Creating a Front Garden -- Waterproofing?
We’re planning to create a front garden because we have to re-do the cement in our front yard anyway. Do we need to put some kind of waterproof membrane under the soil to prevent water from running into our cellar? Or do people just put in topsoil and plant, same as in the back yard? Thanks.
cate
in General Discussion 9 years and 3 months ago
12
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12 replies
anotherposter | 9 years and 3 months ago
By the way, we love our front garden. No regrets about putting it in.
jahmel1018 | 9 years and 3 months ago
We installed a ‘front garden’ ~ 20 square feet. No problems with water getting into the house, BUT a nearby tree’s roots keep sucking water from the plants in the garden.
anotherposter | 9 years and 3 months ago
The wall we put in wasn’t straight up and down, it was pitched away from the house, as is the stonework on the ground around it.
murph | 9 years and 3 months ago
Look in the cellar to see if you have had water infiltration damage at the foundation wall nearest the outside cut or if water has risen up through the floor. If yes, check if the outside cut is near the foundation wall. That is bad. Keep it away. Also, check if the street surface slopes towards your foundation wall. Not good. On a dry hot day fill any nearby walkway or sidewalk cracks with driveway filler(first, remove any weeds or dirt and power wash as best as you can). Look at roadway for any uphill cracks. Do the same. You can now attack any foundation wall damage from the inside. Power wash surface, scrape away any loose stucco, dig out any soft mortar between stones or blocks. Fill gaps with hydraulic cement(it expand to seal space). ‘Paint’ wall with exterior waterproof paint.
Wait for the next Sandy, open a beer, have a seat and see if it works.
cate | 9 years and 3 months ago
Thank you so much everybody, all of this is so helpful.
mh | 9 years and 3 months ago
Hi Cate!
Lots of good suggestions above. In general, you want your front yard garden closest to the sidewalk, not next to your house. The most important thing is to get the pitch right, so rain water flows downhill, away from your house and towards the planting bed.
If you take care of this essential bit, you don’t need to worry about a water barrier; water is relentless and seek the lower ground, the best is to make this characteristic work for you (and your plants.)
daveinbedstuy | 9 years and 3 months ago
I think you’ll be fine if you keep it a few feet from the front of the house and replace the cement up to the house there. A small garden od +/- 20 sq. ft. shouldn’t be a problem as long as it’s not up against the foundation.
agdipierro
in General Discussion 9 years and 3 months ago
Use lots of gravel at and around the footing. On the foundation wall sitting on the footing, use waterproofing, a drainage mat, filter fabric, and then soil. Pitch top soil away from house. Of course, the issue then becomes where you start and stop the new waterproofing and how that mates with the existing.
workisfun | 9 years and 3 months ago
If you decide to dig down and install any sort of vertical membrane or subterranean block wall, consider a perforated pipe with gravel at the bottom that eventually runs away from the house. We have a grass front right up to the house and do take in a tiny bit of water after heavy rains., all the way at the floor-wall intersection inside. That’s on my summer list.
anotherposter | 9 years and 3 months ago
We did this. It took a lot of work (digging!) but we had about a 4 foot wall of cinder blocks put on the side of the garden parallel to the house. The top of the wall is well below the surface of the soil and then there’s a membrane (I think roofing membrane) between the blocks and the wall. That membrane comes up to the soil surface. A few years in and we’ve not had water in the house and the garden is thriving so much I’ve had to thin some plants out.
I think some of this depends on your specific spot, but we thought the extra work/cost of the barrier was something we’d rather do than later find out we should have done it.
Also, look out for utility lines when digging in the front yard.
slopefarm | 9 years and 3 months ago
Hi, cate,
Just to add to dave’s point, we have a front garden and have never had water in the garden level or cellar, but the garden is a good 6 feet in front of the house and about 10 feet in front of the front end of the cellar.
If your garden abuts the house, I would consider a vertical barrier down a few feet at the front edge of the house. I agree with dave not to do a rubber membrane or something similar under the garden.
daveinbedstuy | 9 years and 3 months ago
I had a section of the cement cut out to put in a small (maybe 4′ x 4′) garden that was about 5-6′ from the house and never had a water issue. Putting a rubber membrane in to trap the water won’t do your plants any good as it’ll likley keep the roots soaked for too long of periods of time, if not constantly. Once you no longer have a cement base, the water should drain down naturally. That said, if you are putting one right up against the foundation you MIGHT have a problem but that depends upon your foundation. Usually those problems only occur when a lot of water is directed towards the foundations or a rain gutter is emptying right near the foundation.