On 25 Mar 2005 20:38:41 -0800, LT wrote:
Hi all,

I have a small 1000 foot house that seems to be sinking a little...
The back yard has this wooden wall or bench(?) around it. There metal
os sheeting about a foot high covering the length of the back of the
house. I think the previous owners had water problems and this was
their solution.

I don't see the metal sheeting in your photos, but I do see some problems
with the grading of your lot. I like to see at least 6" of clear space
from the ground level to the lowest portion of the siding. If you're
in an area with termites, etc., then you need even more -- check with the
local building codes people. At any rate, I'd be pulling out that
raised planter.

In addition to the 6" vertical clearance to the siding, the ground
should slope away from the foundation at least 1" per foot for the first 6
feet, and the drainpipes should discharge as far away from the house as
possible.

In areas with very expansive soils and cycling between very wet and very
dry, it may be necessary to put in a drip irrigation line near the foundation
to use during the dry season, to keep the soil from heaving the foundation.

The other common mistake people make is to plant too close to the foundation
of a building... especially when the shrubs look so puny when you transplant
them. But they do grow and spread, and if you don't plan for the spread
when you plant, you've either got an endless round of pruning, or you
wind up having to take them back out when they get bigger and rub all the
paint off the siding, or knock against the raingutters, or... or... or...
It's just a whole lot easier and cheaper to set up the area around the
building properly to begin with than it is to have to re-side the house,
or deal with termite damages.

You can use low water groundcovers and mulches right up next to a house
to "dress" the area. Remember that areas under eaves don't get much
water naturally, unless the grading is wrong.