubs.  In most cases, which one you pick comes down to personal preference and what aesthetic you prefer, but in some situations, the composition of your soil or other factors may make one plant species or type of ground cover a better fit.  We won’t know that for sure until we complete our assessment.

Sometimes, your College Park MD drainage and erosion control issues are severe enough that creative use of ground cover alone isn’t enough to get the job done.  That’s not a problem, there are other things we can do.  Of those other options, the most common is the construction of a retaining wall.

These work in two ways.  First, by providing a physical barrier that prevents the soil from moving down from the higher elevations on your property, and second, by serving as a redirect for water, guiding it away from your home.

While effective on their own, retaining walls are even better when used in conjunction with some type of drainage system that allows you more control over exactly where the water goes.  Again, we won’t know which of those is most appropriate until we complete our assessment.

Once we have, we can develop a detailed project plan, complete with a cost estimate so you’ll have a clear picture of what it would take to solve your problem once and for all.  Assuming you’re comfortable with everything, we can begin, and before you know it, your drainage and erosion issues will be a thing of the past!

Bethesda MD Drainage and Erosion Control

Does your Bethesda MD property have drainage and erosion control issues?  It may.  Here are some common signs:

  • After it rains, your yard is soggy and “squishy” for extended periods of time
  • Heavy rains tend to wash your soil downhill, causing it to collect and pile up at the bottom, changing the lay of your land over time
  • Streams develop at various points on your property during thunderstorms
  • If you have flower beds, your mulch keeps getting washed away
  • You see mulch or soil on your sidewalks after a moderate or heavy rain
  • You wind up with standing water on your patio and sidewalks
  • You’ve got water leaking into your basement
  • You’re starting to notice cracks in your foundation

Those last two are especially prominent signs that your Bethesda MD property has serious drainage and erosion control issues, and really get to root of why it’s important to fix them.  If they are left unchecked, then over time, they’ll only get worse and cause damage to your home that can run into tens of thousands of dollars (or more).  Not good.

Bethesda MD drainage and erosion control problems come in all shapes and sizes, and depending on the severity of your issue, there are a number of approaches we can take to fix it.  In cases where the problem is relatively slight, the solution could be as simple as planting strategically placed ground cover.

There are tons of great options here, so mostly, it comes down to us working with you to get an understanding of what your tastes and preferences are, because each of the different ground cover possibilities has a different aesthetic.

In this part of the country, broadly speaking, we can break ground cover into two categories:  Ferns and Other.  Where ferns are concerned, some of the more popular options are:

  • Royal Fern
  • Wood Fern
  • Lady Fern
  • Cinnamon Fern
  • And Christmas Fern

If you’re looking to simultaneously add a splash of color to your lawn and solve your minor Bethesda MD drainage and erosion control problem, then the following plants might be more to your liking:

  • Joe Pye Weed
  • Violets
  • Woodland Phlox
  • White Wood Aster
  • Virginia Bluebells
  • Or Great Blue Lobelia

If none of those are to your liking, there are plenty of other options available.  Just tell us what kind of “look” you’re going for, and we’ll see if we can find something that suits your tastes and preferences.

If ground cover doesn’t work for you, we can also look into the possibility of strategically planted shrubs.  Again, there are a number of shrubs that could work, so it comes down to your personal preferences.  Some of the options include:

  • Elderberry
  • Silky Dogwood
  • Ninebark
  • Or Red/Black Chokeberry

Unfortunately, some Bethesda MD drainage and erosion control problems can’t be solved by something as simple as adding ground cover.  That’s okay, there are other options we can employ, the first of which is the addition of a well-placed retaining wall.

These are incredibly effective erosion control solutions and can be used to safely direct water away from your home.

Sometimes a retaining wall on its own is enough, but more commonly, it’s a combination of a retaining wall and some type of drainage system that ultimately gets the job done.  As the name suggests, a drainage system’s primary job is to redirect the flow of water to a location where it won’t cause any damage or harm.

Broadly speaking, drainage systems come in two flavors:  Aboveground and below ground.  Both can work, and ultimately, which one is optimal in your specific case depends on the particulars of your property.

Really, all an above ground drainage system is, is a clearly defined channel that collects and manages where the water goes.  Below ground drains (like a French drain system) accomplish the same goal, but as the name suggests, are less visible.

Ultimately, drainage and erosion solutions don’t exist in isolation, and that’s actually great news for you.  After all, why “just” solve a problem when you can do it with flair and style that enhances the overall aesthetic of your property.  Yes, we’re talking about landscaping.

No matter how much you loved your home when you first bought it, if you’re like most people, you’ve got a “wish list” of changes and improvements you’d like to make, and many of those probably center on your property’s landscaping.

In addition to solving practical problems, landscaping can turn your average looking lawn into an eye-popping showplace that you and your family will absolutely love spending time in.

The problem though, is you don’t want to leave your property’s landscaping to just anyone. You want to work with a seasoned professional with decades of experience and a proven track record.

We are that company.  We’ve been proudly serving the region since 1979, and in that time, have created hundreds of lush landscapes for our legion of satisfied clients.  Be sure to spend some time checking out the “Design Gallery” section of our website and see for yourself.

Not only will it give you an opportunity to evaluate the quality of the work we do, but if you’re struggling to clearly define your own landscaping goals, the Design Gallery will give you plenty of ideas and inspiration.

We’d love to not just solve any erosion and drainage problems you may be having, but also help you realize your landscaping dreams, turning your home into the paradise you always knew it could be.  Give us a call when you’re ready to get started!