TL;DR
Final grade is the finished ground surface a builder must establish around a completed structure, shaped to drain water away from the foundation — the IRC calls for a fall of 6 inches within the first 10 feet, or swales and drains where lots are tight. It is checked at the final inspection because backfill settles after rough grading and can reverse the slope.
What it means
Final grade is the finished ground surface a builder must establish around a completed structure, shaped to drain water away from the foundation — the IRC calls for a fall of 6 inches within the first 10 feet, or swales and drains where lots are tight. It is checked at the final inspection because backfill settles after rough grading and can reverse the slope. Negative grade against the foundation is among the most common causes of wet basements diagnosed years later.
Where it sits in the glossary
Final grade is part of the Permits group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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