It is hard to see from the pictures I guess. I'm not seeing what I think of as horrible soil erosion as I would expect on a sloped lot. (when I think of erosion I think of a trench or gully extending from that downspout in the picture. I see grass and moss)

About all I'm guessing is that the roof guttering is perhaps leaking at the opposite end from the downspout.

It looks like you are getting splash up onto the foundation from rain coming off the roof in that area. If you go out and observe during the next heavy rain you might be able to tell if the guttering needs adjustment to make sure it slopes tword the downspout enough.

Using some heavy chunky mulch in that area on the ground might help reduce the splash up onto the foundation.

Jhome,
I had a house in CO with this same problem, it was a north facing wall that had very little sun so all I had on that side of the house was moss, dirt, and more moss, everytime it rained I worried about it because the dirt was washing away and water was coming into the basement. I am sorry that I do not have pics to show you, but I will try to explain what I did. I built up the soil so that I had a slope from the side of the house down to the yard, the slope was about 3 feet wide, I then covered it with plastic then with river rock. I also had stepping stone at the edge along the river rock because this side of the house led to the back yard. I was so happy with the end result, the rain was directed away from the foundation and I no longer had the dirt all over the house, nor did I have to try to mow it, trim it, rake it etc. You would not have to use river rock, you could use wood bark or mulch if you want a softer look, but you may want to consider building up the soil a bit to keep the rain water directed away from your foundation. Another note if I may, your downspout should be stretched out straight if you have the room, otherwise that rain water could get into the foundation as well.

Its not a bad erosion problem, but its a bare dirt issue that is typical. Its hard to get anything to grow in first couple feet just outside your foundation. It gets less water, (and you don't want to water it), its soil that has been disturbed by construction, etc. etc.

The first thing you need to do is direct your downspout as far away from your house as you can. This will prevent future water problems for your foundation.

I agree that you should observe the area during a rainfall to make sure your gutters are working properly.

I also agree that mulch, either rock or wood chips, is probably the best solution there. I have a 2' strip of rock mulch next to my foundation on the south and west sides of my house. I have landscaping in front of the strip, so you can't see it.

The problem does not look too bad. The downspout should drain away from the foundation and into something that spreads and dissipates the energy of the water (splash pad, dry well, french drain, etc. depending on severity of problem). Check grading to make sure that grade is sloped away from the foundation. The comments above sound right to me. I would go with rock mulch over organic mulch so you don't have to worry about it washing away and so it can take the force of the water. Watch over the coming year to see if the soil line on the foundation changes.

Thanksfor all the replies. The pictures were taken few months back. I had downspout fixed. It seems that the solution is to add a layer of rock mulch on the side of the house. What kind of rock? Do I need to treat the soil or just dump the rock on the top of the soil? How thick is the mulch layer? I am the first time owner so please provide details as much as possible. Thanks a lot.

J

I agree with tclynx (and Joepyeweed). Something is splashing so look to the gutters. If that green extention of the downspout has always pointed that way, I would expect to see the grass at the end of it matted at the very least if it were the cause. I would also point that extention away from the house (as well as using some sort of splash pad). You may also want to look at the runoff from your driveway, but that's a long shot.

tj

The splash is from the sloping roof section where the are no gutters.

Put down some lamdscape fabric and then gravel on top of that. The front and side edges will need some larger stones or pavers to hold the gravel from sliding away.

Put your downspout back in the same place, on top of the gravel. This should solve your problems.

NO - do not put the downspout back in the same place, its too close to foundation. A downspout should discharge at a at least 5' minimum, if not 10' preferred, away from your foundation.

Water coming out of a downspout, too close to your foundation, will contribute to excess moisture along your foundation walls and possibly water in your basement.

>

This is good advise but there are exceptions.

If the downspout doesn't go back to where it was, then there will be erosion at the outflow that has to be dealt with.

In this case the foundation appears to belong be a garage pad and the ground slopes strongly away from the foundation. I suspect that there will be no flood issues.

Of course there are always exceptions... including a well drained sandy soil and the ways things are constructed...the grade alone is enough to suggest that flooding is not an issue. But what I see on that picture is more than just a garage slab... I see the house siding extending below the garage pad in the back, probably to some type of walk out patio in the rear? Its good construction practice to always direct moisture away from your footings and foundation walls.

And online, when given a little bit of information, I would tend to err on the side of caution, rather than "suspect" anything.

I decide to build rock strip at the side of the house. Should I do something (treatment) to the soil first? Add a landscape fabric and dump the rock on the top? Thanks.

Water is by passing the gutter you have and that is causing soil to splash onto the house as well as washing soil (eroding) away. If you have no plan on planting a flower bed there then a good landscape fabric covered with any kind of stone will help.
Soil should never be left uncovered.

We have no gutters on the back of the house, so we put in a gravel strip. I dug a trench about 2 feet wide and 6 inches deep, then laid landscape fabric in the trench and filled with 3/8" pea stone. If you don't use landscape fabric, you'll end up with weeds. You can get pea stone really cheap if you call around. I think we only paid 2 or 3 dollars per yard for it. The trucking was $20 which cost more than the stone.

-Diggity

While, after looking at the other side of house and neighbours, I think it might make sense to put some plants other than rocks. Any suggestions and details?

jhome,
Where are you again? And what exposure is that location?

There are pros and cons to foundation plantings. Most of the cons have to do with roots, moisture and pests getting at the house.

You need a plant that can take the pounding of water off the roof, your soil, and the sun/zone conitions to your location.

Ground covers and vines are tempting, however, they are usually aggressive and after 4 or so years, people often curse them if they were not a very well researched choice.

People will often still try some sort of weed barrier and stone mulch at least just past the drip line (often 18") (this takes care of the splash up on the house and gives you space to get behind whatever plant you put in place.) After that, what type of plant might you be interested in, ground cover? Shrub? Flowers, Food?

Again, Where are you located so people can recomend plants appropriate to your climate?

I am in Massachusetts. I am thinking about plant shrub.

I would check for soil problems.. maybe you could do some soil diagnostics (in dutch: bodemanalyse) or soil improvement (in dutch: bodemverbetering).