Raised flower bed and drainage issues...

james20721

15 years ago

I purchased a 108 year old house in November of 2007. This spring we had 5" of rain in less than two days and my basement flooded. A down spout was missing and the property has a negative slope at the foundation. I have 3 skids of concrete wall block available to build a low flower bed. I have attached some pictures to help you understand my plan. Maybe fixing the down spour fixed the problem but I'd like some insurance so I want to move more water away from the foundation.

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The problem area is to the right of the stairs. It has a very slight negative slope within 3 feet of the foundation. After 3 feet the landscape slopes to the road and is carried away. I am thinking about building a raised bed 8"-16" tall. I saw where one person placed plastic sheeting at the base of a foundation and behind the wall and then added 12" of soil on top for planting. Other people choose to install a drain system behind the wall. How do I decide which way to go?

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This is view from the stairs to end of the family room on the side of the house. The landscape slopes to my gravel driveway.

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This pictures shows the beginning of the familty room (converted porch) and the main problem. The water pools here and saturates the foundation block walls. Would it help to dig down a few inches and waterproof the brick and block wall? The raised bed will extend from the step to the end of family room.

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This view is from the steps to the edge of the family room. At the end of the wall I can direct the water away from the property.

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Once it turns the corner it pools on the concrete and saturates the foundation at the side of the house. When I pour a new patio that will correct the problems on the side of the house. So what should I do to fix what I hope is a minor drainage problem?

Thank in advance for your input.

James

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Comments (4)

laag
15 years ago
What do you expect the wall to do that just filling and pitching won't do? I'm not saying there is no difference. I'm just wondering what it might be in this situation.
james20721
Original Author
15 years ago
I thought about just filling and pitching but I have the wall blocks just sitting in the driveway looking for a home. Also, SWMBO wants the low flower bed and then a curved ground level bed in front of that. I hope the wall will help keep even more water away from the foundation. we have had lots of rain but no more wet basement in the past few weeksbut I still feel the need to take action before we get another 5" in 2 days.
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Gravel or coarse sand added to an entire planting area can help to improve drainage because it introduces spaces in between the soil particles for water to penetrate, but it takes quite a lot to have much of an effect. And it needs to be fully incorporated into the soil to a significant depth, not applied as a layer. The accepted horticultural convention is that organic matter (i.e. compost) is preferred for this purpose, as its decomposition over time improves soil fertility and structure in addition to increasing the pore space. The incorporation of the gravel or compost into the entire planting area is the same theory behind not amending individual planting holes - amending creates situations of different soil structure adjacent to each other - this impedes root development as well as water penetration. It's called soil interface issues and if your "landscaper" is self-taught or long out of school, he may not be familiar with the both the theory and the current practices. Establishing a border of drain rock at the front base of the wall where it meets the lawn (or whatever) should help to reduce the wading pool effect. It is a pretty common application here with heavy, poorly draining NW soils and if deep and wide enough, relatively effective. It can even have the appearance of a dry stream bed (or mostly dry) and become part of the garden aesthetic as well as being a highly functional application.
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wellspring
15 years ago
No expert here. Not at all. But I'm wondering whether She Who Must might rethink her desire.

Water is funny stuff. There might be an advantage to keeping your solution to the primary problem as simple as possible. The primary problem is getting water away from the foundation. Below gradeÂsomewhereÂthere are tiny, or huge, cracks permitting water to enter your basement. I'm not good with the details you're imagining, but I'd want to keep it simple, if it were me. I also have little interest in a raised bed that would be under the eaves of the roof, if I'm getting this in my head right? SoÂyou'd be watering the raised bed? Sounds like rain is providing more than enough water in this equation without putting yourself in the position of having to water plant material right up against the foundation, raised bed or not.

Or am I totally missing the picture?

Wellspring -- who has lived through the mystery of water seepage and negative gradeÂnow rectified.
tracyvine
15 years ago
Hi James, I was wondering if those steps are new concrete steps and if the house was tuckpointed recently before you bought it? The reason I ask is that there appears to be some very recent work done in those areas that you are having problems with (notice the lighter color of the mortar in the joints of the brick surrounded by darker mortar joints in picture 3). Was there settling around the steps and was the footer replaced or were the stairs just re-pointed with new slabs layed for the treads? I also see a long vertical joint that looks like it was caulked near your family room.

You may have some deeper settling issues that were camouflaged with some touch ups. I would like to advise you to call a bricklayer in to see if there is a problem that you may need to worry about with the foundation walls. You may have already addressed the issue permanently by diverting the water. But I would advise checking into it with a professional before you do any more work around that section of the house. An estimate will not cost you but you will have some peace of mind before you invest any more time, effort and energy into it.

Raised flower bed and drainage issues...

Comments (4)

laag

james20721
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Raised flower bed and drainage issues...

Comments (4)

laag

james20721Original Author

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tracyvine

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james20721
Original Author