Our soil is higher than our siding. What to put against siding to keep soil
away from it. We were wanting to put brick as an outside border but
wondering what to put against the siding?
Al

Al Knight wrote:
Our soil is higher than our siding.

How the hell did that happen?

What to put against siding to keep soil away from it.

Get the soil away from your house or it will rot.

--
Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8b
Sunset Zone 5

Al Knight said:

Our soil is higher than our siding. What to put against siding to keep soil
away from it. We were wanting to put brick as an outside border but
wondering what to put against the siding?

What should you put against the siding? Air. Keep the soil well away from
the siding. Put a nice airspace next to it.

Brick the back side of your planting area, too. Or completely redo the slope
so that the soil line hits the foundation, and not the siding.

Anything other than air up against your siding is rot waiting to happen.
Doesn't matter if it is aluminum siding -- the stuff *behind it* will rot.

I have reasons to know this...
--
Pat in Plymouth MI

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

On Sun, 10 Aug 2003 01:17:00 GMT, "Al Knight" wrote:

Our soil is higher than our siding. What to put against siding to keep soil
away from it. We were wanting to put brick as an outside border but
wondering what to put against the siding?
Al


You can use a rubber membrane. I prefer to keep the soil lower than
the siding and sloped away from the house. This helps ward off
insects and rot.

Rake everything away from the siding until you have several
inches of foundation exposed. Having anything against your
siding is a prescription for rot and insect / small animal
invasion. If you don't like looking at the foundation concrete,
plant perennials or bushes a few feet away from the house, so
that there's at least six inches between the back of the
plantings and the siding . . . a foot to 18" is better, then you
can walk behind them if necessary.

Make sure that the soil level at the house foundation is higher
than the surrounding soil, though -- even if you have to do major
regrading to achieve this. When it rains, and especially if you
get snowmelt, you want the water to flow AWAY from the house.

Chris Owens

Al Knight wrote:

Our soil is higher than our siding. What to put against siding to keep soil
away from it. We were wanting to put brick as an outside border but
wondering what to put against the siding?
Al


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Good thoughts here. You should have at least 6 inches of clearance between
the soil and siding. Beside rot you're just inviting termites if it's right
up to it.

sparkie



On Mon, 11 Aug 2003 05:49:50 -0400, Chris Owens
wrote:

Rake everything away from the siding until you have several
inches of foundation exposed. Having anything against your
siding is a prescription for rot and insect / small animal
invasion. If you don't like looking at the foundation concrete,
plant perennials or bushes a few feet away from the house, so
that there's at least six inches between the back of the
plantings and the siding . . . a foot to 18" is better, then you
can walk behind them if necessary.

Make sure that the soil level at the house foundation is higher
than the surrounding soil, though -- even if you have to do major
regrading to achieve this. When it rains, and especially if you
get snowmelt, you want the water to flow AWAY from the house.

Chris Owens

Al Knight wrote:

Our soil is higher than our siding. What to put against siding to keep soil
away from it. We were wanting to put brick as an outside border but
wondering what to put against the siding?
Al


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