Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT Lodi Motors

[fourmotioneer]

Without being there in person to see, its hard to tell...BUT, I have fought water at my house for years and have learned (the hard way), that anytime I change anything water mitigation is in my train of though.

All that said, if water is pooling now, its going to keep pooling and likely get worse over time as things continue to erode. One question is, can it only be done now or can it be done later? Even if later, is there ever going to be a cheaper/more opportune time to do it, either way if you have the opportunity to direct it in another direction and keep it from pooling, I would say yes

I’m sold on the pooling fixes for the specific area it’s pooling. And leaning toward the best practice improvements as well, even if the benefits are less tangible.

It’s the best time to do it for sure. I also like tying the performance of the deck moving forward to the work done by this crew to minimize finger pointing. No “well you didn’t let us grade it” conversations

My main question now is are the rocks just builder OCD or should I expect some benefits? I like the idea but I don’t hate money either

 

[Trapps]

Water is the enemy. Anything you can do to mitigate it is worthwhile for the reasons you've already listed. Rocks/stone/gravel take up volume but allow water to pass through. At my home the addition of rocks also forced the chipmunks and rabbits to relocate during construction. They have not moved back in. Your builder might have OCD, but in this case it seems beneficial. Just ensure the water has somewhere to go away from the house

You're in this place for a longer haul I think, invest now and reap those benefits as early as possible.

 

[fouckhest]

As Trapps said, the rocks do have a benefit. I personally like rocks, even for flower beds, specifically for the reduction of future maintenance

 

[FullRaceMerc]

We always grade for water to flow away from the footing. Here it's required to pass inspection. If the situation calls for it we also waterproof the footing, install french drain with gravel, & drain it to daylight or a sump pump. But in most cases grading the surface is adequate. And even with the french drain below the surface is stiil dirt graded away from the house.

There are cases where raingutters & properly placed downspouts can improve the situation.

We don't normally use plastic on the surface. If we did, we'd probably use rocks on top to protect it from sun damage. But allowing the surface to wet & dry naturally seems better in most cases, as long as the surface flow is away from the footing. When we put rocks down, we use a weed screen that allows water to pass thru but prevents weed growth. Trapping water under plastic doesn't sound good.

 

[fourmotioneer]

We always grade for water to flow away from the footing. Here it's required to pass inspection. If the situation calls for it we also waterproof the footing, install french drain with gravel, & drain it to daylight or a sump pump. But in most cases grading the surface is adequate. And even with the french drain below the surface is stiil dirt graded away from the house.

There are cases where raingutters & properly placed downspouts can improve the situation.

We don't normally use plastic on the surface. If we did, we'd probably use rocks on top to protect it from sun damage. But allowing the surface to wet & dry naturally seems better in most cases, as long as the surface flow is away from the footing. When we put rocks down, we use a weed screen that allows water to pass thru but prevents weed growth. Trapping water under plastic doesn't sound good.

Appreciate the feedback. In this case, the application is beneath a covered deck that has gutters and downspouts. Would that change your opinion on the plastic and rocks?

This is for the portion on the left under the porch

 

[FullRaceMerc]

Appreciate the feedback. In this case, the application is beneath a covered deck that has gutters and downspouts. Would that change your opinion on the plastic and rocks?

This is for the portion on the left under the porch

I'd be thinking about water that gets under the plastic. Does it have somewhere to go? How well does the soil drain? Seeing your pic of the puddle makes it seem like you might want to allow some evaporation. If moisture can't escape somewhere, water saturated soil can get pretty foul.

 

[fourmotioneer]

I'd be thinking about water that gets under the plastic. Does it have somewhere to go? How well does the soil drain? Seeing your pic of the puddle makes it seem like you might want to allow some evaporation. If moisture can't escape somewhere, water saturated soil can get pretty foul.

My thought is that it would be graded away from the house and most would be above the plastic due to the porch roof

Definitely do see your point on saturated soil. The house is on soil that percs but based on the water in the pic perhaps that isn’t true everywhere

 

[fourmotioneer]

Photos below show that the garden (uncovered) is above the level of the footings and the drains onto foundation area. I’m thinking grading here will definitely be worthwhile. As for the rock, I’m less convinced but it’s likely better for erosion?

 

[fouckhest]

Rock lets water move, which is use case dependent

 

[fourmotioneer]

Water is the enemy. Anything you can do to mitigate it is worthwhile for the reasons you've already listed. Rocks/stone/gravel take up volume but allow water to pass through. At my home the addition of rocks also forced the chipmunks and rabbits to relocate during construction. They have not moved back in. Your builder might have OCD, but in this case it seems beneficial. Just ensure the water has somewhere to go away from the house

You're in this place for a longer haul I think, invest now and reap those benefits as early as possible.

Missed your comment yesterday but appreciated.

Definitely want my builder to be OCD. We had a good discussion this morning at my house and we are moving forward with full dirt and rocks.

Yeah, we will be here another 20 years at least. Looking at it exactly as you stated - looking to reap the benefits. And right now the benefits take priority over everything else

 

[fouckhest]

One thing I've also come to force myself to acknowledge in recent years is the fact that, "its never going to be cheaper" to do it. Combined that with when you have a trustworthy builder or anyone to do work, better get it done while you can.

 

[fourmotioneer]

Rock got delivered for underneath the front porch. Fill dirt will arrive next week and will precede the rock application.

Material is piling up currently but should start to deplete once engineer does his part next week. Was advised that drawings shouldn’t be too expensive and that it’s a 2-3 day turnaround. Of course, will be upfront with engineer about expectations when we meet on Monday




Here you can see where the rocks will live. At the far end is the small vent on the concrete driveway side of the house, about 100ft away