landscape rocks near house foundation

harmonica

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2017
43,841
20,009
2,300
can I put landscaping rocks along the side of my house?
I've been researching and it says do not let the soil dry out at the foundation
our climate is not dry
I was thinking of maybe only a 6 inch trim
 
can I put landscaping rocks along the side of my house?
I've been researching and it says do not let the soil dry out at the foundation
our climate is not dry
I was thinking of maybe only a 6 inch trim

No problem.
I have about a foot and a half wide strip of bull rock between the house and the flower beds with poly border between the bed and the rock.
It allows the water from the downspouts to flow out to the driveway and it keeps it from washing out the flower beds.
 
can I put landscaping rocks along the side of my house?
I've been researching and it says do not let the soil dry out at the foundation
our climate is not dry
I was thinking of maybe only a 6 inch trim
My house is practically on a swamp.
In summer + 35 degrees Celsius, in winter - 40
I have a path along the house.

There are no problems with the foundation.
But, it should be said that my foundation is "fully buried", that is, its depth is 1.3 meters. This is lower than the depth of freezing.

There may be other problems:
On this path grow weeds, which prevent walking and look ugly. To ensure that they do not spread, it is necessary to put geotextiles
 
can I put landscaping rocks along the side of my house?
I've been researching and it says do not let the soil dry out at the foundation
our climate is not dry
I was thinking of maybe only a 6 inch trim
My house is practically on a swamp.
In summer + 35 degrees Celsius, in winter - 40
I have a path along the house.

There are no problems with the foundation.
But, it should be said that my foundation is "fully buried", that is, its depth is 1.3 meters. This is lower than the depth of freezing.

There may be other problems:
On this path grow weeds, which prevent walking and look ugly. To ensure that they do not spread, it is necessary to put geotextiles

Yep..ya gotta be sure to lay down this stuff before laying the rock down.
upload_2018-9-21_13-31-32.jpeg

The other plus of diverting water along your slab in the south is it keeps the soil moist which in turn keeps your slab from moving and cracking.
 
can I put landscaping rocks along the side of my house?
I've been researching and it says do not let the soil dry out at the foundation
our climate is not dry
I was thinking of maybe only a 6 inch trim
My house is practically on a swamp.
In summer + 35 degrees Celsius, in winter - 40
I have a path along the house.

There are no problems with the foundation.
But, it should be said that my foundation is "fully buried", that is, its depth is 1.3 meters. This is lower than the depth of freezing.

There may be other problems:
On this path grow weeds, which prevent walking and look ugly. To ensure that they do not spread, it is necessary to put geotextiles

Yep..ya gotta be sure to lay down this stuff before laying the rock down.
View attachment 217778
The other plus of diverting water along your slab in the south is it keeps the soil moist which in turn keeps your slab from moving and cracking.
should I put this stuff down ?
 
can I put landscaping rocks along the side of my house?
I've been researching and it says do not let the soil dry out at the foundation
our climate is not dry
I was thinking of maybe only a 6 inch trim
My house is practically on a swamp.
In summer + 35 degrees Celsius, in winter - 40
I have a path along the house.

There are no problems with the foundation.
But, it should be said that my foundation is "fully buried", that is, its depth is 1.3 meters. This is lower than the depth of freezing.

There may be other problems:
On this path grow weeds, which prevent walking and look ugly. To ensure that they do not spread, it is necessary to put geotextiles

Yep..ya gotta be sure to lay down this stuff before laying the rock down.
View attachment 217778
The other plus of diverting water along your slab in the south is it keeps the soil moist which in turn keeps your slab from moving and cracking.
should I put this stuff down ?

Absolutely.
It keeps weeds from growing among your rocks.
You can see a few weeds growing in my rocks but thats after 12 years of decomposing plant matter that turned to soil.

And the best part?
When it comes time to clean out the soil in your rocks ya just grab the weed barrier and peel it up and put your rocks on the driveway or better yet a large strainer like from a crawfish pot and hose em down and put em back.
With new barrier material obviously.
 
Why should you never let your foundation dry out? I have never heard such a thing.
 
Why should you never let your foundation dry out? I have never heard such a thing.
The Dirt Shrinks Away From The Foundation
During Heavy Rains
You May Get Some Flooding In The Basement/Garage
There May Be Other Structural Issues, Like Cracking
 
Save yourself a whole lot of trouble.

Find a reputable landscaper and get their opinion. They will be able to get what you need and install it.
 
Save yourself a whole lot of trouble.

Find a reputable landscaper and get their opinion. They will be able to get what you need and install it.
..I'm not too worried about it, so I don't want to spend too much
 
Why should you never let your foundation dry out? I have never heard such a thing.
The Dirt Shrinks Away From The Foundation
During Heavy Rains
You May Get Some Flooding In The Basement/Garage
There May Be Other Structural Issues, Like Cracking
May explain why my car port doesn't have a crack in it and my across the street neighbors is cracked like an egg with lots of trip hazards from dislodgement. Mine is built on a foundation with a crawlspace underneath. His is built directly on the ground.
 
Why should you never let your foundation dry out? I have never heard such a thing.
The Dirt Shrinks Away From The Foundation
During Heavy Rains
You May Get Some Flooding In The Basement/Garage
There May Be Other Structural Issues, Like Cracking
May explain why my car port doesn't have a crack in it and my across the street neighbors is cracked like an egg with lots of trip hazards from dislodgement. Mine is built on a foundation with a crawlspace underneath. His is built directly on the ground.
Your whole house is probably like that, that was not uncommon in some regions many, many years ago. About the only place you'll see that today is in commercial construction, now a days it's almost prohibitively expensive for a home, it's at least double the cost of a slab.
 
Why should you never let your foundation dry out? I have never heard such a thing.
The Dirt Shrinks Away From The Foundation
During Heavy Rains
You May Get Some Flooding In The Basement/Garage
There May Be Other Structural Issues, Like Cracking
May explain why my car port doesn't have a crack in it and my across the street neighbors is cracked like an egg with lots of trip hazards from dislodgement. Mine is built on a foundation with a crawlspace underneath. His is built directly on the ground.
Your whole house is probably like that, that was not uncommon in some regions many, many years ago. About the only place you'll see that today is in commercial construction, now a days it's almost prohibitively expensive for a home, it's at least double the cost of a slab.

My whole house is like that. Crawlspace with a vapor barrier. 40 years old, dry as a bone underneath, very few settling cracks. The only real crack I have that is bothersome is where the walk from the front door and the driveway meet. It is direct poured on ground and there is a bit of a collision of grades at that spot as the driveway runs on a north-south slope and the walk runs on an east-west slope. I will grind it down and patch it on of these days. Not too bad. Just a slight dislodgement and crack.

I apparently got lucky. Not long after getting it, me and a couple neighbors were standing out in the street talking and this old guy came along who has lived around the corner since before the subdivision was built. He told me the name of the builder on my house and said he was the best guy in the city at the time. Said he built high quality houses intended to last. Said, "As far as houses, you bought a tank." The guy with the messed up carport is always comparing and complaining he got the short end of the stick on his house because of all the stupid things like I have higher quality foundation vents, lots of details, crown molding, etc etc etc.
 

Forum List

Back
Top