Gary, why are you doing this? Just curious. You like the look? You want stones there? Water runs downhill, you do know that? If you don't have plastic there, it will still run downhill. That is why there is a slope by your foundation. Just an idea, if you really love the look of rock there, why don't you get bigger rocks? Really pretty big rocks. Get rid of the plastic.

No bb, that is not what I have. I guess I'm still learning. I just remember that when they sold me the hot water heater and boiler, they said it was a "direct vent" type. that's why I reiterated that. I thought a DV was just an appliance which was vented forcefully (horizontally outside of the wall or otherwise) instead of with a chimney type instrument. Thank you for the clarification. My two forced air heating units are in the attic and it's unfinished with a gable vent near them. A lot of (cold) air gets in through the vent when they turn on. Maybe that would do the trick. It does seem that it should somehow get air INTO the living space though. I definately understand what you mean about the negative pressure. I'll have to look closely at my units to see if they are indeed direct vent and if they're even installed properly. The hot water heater has a 3 inch PVC pipe going straight out the side of the house, that's it. The boiler (not hooked up yet) is the same way, near the HWH in the basement in a closet with louvered doors. The two units in the attic have that ven like I described. I need some kind of house audit... but the pros I hired to do the original work should have mentioned all this. I'm just learning this now after reading here for a while. thanks again for all the replies. I'm learning a bit from this. One more thing, I can't stop talking here... lol If I have both vents, in and out, at the same location, would'nt the "out" air just come back "in" with that setup? It would seem like a circle exchange of some kind and you'd suck the "old/bad" air back in.

Difference of application is all. If the original window is still intact (i.e. this was an insert), the reality is that it is plenty well sealed and that is a brick veneer construction. Most customers would look at it as unfinished, but it's not going to leak because of that.

Are you talking about the foundation or a bathroom? In either scenario, you're going to have to put off the inspection until you can hire a new contractor to finish the job correctly. You might want to seek the advice of a lawyer who can determine whether you can sue the first contractor to reimburse you for the work not completed in accordance with your contract.