Grading & Regrading Services in Chester County & the Main Line

Almost every drainage problem we solve traces back to one thing: the ground does not slope the right way. The first rule of drainage is simple, water has to move away from your house, and grading is how we make that happen. JHL Landscape Design has been shaping land across Chester County and the Main Line since 2004, reading our sloped, clay-heavy Wissahickon-schist lots and rebuilding the grade so rain runs where it should instead of toward your foundation.

Positive Slope: The First Rule of Drainage

Water never fights gravity, so the cheapest and most durable drainage fix is almost always grade. We establish positive slope away from the house, the gentle fall that carries our roughly 46 inches of annual rain out toward swales, lawn and the property's natural low points before it can pool against the foundation. On a flat or settled lot that means importing soil; on a sloped Chester County lot it means shaping the fall so it stays controlled instead of cutting channels.

Signs Your Grade Is Working Against You

• Water that stands or sheets toward the house after rain
• A wet or damp basement, or efflorescence on foundation walls
• Soggy lawn, moss and mud lines that never fully dry out
• Mulch and topsoil washing off beds onto walks and driveways
• Settling or a depression that has formed near the foundation over the years

The accepted target is a fall of about six inches over the first ten feet out from the foundation. Many older West Chester and Main Line homes have lost that grade as fill settled or beds were built up over decades, leaving a negative grade that funnels water inward.

Correcting Negative Grade & Shaping Swales

When the ground slopes back toward the house, no amount of gutter or downspout work fully solves it. We correct negative grade by reshaping the soil itself, then build swales, shallow vegetated channels, to collect and route concentrated flow across the lot to a safe outlet. On clay soils that hold water and heave with freeze-thaw, a well-cut swale moves runoff that a buried pipe alone would struggle to keep up with.

How We Rebuild the Grade

• Rough grading to re-establish the broad slopes and low routes
• Swale shaping to channel concentrated runoff away from structures
• Quality fill and topsoil specified for our clay subsoils
• Finish grading to a smooth, plantable surface ready for lawn or beds
• Compaction and settling allowance so the grade holds after the first winters

Because we are a design-build company, grading is never an isolated dig-and-fill job. It is engineered alongside any french drains, dry creek beds or downspout lines that share the same outlet, so the whole system moves water as one plan.

Regrading After Construction or Settling

New construction and additions are a common source of drainage trouble. Backfill around a foundation settles for years, and builder rough grades are often left close to flat. We regrade these lots once the soil has moved, re-cutting positive slope and tying the new grade into existing lawn, hardscape and the surrounding contours. The same applies to older properties where decades of settling, added beds or a failed patio have quietly reversed the fall.

Grading is also the foundation under everything else we build. Before a patio, walkway or retaining wall goes in, the grade has to send water the right way, otherwise the hardscape just becomes a new dam. Coordinating grading with hardscape and lawn installation from the start is what keeps a finished landscape from creating the next drainage problem.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much slope should the ground have away from my house? The standard target is about a six-inch drop over the first ten feet out from the foundation, then a gentler continued fall across the lot. On flat or settled properties we import soil to build that slope; on sloped Chester County lots we shape the fall and add swales so it stays controlled rather than cutting channels.

Can regrading fix a wet basement on its own? Often it goes a long way. A large share of wet-basement calls trace back to negative grade and downspouts dumping at the foundation, and correcting the exterior grade is the first and most durable fix. If water is still entering after the grade and drainage are corrected, that is when we recommend coordinating with a waterproofer for the interior side.

Will regrading kill my existing lawn? Rough grading disturbs the surface, so we plan for restoration. We finish grade to a smooth, plantable surface and coordinate new lawn or bed installation as part of the same project. Where we can preserve healthy turf and only adjust problem areas, we do, but a meaningful grade correction usually means re-establishing the lawn over the reshaped ground.

Do I need a permit to regrade my property? Minor grading near the house usually does not, but larger earthwork, work that alters drainage onto a neighbor, or anything tied to stormwater can fall under township rules. As a design-build firm working across Chester and Delaware County, we flag where a permit or stormwater review is likely before we start so the project stays compliant. Call us at (610) 422-3474 to talk it through.

Related design services: Drainage & Grading · Erosion Control & Dry Creek Beds · Retaining Wall Design.

Areas We Serve

• West Chester, PA — Our home studio at 701 S Franklin St, regrading settled and sloped lots
• Newtown Square & the Main Line — Grade correction and swale work for Main Line properties
• Malvern, Exton, Downingtown, Chadds Ford — served towns

Ready to start? Request a consultation or call (610) 422-3474.

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About JHL Landscape Design

JHL Landscape Design is a design-build landscape company serving Chester County, Delaware County and the Main Line from West Chester (701 S Franklin St). We design, install, and care for complete landscapes — landscape design and 3D rendering, hardscape and patios, drainage and grading, and plantings — with every project grounded in a plan you approve before work begins.

PA HIC #PA035784 | ICPI Certified | HBA Member — Chester & Delaware Counties | BBB A+ | 20+ Years Chester County

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JHL Landscape Design | PA HIC #PA035784 | ICPI Certified | Licensed & Insured 701 S Franklin St, West Chester, PA 19382 (610) 422-3474