Soil 21 inch above foundations

Statman55

Hi recently bought a detached house and the garden on 3 sides are different heights.the soil is touching the house on 3 sides.I dug a hole to the foundations and the soil in some areas is 7 x 3in redbrick (21icn) above the foundations at max and 3 x3in brick (9inch)at the lowest should
I get the levels all brought down to just below the foundations level.
thanks for any help

macraignil

Statman55 wrote: »

Hi recently bought a detached house and the garden on 3 sides are different heights.the soil is touching the house on 3 sides.I dug a hole to the foundations and the soil in some areas is 7 x 3in redbrick (21icn) above the foundations at max and 3 x3in brick (9inch)at the lowest should
I get the levels all brought down to just below the foundations level.
thanks for any help

There should be a "damp proof course" in the walls of houses. They used often be made of slate but now they are made with a layer of waterproof plastic. From what I have read the soil in the garden should not be above this level as it would allow water to penetrate the wall above the damp proof course which is placed there to stop water seeping into the wall from the soil.

I'm not sure from your post where the damp proof course is in your house walls but I think there is often some blocks rising to meet with the rest of the wall below the level of the damp proof course and it is the level of the damp proof course that is important to prevent the wall becoming damp and not the level where poured concrete meets blocks which can be beneath the soil without a problem.

Statman55

Thank you the building is 101 years old and redbrick i have dug down to where the redbrick meets block in one part and what appears to be granite in others parts i will need to dig a bit deeper i think and maybe a longer section .whats confusing is both doors to the garden are level with the inside wooden floors but up to 21 inch above the foundations, but neither of them have any steps down.
thank you for your help

macraignil

Statman55 wrote: »

Thank you the building is 101 years old and redbrick i have dug down to where the redbrick meets block in one part and what appears to be granite in others parts i will need to dig a bit deeper i think and maybe a longer section .whats confusing is both doors to the garden are level with the inside wooden floors but up to 21 inch above the foundations, but neither of them have any steps down.
thank you for your help

That age would mean they definitely would not have a modern plastic damp proof course. I read before that there were methods of mixing the mortar for between the bricks and blocks to different porosity levels so water traveling up through the wall was reduced but I guess it would depend on the builder weather they did this properly or not. There is an electronic damp meter that can be used to see if there is dampness in a house wall and one of these might be useful for assessing if dampness is a problem in the walls of your house. I think there are professionals in this type of problem and it might be worth consulting one or more of these companies to see if they can check your situation and offer some advice. They might for example coat the underground part of the wall with a sealed plastic protective layer and put drains around the house to remove excess water so less is available to seep into your walls.

_Brian

Do you have any signs of damp in the house at the moment. ??

Considering the weather has been terribly bad, if there are no signs of damp then I wouldn’t worry.

Statman55

Brian sorry for this very late reply, thank you for time the house still lies empty . I have come to a standstill as what to do with it in general

recedite

Statman55 wrote: »

Hi recently bought a detached house and the garden on 3 sides are different heights.the soil is touching the house on 3 sides.I dug a hole to the foundations and the soil in some areas is 7 x 3in redbrick (21icn) above the foundations at max and 3 x3in brick (9inch)at the lowest should
I get the levels all brought down to just below the foundations level.
thanks for any help

No.
Foundations are supposed to be underground