Practicality or aesthetics?
I am doing landscapingand have a question regarding whether or not it is okay to install a flower bed at the back of my house versus extending my concrete patio right up to the back of my house. My contractor has recommended that I may wish to have my patio extend along the back of the house to prevent water leakage in to the basement over time. My landscape designer has advised that it will look more aesthetically pleasing to break up the look of so much concrete by installing flower beds alongside the house -- he has advised that especially in a new house water leaks into the basement are not a problem. Can you please give me advice regarding this matter i.e. should I have the patio touching the back of the house to prevent water leakage or should I feel confident to plant a flower garden alongside the house (I notice many other homeowners plant alongside their houses with seemingly no problems). Any advice you can provide would be most appreciated.
Expert
Maestro
This is a tough question. The engineer side of me thinks that you should have an impervious surface with a gentle slope away from the house. This prevents the soil adjacent to the house from being saturated, and this reduces the likelihood of a wet basement. While it is true that the dampproofing material (notice that it is called dampproofing as opposed to waterproofing) on a new house betters your odds, minor settlement cracks, imperfections in the concrete or dampproofing, poorly laid weeping tile can all lead to a wet basement. I don't think that there is a builder out there who can tell you that he has never encountered wet basement problems in some of his new homes. The gardener side of me says that life is full of calculated risks, and the aesthetic value of the garden outweighs the elevated risk of water in the basement. As I contemplate my own backyard, I compromised, and my design includes a little of both!
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