Hello everyone, I'm glad to see the board is back.

I live in a small bunglalow built in 1930 located in a neighborhood full of bungalows. I have noticed that just about every bungalow around here, including mine, has concrete along the sides (lengthwise)of the house. Some houses have it on both sides and others only have it on one side, that side being the side of the driveway - the concrete is extended fom the driveway to the house. Gosh, I hope I am explaining this so you can understand it. Seems most other houses in this world do NOT have concrete, this is the first one I have lived in that does. Maybe it is because I am living in s a city?

I am wondering if anyone knows of any functional reason for the concrete to be around the perimiter of the house. My first thought is it is there to keep water out of the basement but if that is the case it isn't working for me!!

I really want to have the concrete removed and replace it with dirt/grass/flowers/mulch - this would be done for aesthetic reasons rather than practical. I like the look of grass and flowers more than the look of concrete. (There is approximately 6-8 feet between the side of the house and the driveway that is now concrete.) However, if there is a good reason for it to be there, I will keep it, but it will probably need replacing soon as it is starting to deteriorate.

My main questions are - does anyone know why these houses would have concrete on the sides? Would it be a good idea to remove it and replace with grass and other nature type things? If it is not a good idea, seeing as I will have to replace the concrete anyway do you have any suggestions of how this should be done (and I'm thinking in terms of trying to keep the basement dry) so I don't get ripped off by a contractor?

Thank you so much for your help!!!

I think a friend of mine has a 1916 bungalow that has this. She just had it professionally landscaped with historic foliage/flowers. Can you post a photo?

What part of the country are you in? Concrete around the foundation is not normal these days, at least anywhere I've lived. It might have been done at some point to provide extra storage space for bikes, lawn equipment, etc.

If you are having problems with water getting into the basement, one of the first things to try would be to replace the concrete with landscaping that slopes away from the house so that water runs off. This is probably the cause of 90% of water problems in basements. You just need to make sure that the soil never gets above the foundation so that it is touching wood.

Similiar to this, only with concrete?

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/467843_Fm4Nh#398922927_Qo6aX

Not sure my situation is the same, but in my city it is very common to have a sidewalk that runs up against the house front to back. This is the case in my house. One thing I'll mention is that I wouldn't assume that this automatically causes water in the basement. The side of my house with the concrete sidewalk is drier than the landscaped side (even though I spent much effort getting a proper pitch, etc.)

If the concrete next to your home has settled in some places, (no longer falls away from the house) then that area becomes a possible candidate for basement water. A more probable cause would be a clogged or deteriorated lateral pipe carrying downspout water to your storm drain. Water leakage is frustrating, good luck.

Also if you choose to remove the concrete next to the house, the procedure is usually to sawcut the concrete, then jack hammer into small pieces for removal.

By the way, I am a contractor...please understand that we are not all rip off artists. LOL...take care. Email me off-line if you want a more thorough explanation.

Wyoming, YES!!!! that is a good picture of what I am talking about. My driveway is blacktop and there is concrete between the driveway and house. The concrete is old and definitely needs replacing - has lots of "dips" and cracks. I want to replace it with some prettier though.

SSH, like you say I think it is common to have a sidewalk from front to back in the city and I don't know if there is any real funcional reason for this. No one seems to know for sure. In your case sounds like it is helping to keep the basement dry even though that may not have been the intended original purpose. Thanks for you input, every bit of info helps me.

gtowncrafter, I know you aren't AAAALLLLLLL rip off artists but it sure is hard to tell who is and who isn't!!!! I get references and check on them but heck, they can give any old name, their mother, brother, daughter, uncle. Who am I to know who I am calling? I had the worst paint job done a couple of years ago. The clown who did it would be crazy to use me as a reference. (but do I ever wish he did - lol)

You, I can tell, are one of the good ones!!

We live in a bungalow in suburban Chicago and we have the sidewalk along the length of our house, on one side. We had to have some work done on our front porch and sidewalk this fall and the project required a structural engineer. I inquired about removing the sidewalk and then thought we'd just grade the dirt so that I could plant.

Our soil is heavy clay around here. The structural engineer suggested that we put the sidewalk back in and angle it downward a bit away from the house. He said that it would keep water away from the foundation better than graded earth would.

So, as much as I wanted to be rid of that old cracked sidewalk, we now have a new sidewalk. What kind of soil do you have?

I know exactly what you are talking about. I have the same. Are your foundation walls stone? I think that having the foundation beneath ground level causes leakage---the rain gets into the soil agains the foundation and seeps through. I have a crack in my concrete that lays agains the house and I get wet mysterious wet spots on the wood floor in the adjoing room. I believe the water is seeping in from that concrete crack. I am planning on buying extra size gutters to put along the roof line.

Such a very amazing link!
Thanks you for the post.


__________________

Who am I to know who I am calling? I had the worst paint job done a couple of years ago. The clown who did it would be crazy to use me as a reference. (but do I ever wish he did - lol)