Building/Foundation/Grade

[GlockSpock]

So, what was a relatively minor issue has exacerbated after having a few trees cut. Now an imperfect grade is causing some water to pool near/at my foundation. I'm fully in mind to get this fixed via gradework and also level up my backyard for enjoyment's sake. I was talking to a buddy, whom I usually trust without question on most manners in life, and he thinks I should add a few inches of dirt against my foundation.

The best I can find regarding building codes for the area is this:

http://www.clevelandtn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2041/FOUNDATION-WALL-INSPECTION-CHECKLIST?bidId=

Simply states that 6" minimum projecting above the finished grade.

This is the exact side of the house in question:

As long as there is 6" between the wood and finished grade, will that be ok?

[MacGyver]

Personally, I’d want a little more space between soil and wood than 6” - just to deal with splashing and misdirected weed eaters.

Is your crawlspace at ground level? As a general rule, if I had a preference - I’d rather have the ground inside my crawlspace be a couple of inches higher than the ground outside.

Grading to flow gently away from the house is good - otherwise just go ahead and plan for the French drain. 

[gregintenn]

Looks good to me. I’d prefer to see what the grade looks like from there to the edge of your property and beyond. Short answer: if you don’t see a path a small river could leave your property without flooding the house, you should mot have built/bought it.

[GlockSpock]

41 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

Personally, I’d want a little more space between soil and wood than 6” - just to deal with splashing and misdirected weed eaters.

Is your crawlspace at ground level? As a general rule, if I had a preference - I’d rather have the ground inside my crawlspace be a couple of inches higher than the ground outside.

Grading to flow gently away from the house is good - otherwise just go ahead and plan for the French drain. 

Well, that probably isn’t an option. Crawl space at roughly ground level compared to outside...which on the back of my house is sloping towards a hill. 
 

That’s options too...French drains. I think I’ll be fine with grade though...should have been done right before me. 

[GlockSpock]

7 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

Looks good to me. I’d prefer to see what the grade looks like from there to the edge of your property and beyond. Short answer: if you don’t see a path a small river could leave your property without flooding the house, you should mot have built/bought it.

Lol. I’m on a relative hill, my backyard is flat but front yard could be one of these carnival rides where you jump in the sack and slide. 
 

If sloped correctly in backyard, I don’t think I’ll have a problem. 
 

@MacGyver Regarding the elevations you discuss, I’d have to take the slope downward going into what is essentially a downslope coming towards my house. 
 

I’ll post more photos later. 

[GlockSpock]

The 1st image is slightly counterclockwise from the 2nd image.

Everything is relatively flat but I have a neighbor "on top of the hill" alluded slightly in the 2nd image. The slope really only begins at his building shown there. I have a slight low spot, shown in the first image, where I've already done some mild work with a shovel and thrown a bit of dirt towards the house in order to make it not low. Most of the grade work will ultimately be to remedy where I had a huge pine tree (shown where my Gorilla Cart is shown in the 2nd photo). I had the stump ground but now would like to add some dirt and make things nice and level before seeding.

Truth be told, I'm 99% sure I could fix the water issue with a shovel and some time. But I think the first step to creating the backyard that I've envisioned is getting it graded.

I'm open to any and all suggestions.

 

 

 

 

[GlockSpock]

Sidenote: I've spoken explicitly with "neighbor 2" whom is hinted at in photo #1. He is ok with me redirecting water towards that direction.

[MacGyver]

It’s remarkable how many minor water issues can be solved with better turf coverage. 

If there’s nothing you care about saving, I’d grade it and seed it.  You’ve got a couple weeks until prime seeding time. Wait too long after that and it’s going to be getting hot before new grass can get established. 

[GlockSpock]

35 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

It’s remarkable how many minor water issues can be solved with better turf coverage. 

If there’s nothing you care about saving, I’d grade it and seed it.  You’ve got a couple weeks until prime seeding time. Wait too long after that and it’s going to be getting hot before new grass can get established. 

Agreed. There was a 3’+ diameter pine I had taken down that prevented sunlight from hitting the area shown as well as showering everything with acidic needles. Now that it’s gone I know I want flat and grass. 
 

Truth be told, I had a total of four pines taken down within 50’ or so that absorbed a lot of water. After taking them down and exposing the ground, water issues got worse and now I’m ready to fix them.

To fix the grade issue, think a few more inches against the foundation will be ok in trading off subpar grade for grade that wicks moisture away?

[GlockSpock]

38 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

It’s remarkable how many minor water issues can be solved with better turf coverage. 

If there’s nothing you care about saving, I’d grade it and seed it.  You’ve got a couple weeks until prime seeding time. Wait too long after that and it’s going to be getting hot before new grass can get established. 

And yeah, I don’t know what you are talking about saving, but I have a scorched earth theory about the backyard and will destroy it all to build it the way I want. 
 

If you are talking about money, let’s just say Biden sent some my way and I figured home improvements were the best combination of investment paired with enjoyment. 

[MacGyver]

24 minutes ago, GlockSpock said:

Agreed. There was a 3’+ diameter pine I had taken down that prevented sunlight from hitting the area shown as well as showering everything with acidic needles. Now that it’s gone I know I want flat and grass. 
 

Truth be told, I had a total of four pines taken down within 50’ or so that absorbed a lot of water. After taking them down and exposing the ground, water issues got worse and now I’m ready to fix them.

To fix the grade issue, think a few more inches against the foundation will be ok in trading off subpar grade for grade that wicks moisture away?

If you’re not getting water in your crawlspace - I don’t know that it really matters.

If you are getting water in your crawlspace - a few inches of soil is also unlikely to matter much.

That said, if you’re grading anyway - gently sloping away from the house at up to a 2% grade is better than flat.  If you need to add a bit of soil to get there - that’s fine. 

[No_0ne]

You can fix some of that issue by creating a "swale" in the backyard to draw water away from the house.  MacGyver is right about the crawlspace, it's better for it to be above the yard grade for drainage purposes.  In older houses, such as mine, the yard surrounding the house "grows" taller over time, due to degradation of clippings and such thus creating additional layers of soil.  This leads to a crawlspace that is no longer above the outside grade, but below.  That's an issue I'm about to deal with myself.  Some areas will be fixed with some leveling/grading away from the house, others with the installation of some sort of curtain drain.  I'm not looking forward to it, but it's time for me to address the problem, as lately water has begun pooling under my house during the monsoon seasons ...