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Confused about foundation grading, water intrusion, etc.
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stry...@yahoo.com
Jun 16, 2015, 10:20:09 AM6/16/15
to
I am re doing my landscaping against the house. On one side during a hard rain I have problems with water in my crawlspace. I decided to re grade by hand the area around my foundation. I know this sounds stupid, but I removed my river gravel mulch. I planed on regarding with crusher run, covering that with 6 mil plastic and at the end of the slope install a French drain. I will wash my river rock and re install it on top of the black plastic. The idea being the slope would slope water into the French drain. The idea of using the crusher run is it would compact good with my hand tamper and would provide an extra weed barrier. (I hate pulling weeds).
I got to reading and am confused. Some sites say you should not add soil or anything against the house when regarding, that you should take away soil where you want the end of the slope. Why is that?
Then I went to a foundation repair site and it said a lot of times, foundation cracking and other problems are caused by the soil not being wet enough. It even recommended adding a soaker hose 18-24 inches from the foundation!
My lot slopes toward the house and my grading has never really been right. My intent was to correct this but I don't want to create a bigger problem.
Any help is appreciated!
I got to reading and am confused. Some sites say you should not add soil or anything against the house when regarding, that you should take away soil where you want the end of the slope. Why is that?
Then I went to a foundation repair site and it said a lot of times, foundation cracking and other problems are caused by the soil not being wet enough. It even recommended adding a soaker hose 18-24 inches from the foundation!
My lot slopes toward the house and my grading has never really been right. My intent was to correct this but I don't want to create a bigger problem.
Any help is appreciated!
Bob F
Jun 16, 2015, 10:49:54 AM6/16/15
to
stry...@yahoo.com wrote:
> I am re doing my landscaping against the house. On one side during a
> hard rain I have problems with water in my crawlspace. I decided to
> re grade by hand the area around my foundation. I know this sounds
> stupid, but I removed my river gravel mulch. I planed on regarding
> with crusher run, covering that with 6 mil plastic and at the end of
> the slope install a French drain. I will wash my river rock and re
> install it on top of the black plastic. The idea being the slope
> would slope water into the French drain. The idea of using the
> crusher run is it would compact good with my hand tamper and would
> provide an extra weed barrier. (I hate pulling weeds).
>
> I got to reading and am confused. Some sites say you should not add
> soil or anything against the house when regarding, that you should
> take away soil where you want the end of the slope. Why is that?
One thing you do not want to do is raise the soil line so that it touches or
> I am re doing my landscaping against the house. On one side during a
> hard rain I have problems with water in my crawlspace. I decided to
> re grade by hand the area around my foundation. I know this sounds
> stupid, but I removed my river gravel mulch. I planed on regarding
> with crusher run, covering that with 6 mil plastic and at the end of
> the slope install a French drain. I will wash my river rock and re
> install it on top of the black plastic. The idea being the slope
> would slope water into the French drain. The idea of using the
> crusher run is it would compact good with my hand tamper and would
> provide an extra weed barrier. (I hate pulling weeds).
>
> I got to reading and am confused. Some sites say you should not add
> soil or anything against the house when regarding, that you should
> take away soil where you want the end of the slope. Why is that?
even gets too close to any wood, such as siding, as that can cause fast rotting
of the wood. That may not be what those sites are talking about.
trader_4
Jun 16, 2015, 12:29:43 PM6/16/15
to
On Tuesday, June 16, 2015 at 10:49:54 AM UTC-4, Bob F wrote:
> stry...@yahoo.com wrote:
> > I am re doing my landscaping against the house. On one side during a
> > hard rain I have problems with water in my crawlspace. I decided to
> > re grade by hand the area around my foundation. I know this sounds
> > stupid, but I removed my river gravel mulch. I planed on regarding
> > with crusher run, covering that with 6 mil plastic and at the end of
> > the slope install a French drain. I will wash my river rock and re
> > install it on top of the black plastic. The idea being the slope
> > would slope water into the French drain. The idea of using the
> > crusher run is it would compact good with my hand tamper and would
> > provide an extra weed barrier. (I hate pulling weeds).
> >
> > I got to reading and am confused. Some sites say you should not add
> > soil or anything against the house when regarding, that you should
> > take away soil where you want the end of the slope. Why is that?
>
> One thing you do not want to do is raise the soil line so that it touches or
> even gets too close to any wood, such as siding, as that can cause fast rotting
> of the wood. That may not be what those sites are talking about.
>
+1
> stry...@yahoo.com wrote:
> > I am re doing my landscaping against the house. On one side during a
> > hard rain I have problems with water in my crawlspace. I decided to
> > re grade by hand the area around my foundation. I know this sounds
> > stupid, but I removed my river gravel mulch. I planed on regarding
> > with crusher run, covering that with 6 mil plastic and at the end of
> > the slope install a French drain. I will wash my river rock and re
> > install it on top of the black plastic. The idea being the slope
> > would slope water into the French drain. The idea of using the
> > crusher run is it would compact good with my hand tamper and would
> > provide an extra weed barrier. (I hate pulling weeds).
> >
> > I got to reading and am confused. Some sites say you should not add
> > soil or anything against the house when regarding, that you should
> > take away soil where you want the end of the slope. Why is that?
>
> One thing you do not want to do is raise the soil line so that it touches or
> even gets too close to any wood, such as siding, as that can cause fast rotting
> of the wood. That may not be what those sites are talking about.
>
It makes no sense to just say you can never raise the soil line.
What if it were too low to begin with? You have to apply some
logic and common sense. If you have a foot between siding and
the existing soil, raising it a couple inches isn't going to
create some disaster. But you also have to look at basement
windows, doors, etc and how what you're doing will affect them.
Beyond that, without seeing the site, hard to give much additional
input. Grade sloping towards the house is not right and a drain
scheme is one way of possibly dealing with it. The talk about
actually putting water at the foundation, I would think that is
probably for some special, non-typical soil conditions.
Oren
Jun 16, 2015, 1:22:23 PM6/16/15
to
On Tue, 16 Jun 2015 09:29:40 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
<tra...@optonline.net> wrote:
>The talk about
>actually putting water at the foundation, I would think that is
>probably for some special, non-typical soil conditions.
I've seen it talked about in cases of heavy clay soil. Some places in
<tra...@optonline.net> wrote:
>The talk about
>actually putting water at the foundation, I would think that is
>probably for some special, non-typical soil conditions.
Texas wet the clay soil to reduce possible foundation problems? Using
drip lines.
cl...@snyder.on.ca
Jun 16, 2015, 9:26:44 PM6/16/15
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foundation.Lay landscaping cloth over the drainage stone and cap with
CLAY to keep (and direct) the water away from the foundation. Slope
the clay away from the house towards the "french drain" Cover the clay
with soil, or another layer of landscape cloth and your decorative
stone.
Make sure your gutters are in good shape and adequate, and pipe the
discharge at least 2 feet out from the foundation. Make sure the
"ground level" at the foundation is at least 6 inched below the bottom
of the siding or the first course of brick
stry...@yahoo.com
Jun 17, 2015, 8:51:42 AM6/17/15
to
I know this is another problem, but I also have cats that paw at my river rock/plastic to use the bathroom. I know it is gross but I cant really stop it. They are the kids cats and at least I have never had a mouse problem. One thought would be the 6 mil plastic under river rock mulch would last longer to this "pawing"....
hrho...@sbcglobal.net
Jun 17, 2015, 9:28:18 PM6/17/15
to
Just do everything reasonable to slope the water-stopping layer away from the foundation at least 18" and 2+ feet is even better. One question is how the water gets into the crawl space, does it come horizontally thru the foundation walls or does it come up thru cracks in the crawl space floor and between the floor and the perimeter walls. If it comes directly thru the walls, solutions are different than if it soaks into the ground and then travels underground and then comes up thru floor craks or the perimeter break between the floor and the walls.
Please let us know what is the situation and we can give much more meaningful responses/.
Please let us know what is the situation and we can give much more meaningful responses/.
stry...@yahoo.com
Jun 18, 2015, 8:37:24 AM6/18/15
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On Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at 8:28:18 PM UTC-5, hrho...@sbcglobal.net wrote:
> Just do everything reasonable to slope the water-stopping layer away from the foundation at least 18" and 2+ feet is even better. One question is how the water gets into the crawl space, does it come horizontally thru the foundation walls or does it come up thru cracks in the crawl space floor and between the floor and the perimeter walls. If it comes directly thru the walls, solutions are different than if it soaks into the ground and then travels underground and then comes up thru floor craks or the perimeter break between the floor and the walls.
>
> Please let us know what is the situation and we can give much more meaningful responses/.
To be honest, I am not 100% sure. It is only on one side of the house. I suspect it is through where the pipe to my septic system goes through. The hole for the pipe is a little bigger than the pipe itself but to be honest I do not know for sure if that is it or not.
> Just do everything reasonable to slope the water-stopping layer away from the foundation at least 18" and 2+ feet is even better. One question is how the water gets into the crawl space, does it come horizontally thru the foundation walls or does it come up thru cracks in the crawl space floor and between the floor and the perimeter walls. If it comes directly thru the walls, solutions are different than if it soaks into the ground and then travels underground and then comes up thru floor craks or the perimeter break between the floor and the walls.
>
> Please let us know what is the situation and we can give much more meaningful responses/.
hrho...@sbcglobal.net
Jun 18, 2015, 10:13:21 PM6/18/15
to
Then fill the space around the pipe with expanding foam as a starter.
Bob F
Jun 18, 2015, 10:37:33 PM6/18/15
to
hrho...@sbcglobal.net wrote:
> Then fill the space around the pipe with expanding foam as a starter.
I'd use a polyurethane caulk, somehow not trusting foam to stand up very well.
> Then fill the space around the pipe with expanding foam as a starter.
cl...@snyder.on.ca
Jun 19, 2015, 9:33:15 PM6/19/15
to
On Thu, 18 Jun 2015 19:37:27 -0700, "Bob F" <bobn...@gmail.com>
wrote:
>hrho...@sbcglobal.net wrote:
>> Then fill the space around the pipe with expanding foam as a starter.
>
>I'd use a polyurethane caulk, somehow not trusting foam to stand up very well.
>
Personally, I'd use hydraulic cement to fill the gap, - from both
sides if possible, and then apply waterproofing mastic over the joint
on the outside.. If the outside is not a possibility, I'd still use
hydraulic cement.
wrote:
>hrho...@sbcglobal.net wrote:
>> Then fill the space around the pipe with expanding foam as a starter.
>
>I'd use a polyurethane caulk, somehow not trusting foam to stand up very well.
>
sides if possible, and then apply waterproofing mastic over the joint
on the outside.. If the outside is not a possibility, I'd still use
hydraulic cement.
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