Exterior grading is one of the most important aspects of protective foundation maintenance. Rerouting storm water away from the residence or building is specified in code. New construction code recommends grading 10 inches high sloped down and out 10 feet. That can't always be achieved nor either necessary on older construction homes...a lot of times the ground or yard falls away from the house to help make a natural grade. 

Older code specifications allowed the trench around the foundation to be filled with left over construction debris with the thought from regional and international coding engineers at the time, that would create voids in the ground against the foundation thus helping the storm water to drain away more effectively from the foundation. Since then IRC code has addressed that issue. In older homes that were constructed under the older codes, construction debris rotted and fell apart and the soil collapsed next to the foundation creating a fall toward the foundation. That is definitely a problem on the foundation that can lead to increased hydrostatic pressure and reduced structural integrity on the foundation walls from storm water that can cause bowing and cracking and moisture egress, and we fix that problem. That is one of the many issues we fix. When we finish the job, it's done right!