How do I keep the soil around my house as dry as possible? What should I put there?
Question:I'm talking of about two feet out from the wall. It gets too DAMP inside; and I don't know if I should put tiles, gravel, cement, moss, conifers, chips, succulent plants.
What do you suggest to keep that soil dry as possible? (It hardly rains here, but being a desert on a beach, much moisture comes up at night, and there is much moisture as one digs deeper into the ground, as well.)
Answers:
It sounds like you have a ground water problem since you stated you are in a dessert area near a beach. You can try to dig a hole about 2 to 4 feet deep and leave it for about a week. Make sure you build a good barrier arround it (allow 4 feet out from edge of hole to barrier to allow for cave in) to prevent anyone from falling into it (especially children or pets). If the hole fills with water, you have a high water table (level below which the ground is saturated with water). Measure the distance from the surface of the water to the normal ground level. The is the height of the water table. This will give you an idea what you are dealing with.
If you are near a beach in sandy soil and your ground level is not much higher than the water, you have a ground water problem.
The water table is usually high by a river, pond or beach. The water will travel freely from the beach to your foundation. You should have a professional foundation/waterproofing contractor check this out. If you attempt to drain the water away from the foundation improperly, you could compromise the structure (the sand / soil may flow away with the water or you may make the moisture problem worse).
Contact the local building department for code requirements.
When looking for a contractor use google and/or yahoo seach on the contractors - check for reliability, complaints, complaint resolution, etc.
Get at least 3 written estimates with detailed work to be done, terms, cost of extras, and gurarntees. A job to rectify groundwater problems in sandy soil can be risky if it is not done correctly.
I have seen gravel and pebbles used to promote better drainage, especially when there is a lot of rain run off from the roof. Pebbles are expensive and very attractive. Depends on your budget.
There are a couple of steps to keeping the soil around your house dry.
First, you need to have functioning, clean rain gutters with down spouts that are directed away from the house.
You can dig a trench around the foundation and install a drain.
Make sure the soil that goes against the house is sloped away from the foundation, for at least 4 feet.
If you do the above steps, you can then add landscaping to add curb appeal and increase the value of your home. This will not add to the moisture problem.
French drain, properly installed.
A sheet of plastic sloping away from the house edge. Weight it down with some thing.
I think you may have a problem with condensation on the interior walls rather than water coming in through the wall. During the day when the air is hot and moist your basement wall is cool and the water condenses on it. The way to stop this is either ventilation or a dehumidifier.
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