Concrete strip necessary by exterior basement walls?
We bought a row house 15 years ago and my husband did not want to remove at least a two-foot strip of concrete around the perimeter of the house in the back yard. He argued that it helped keep water away from the foundation. I would like all the concrete gone because it’s just not great looking. I was reading that concrete is not necessary that just important to make sure yard drains away from walls. Am I right?
Ohwell
in General Discussion 2 days ago
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4 replies
Brownstone Home Inspection | 2 days ago
to cate’s point about termites, some plants can attract them. but this is the problem with these brownstones and other houses with cellars fully below grade: the wood supports and joists for the basement/garden apt/english basement are below grade. this means those wood elements get wet (wood destroying organisms require moist environments, take the moisture away and they fail to thrive) and termites can find their way in through cracks in the stone foundations.
most of these houses have some old termite damage at the front or rear, in the joists. this usually only becomes a problem when a contractor comes along and lays a 2″ thick bed of concrete down for tile and the joist sags and cracks the mortar bed and tile.
The construction of these old mass masonry houses is different than modern houses and that is both good and bad. it is good because they are not wood frame and usually do not have studs around the perimeter holding the second floor up – so termites might have come in and eaten a couple of moist joists at the front or rear of the house but they did not start chewing their way around a rim joist and up studs (be careful here: old wood frames have plates or rim joists). the bad thing about the brownstone construction (when compared to modern frame construction) is that the joists supporting the basement floor are below grade. on a modern house, the foundation rises like 18″ above grade keeping the rim joist dry and making it hard for termites to access.
There are plantings that can deter termites but when people start putting a lot of plants around the backs of these houses, that tends to hold moisture and that is an issue (we need these houses to breath and dry out). So i am not sure what you would put down in lieu of the concrete.
cate | 2 days ago
House tours also offer ideas. The PLG tour this past weekend had a ton of beautifully designed gardens. The next tour is the Bed Stuy house tour in October. Park Slope was in May.
cate | 2 days ago
You cannot have plants up against the house, and just plain dirt is not functional and doesn’t look nice either. All of that can lead to leaks, termites, and bugs in the cellar (and tracking mud into the house).
We have plantings in containers and a painted metal table and chairs on our concrete (as well as window boxes, an electrical outlet, and a hose bib on the back of the house) . It’s a very handy area for outdoor projects also.
Many people also put in bluestone patios rather than concrete as part of landscaping. You can see lots of examples of how people handle this area and see what you like in real estate listings, local gardeners’ online portfolios, and Brownstoner’s “Insider” (garden) column. If you search on the tag “Insider” or “gardening” on this website, you’ll bring up some garden design posts.
Brownstone Home Inspection | 2 days ago
In my experience, most of that concrete leaks at the joints anyway with the joint along the rear of the house being the worst. some people seal them. and, if it is only 2′ wide, hydrostatic pressure push water underground toward your house, if the soil does not readily drain, in spite of the strip. houses all over have basement water issues even with concrete out front.
if i were to remove that, i might dig some earth out in a direction sloping away from the houses and fill it with river rock to help lead water away from the house. (we had a water issue here and i needed to move water across my yard and dug a trench with a pipe and stone in it to move it to a place it would drain more readily into the soil).
if you dig down a few feet, you can also add positive side water proofing but i would only do that if you know you have a problem.
steve
brownstonehomeinspection.com