Hello all,

I bought my first house in July and need some help with how to add soil to the side of my house to help with irrigation. One side of my house has a lot of foundation showing and there are visible gaps where it meets the ground. This could allow water to get in. I purchased ten bags of topsoil because both guys who conducted foundation inspections suggested adding topsoil to the area and grading it at a downward slope. My problem is I have no idea what I'm doing. I've been watering the area the last couple nights because I thought I shouldn't add soil to super dry dirt. Anyway, here are pictures

I'd just really like a simple plan of action, nothing too extensive. Also, in the Spring I plan on having our foundation company build a french drain where those downspout extensions are currently. Thank you!

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

palmej2 t1_it51h8x wrote on October 21, 2022 at 12:01 AM

You should definitely address the slope so water flows away, but soil in direct contact with the foundation can also transmit moisture to the porous concrete.

If you are pouring in the effort I would also grab some crushed gravel and trench around the wall, gravel goes in the trench, soil on top... There are other considerations like grading the trench, potentially a moisture barrier or perforated drain pipe in the bottom, but the details are somewhat dependant on your situation and how much of an issue water is for you. There are plenty of videos and resources on the web.

Material_Community18 t1_it52wms wrote on October 21, 2022 at 12:11 AM

Sounds like a repeat of what I went through when I bought my first house. Here's what took me way too long to learn because I'm a dumbass:

Water comes BOTH down from above and up from below ground
From Above is surface water and is controlled via grading away from the house, catch basins, surface drains and downspout extensions.
From Below is groundwater and is controlled by french (trench) drains and sump pumps.
Do not try to mix the two (putting surface water into french drains or a sump is a no-no.)

OK, now that I have that off my chest:

Yes, sure, add as much soil as you can next to the house as long as you don't get too close to your bottom course of siding or stucco weep holes. You don't want to cause more rot or other problems. If your soil is relatively impermeable (see below) aand graded away from the house, you won't have any problems with *surface* water going into the basement, even if you have gaps (but no amount of grading will help with groundwater, hence the sump pump).

The gaps are mostly a concern for foundation stability or for rodent/pest intrusion. Your foundation may not care if there are gaps depending on the design. If either of these are a concern than you don't actually want topsoil, you want the base to be some kind of engineered road base or backfill mix that will compact and will be less likely to wash away, expand when wet, and is harder for rodents to dig through.

Then on top of that, top soil but "Top soil" is a loose term. If it contains a lot of organic matter and sand, then water will go right through it until it hits something like clay or silt and may drain right back under your foundation. You want plain old DIRT with a decent amount of clay in it so that when it gets wet it becomes impermeable and the water runs off of it. One alternative is heavy plastic sheeting held down by rock, bark, sand, any soil, or small children too stupid to come in from the rain.

fundyswm OP t1_it53yyn wrote on October 21, 2022 at 12:19 AM

Thank you for the advice!

ExoticButters79 t1_it4u02n wrote on October 20, 2022 at 11:04 PM

So this does not extend below grade? Is there a crawl space?

fundyswm OP t1_it4uk61 wrote on October 20, 2022 at 11:08 PM

Our basement is on the other side, so only part of the basement is currently slightly under the ground. The spout goes directly to our sump pump, which is in a corner of a long storage room we have under our front porch.

bkwSoft t1_it5e379 wrote on October 21, 2022 at 1:34 AM

What you are dealing with is a heavy clay topsoil. When this type soil dries out it shrinks. It’s because of this shrinkage that you have a gap along your foundation. The other clue in the photos is all of the cracking in the soil surface, another result of the shrinking.

I wouldn’t use bagged “topsoil” from a big box store to fill in the gap. It’s mostly compost and will remain quite permeable to moisture.

You are better off amending the soil in the area with organic matter and sand to break up the clay and make sure it’s graded to drain away from the foundation. Breaking up the clay should help the soil retain enough moisture and prevent shrinkage.