Making Sure that a Driveway Is Level

Making Sure that a Driveway Is Level

A drive that’s out of level isn’t just unsightly. If your drive slopes the wrong way, you may need to deal with puddles, splitting or even problems with your house’s foundation. Checking your drive for level is a simple procedure which could pinpoint slope problems that require correction.

Placing a Level Line

To check your drive for level, you’ll first need to set up a reference point to measure from. Begin by driving stakes into the Landscaping on both sides of the section of the drive you would like to test, then tie a string taut between the stakes. The string needs to stretch directly over the section that you would like to test. You may need to lay out over one line to cover the area you need to cover. Step up from the ground San Diego to set each end of the string in precisely the exact same height. Use a line level — a small spirit level that hooks onto and slides together the string — to be sure the string is level; adjust one end of the string up or down until the line degree signals that the string is level from one end to another. At this point, you’ve established a degree reference line.

Checking for Level

Once your level line is in place, check your drive for level by measuring the distance from the line to the surface of the driveway. If the drive is perfectly level, the measurement will be the same in all points along the line. If the measurement is smaller in a given stage, the drive is sloping upward at that point, and whether the measurement is bigger, the drive is sloping down at that point. In locations where pavement prevents you from driving stakes and setting a level line, such as in the road end of the drive, you are able to lay a carpenter’s degree directly on the sidewalk to test for level.

Allowing for Slope

Bear in mind that no drive should be perfectly level. A slope built into the drive helps to ensure that water will drain off the sidewalk and not pool in the drive. Driveways are generally sloped away from the home or garage, and they could possibly be crowned from side to side as well, in order that water will run off to the sides of the sidewalk. A normal driveway slopes down 3/16 inch per 1 foot of run.

Leveling a Concrete Driveway

If your drive is out of level since it has settled over time, then the issue is likely due to poor compaction of the ground Fresno under the driveway in the time of the driveway’s installment. An concrete leveling contractor may be able to deliver your driveway back to degree working with a slab-jacking procedure. In this procedure, the contractor obligations holes in the concrete and also injects a fill mixture underneath; the fill mixture increases the concrete slab until the drive is level.