Garden Bed beside to Concrete Wall

I hope this is an appropriate question - it regards garden bed design ...

I want to plant a bed along the side of my new house. There is exposed, untreated concrete foundation wall visible below the exterior stucco. Should I apply sealant or place a barrier against the concrete before making the soil bed against the wall?

I am wondering if I need to worry about water/moisture from the soil coming in contact with the concrete foundation wall for my crawlspace.

Comments and suggestions would really be appreciated!

Thanks,
Mike

 

if the damp proofing (the black tar gunk) is not visible above the soil line you should remedy that first before adding soil to the grade. I believe building code around here is 8 inches exposed concrete between soil and the base of the siding. If you want to put soil there, consider installing water barrier, a tough and waterproof plastic product, its available at pacific arborist supply in north van and there may be a supplier on the island. its made by Deep Root, you could try their website for dealer locator or product info. It is also used as a root barrier for bamboo installtions.

 

Thanks for the tips ... I'll do some investigating and then get my hands dirty!

M.

 

I'd wear rubber gloves.

 

Well, keep in mind that when it rains, water is getting to the foundation now, with no protection in place. I doubt that you'll be watering in summer as much as it is raining now in winter. I quite appreciate being safe rather than sorry, but am not a big fan of doing unnecessary work. If this is a new house, you have new perimeter drainage as well - or is it just new to you?

I quite see that raising the grade increases the amount of potential surface through which water can seep, but still... thousands of houses have planting beds right against the foundation with no protection. It is concrete, after all.

You could also slope the soil so that the water runs to a point at least a foot from the foundation rather than flowing right to it.

 

Petit essai pour voir....