Weekend Project
The inspector had told us the grade around the east and west sides of the house were poor, and it wasn’t long before we started to see the consequences of it: water seeping into the basement during heavy rain. It was just enough water to be a nuisance, all the more so because, without a humidifier, the basement averages seventy-five to ninety percent humidity levels in the summer. So this weekend I had nearly three tons of topsoil delivered and set out to fix the grade.
Before
This is a picture of the east side of the house before my excellent and enthusiastic helper (shown here) and I began working. You can just see the extent of the problem I had to deal with in the concrete sidewalk at the front of the picture—it’s slanting toward the door.
During
As badly as the sidewalk was slanted, it wouldn’t have done any good to put the dirt down on top of it—water would still hit it and then turn the wrong way. I spent much of Saturday breaking the walk up and Sunday morning moving it to the front yard. (Now I have to find someone who’ll take the stuff away.) I’m planning to replace the walk with something permeable in the spring.
After
Here is the new and improved east side of the house. I may have overdone the angle of the grade, but it slants away from the house without a doubt now.I figure it’s easier to take dirt out than it is to put it in.
Update: After After
A week later I dragged up the rest of the pavers we had lying about, laid a stepping-stone walk over the dirt, and filled in the spaces with mulch. In the spring I intend to put in a more permanent walk, but until then, this project is finished.
