I learned the drainage lesson the hard way myself. We found an old buried septic tank halfway through excavation—talk about unexpected setbacks. Definitely agree on grading too; french drains are great but they're just part of the puzzle. If you spend a little extra time upfront making sure water flows away from your foundation, you'll thank yourself later... especially after a heavy storm rolls through.
Interesting points about drainage, but do you really think grading is always worth the extra upfront effort? I mean, I get the logic behind it, but when we built our place, we focused more on strategic landscaping and planting native shrubs and trees to naturally absorb runoff. Haven't had any major issues yet, even after some pretty heavy rains. Maybe it's just luck... or maybe sometimes simpler solutions can be just as effective? Also curious—did you have any inspections done before excavation started? Seems like an old septic tank should've popped up during a basic survey or something.
- Good point about simpler methods—sometimes less really is more, especially if your land naturally drains well.
- Still, grading upfront can save headaches later if soil conditions aren't ideal. Learned that the hard way myself...
- Surprised the septic didn't show up earlier though, maybe inspection missed it?
"Surprised the septic didn't show up earlier though, maybe inspection missed it?"
Yeah, inspections can be hit or miss sometimes—had one property where the inspector completely overlooked an old well. Found it myself when I nearly twisted an ankle stepping into a hidden hole... fun times. But seriously, anyone had luck finding affordable land that's naturally well-drained without needing major grading? Seems like every "hidden gem" I've come across lately needs more work than it's worth.
I feel your pain on the hidden surprises—our inspector missed a buried oil tank, which was a whole ordeal. Anyway, about naturally well-drained land, have you checked out areas near gentle slopes or slightly elevated terrain? We lucked into a spot on a mild hillside, and drainage has been great without any major grading. Might be worth scouting around places with subtle elevation changes rather than flat parcels... could save you some headaches later.
