Dirt at house is above lowest brick courses

3051 Views 5 Replies 3 Participants Last post by pmracing, Mar 27, 2009

pmracing

Discussion Starter · Mar 22, 2009

In front of the house the top of foundation is about 8 inches above grade. But on the side, about 3 feet back from the from the front, the foundation steps down considerably. At least three courses of brick are covered with dirt when the dirt is level with the "shared" sidewalk 10 feet away.

it is a severe design flaw. the brick is chicago common and does not last long when wet.

I think my only option is to cover the bottom few courses of brick to protect them from the moisture. can anyone reccomend a good product to seal them, Should I jsut use the back tar spray used on concrete foundations?

Mikeee

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pmracing

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 27, 2009

concretemasonry said:
Definitely a bad construction detail - definitely does not agree with any code or common sense and could be a bad design if the landscaper actually followed the plans. If he did not follow the plans, it is the landscaper's problem.

Coating are just a temporary patch at best if the surface is prepared properly. If it is applied properly, it might last the "guaranteed length of time.

Dick

I don't know what else to do, besides move. the only way to solve it would be to lower the side sidewalk. But then it would be a foot lower than the alley and would be a drainage problem there. but only in the yard, not in our basement...

Mikeeee

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pmracing

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 27, 2009

concretemasonry said:
If you had a masonry wall behind the brick, that would make a difference. Then you would not have to deal with the possibility od moisture damage to the main bearing wall.

Wood below a backfill has a limited life.

it is a solid brick wall about 2 feet above the concrete foundation. then it changes to brick exterior with a concrete block interior.

Maybe that is why they did solid brick for the first two feet. It looked better?

Mikeeee

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