create positive slope when siding is at grade?

pfisch

My concrete block foundation is prone to weeping and sometimes leaking when the ground gets super saturated....couple times a year. The slope around a portion of my foundation is very flat and in some cases slightly negative, especially at an inside corner where the house and garage meet.

I want to increase the grade (+8 inches or so) to create a positive slope away from the house....but.....my garage was built on a slab and the siding (vinyl with clapboard underneath) goes all the way down to grade.

I don't even know where to begin with this. If I remove the first couple rows of vinyl is there any way to cover up the wood clapboard so that I can build up the soil against it?

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Rob

Bob Mariani

I replaced mine with a block wall for the same situation. But possibly your can replace the siding with Hardie cement siding for the below grade area.

Tom Struble

actually hardie siding is not a good choice in areas that stay moist,it will soak up alot of water and start to fail quickly

any siding burried in the ground is going to eventually cause problems the only real cure is poured concrete or masonary units

you possibly could excavate to 6-8'' below where the wood siding starts,trench it 3 or 4 ft wide add a small retaining wall and drainage,add a layer of stone as a ground cover

pfisch

I could avoid adding soil altogether if I went the french drain route. I don't have the option to run it to daylight though...it would have to be a drywell since my yard is pretty flat.

Typically the water does drain pretty well, it's just those few times when everything is over-saturated.

@tomstruble: are you saying the gravel would be up against the vinyl/clapboard?

Tom Struble

well that would be better than dirt but idealy the siding should be 6-8'' above grade

what im saying is to excavate a trench 3-4' wide 6-8'' below the siding add drainage and a retaining wall
between the retaining wall and the garage you could put stone or anyother kind of paving but you should keep the 6-8'' space