Drainage issues, siding near grade.

[IDASHO]

My wife and I bought the house we are in now just about 2 years ago, and I am still sorting through its issues. It was built in the mid 70's, so it has a FEW

This one is more serious than anticipated. And I need some suggestions on how to fix it. I have a few ideas, but id like to hear yours.

These photos show my problem area. This is the front of the house, right next to the wrap-around driveway we have. There is a small rock filled (and tree leaf covered ) area right next to the house that comes in contact with the siding.

The siding is actually BELOW the elevation of the concrete slab. And the street elevation is even above the slab.
This is a corner that tends to collect water from rain and snow.

The problem is serious enough that part of that wall has rotted studs probably due standing water in that rock bed.

One of my ideas is to cut the wall open, replace the rotten framing, pour a concrete curb right against the stemwall/next to the framing, then install the siding, with it ending at the curb.

Any thoughts?

 

[Stouttrout]

Could you dig it out, put gravel in it and put a french drain leading to a lower area in the yard? If water gets up next tot he siding or it stays wet it will wick the water up into the wall. This is probably the reason for the rotten studs.

 

[kbs2244]

Get the bottom end of that downspout aimed somewhere else.
You are draining half your roof right to that spot.

 

[PAToyota]

Can't quite see clearly, but looks like the downspout goes into a boot rather than spills to grade.

 

[Stouttrout]

Or, just concrete the area in. You talking about that planer area right?

 

[IDASHO]

Yes, the downspout goes into a gutter drain. NONE of the water off of the roof hit the ground.

Pouring a concrete slab in there would not help the problem. Probably make it worse.

A french drain is a possibility, and one I seemed to overlook. It still doesnt address the actual problem of the siding being so low.

 

[Moodster]

French drain to divert the water to a lower elevation. However instead of covering the drain with dirt, use washstone then some decorative stone on top of that. That way water can't be retained in the ground.

david

 

[5wndwcpe]

Well, this probably entails the most work, but since you're considering opening the wall up to replace the damaged wood, why not just shore up the wall on the inside, cut all of the studs back and run a course or two of block. If that would make the wall too thick (projecting into the house) then form and pour a foundation. Install a pressure treated plate and sister in new studs if any of the existing studs are too short. Parge the outside and then run your french drain. From the photos, it doesn't appear as though grading away from the foundation is much of an option so the drain may be a necessary evil no matter what. Get the cat to help.

 

[Kevin54]

To properly fix it, you need to get the grade below the top of the foundation. Gravel is fine but I see you have snow. So any snow in the winter is still going to lay against the house for a prolonged period and you will get water off of that. My concern would be termites. Can you post an aerial shot of the problem area. Like stand on the roof and shoot a pic down and out? Is it possible to remove some of the drive and concrete, redo the grade, then have new asphalt put in? Whichever way you go it is going to cost. Especially when redoing some studding. But it will need to be fixed now or it will only get worse. Once water damage and rot starts it does not reverse itself. An overhead shot of the area would help determine a route to go.

 

[IDASHO]

Increasing the height of the actual stemwall is another idea I have, but not one I want to implement. The front of th ehouse is on a perimeter foundation, so increasing the stemwall height not only runs into wall problems, but floor problems as well, as the joists are sitting on that stemwall.

I didnt get a chance to take a photo today, but I did dig up this photo of the house before we moved in. The lay of the land is quite flat on the streetside of the home, but slopes ever so slightly towards the house. And that corner is simply a problem spot... it all goes there. And during the winter snow drifts against the front of the house, and even swirls in that corner, creating even more 'interesting' drifts.

Here is one photo from this winter.... actal snow fall that week was in the 12-16 inches range. But the drifts against the house were more like 3 FEET deep.

 

[kbs2244]

This may sound strange, but strange solutions for strange problems.
If the lot slopes away from the house in the back yard, could you put a dry well in that bad corner and run a drain from it through the crawl space or basement and out the back side of the house?
I am thinking something like those plastic sump pump containers with the 4 inch holes in them for the perimeter drains.
One of the holes hooked up to a 4 inch pipe through the house. The container filled rock going from fist sized at the bottom down to golf ball sized at the surface.
Any water that drains into the container will just keep on going. The crawl space or basement should be warm enough to keep anything from freezing up.

 

[IDASHO]

Interesting idea, but I dont feel like boring a couple of 4" holes through a 30+ year old, 8 inch thick foundation stem-wall

Can you say.... "Ill need dynamite?"

 

[kbs2244]

That is what the local high school kids are for.

 

[randii]

If it were me, come springtime, I'd excavate where all the gravel is, and get at least a foot down on the 'well' that is formed between the house, the steps, and the driveway. On a nice dry day, FLOOD that sucker with a garden hose -- fill it up and see where the water drains... it may be as simple as doing this, covering the bottom with landscape fabric, and backfilling with gravel, if there is sufficient natural drainage. If not, then you will probably need to run a French drain under the front steps and all along the front of the house, with a decent leach-off extension past the house (it looks lower, from the picture you posted)... if you do the French drain, take a good look at possibly including the water from the down-spout here, as well.

Make sure you get the slope at least 1 inch per 10 feet... I like a quarter-inch per foot if terrain allows it. I'd use a large perf pipe to guarantee that you fix the problem, and don't forget to put a few inches of gravel UNDER the perf pipe, as well as backfillining with it. When you backfill, keep the gravel well under the foundation -- the drainage is a much easier fix than the rotted studs will be - I hope your joists are solid.

Randii (dug WAY too many French drains at my new house, thanks to the 'landscaping' faux pas of the previous owner)

 

[rancherbill]

Here's my thoughts.

The area is wet from the runoff. When the soil gets from the runoff the moisture wicks into the concrete. It then wicks into the framing and siding resulting in the rot that you are seeing. The solution from code in my area and from my personal experience is two parts.

Repair the wall and put some poly on the concrete and the a treated 2 x 4.

For the wet soil problem I love Bituthene. It is a thick poly barrier that is backed by a rubber like substance. Prep the wall and concrete with their primer. It will stick extremely well. It will provide a barrier for moisture getting in the soil/concrete and into the wall on the surface runoff.

http://www.na.graceconstruction.com/waterproofing/download/BIT-260G.pdf

I'm learning CAD and did a little drawing.