What is the consequence of ground that slopes toward the foundation?

Grade sloping toward a foundation delivers every rainfall and every snowmelt to the base of the wall, and the backfill there is the worst possible place to put it. Backfill is disturbed soil, looser and more permeable than the undisturbed ground around it, so water infiltrating beside the wall runs preferentially straight down to the footing. Once there it produces hydrostatic pressure against the wall and against the joint between wall and footing, and it works inward through any crack, form tie, pipe penetration or porous section of masonry. Below-grade waterproofing and the footing drain are the only remaining defences, and both are buried, ageing and expensive to correct. That is the whole argument for fixing the grade: it is the cheapest layer and the only one that stops the water before it becomes pressure.

Water directed at the wall soaks into the permeable backfill, travels down to the footing and exerts pressure against the foundation, working inward through cracks and penetrations. Grade is the first and cheapest defence against that.

Positive drainage requires grade to fall away from the foundation over the first several feet. Backfill adjacent to a foundation is more permeable than surrounding soil, so infiltration there reaches the footing directly and produces hydrostatic pressure.

Grade Is the Cheapest Layer. Everything behind it — waterproofing, drain tile — is buried and expensive. Turn the water away up top.

Correlate exterior grade with interior evidence at the same elevation. Efflorescence or staining inside on the wall the grade slopes toward is the confirming observation.

• •Recommending interior sealing before correcting exterior grade
• •Treating negative grade as a landscaping preference
• •Missing grade reversal caused by settled backfill or added beds