This was part of a renovation / build done by a licensed builder. All works are still not finished but they say it's nothing to worry about . Is it a problem that they should be responsible for as mould is growing up the lower part of the house wall .. I am concerned the foundation will all be mouldy or create issues long term ???
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1Looks like mold will be the least of your worries. With standing water against the foundation, the wood at the bottom of the wall there will rot out much sooner. There's a solid white cover in the pavement, is that supposed to be a perforated cover leading to a drain to help clear water from this area?– FreeManMay 19, 2022 at 11:12
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3Also, no landscape/hardscape features should ever slope toward the house. It shouldn't actually slope toward the fence/wall, either. In this situation, it should be slightly raised on each side to funnel water toward the center and the whole walkway should either be sloped toward the gate or toward where you're standing for the picture (or toward a drain in the walkway) to drain water out of this area. If your contractor thinks this is OK, you might want to get a city/county inspector involved and withhold any further payments until it's corrected.– FreeManMay 19, 2022 at 12:40
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@FreeMan Post that as an answer, that should be pitched as you say. Never is any water to be intentionally pitched towards a foundation, or even set level enough to puddle there to the amount that water is. I can only hope it doesn't freeze in that region. Quite the dangerous proposition.– JackMay 19, 2022 at 13:57
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Your wish, @Jack, is my command. ;)– FreeManMay 19, 2022 at 14:03
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1 Answer
No landscape or hardscape features should ever slope toward the house. It shouldn't actually slope toward the fence/wall, either.
In this situation, it should be slightly raised on each side to funnel water toward the center of the walkway. In order to drain water out of this area, the whole walkway should then either be sloped:
- toward the gate
- toward where you're standing for the picture
- toward a drain in the center of the walkway
- toward both gate and photographer ends
At a minimum, you're directing water toward your house, allowing it to puddle. If anything gets on the wall and manages to touch wood, it will be wicked up into the wall and start rotting away at the wall.
If there's a joint (as I imagine there is) between the concrete house (or fence/wall) foundation and the sidewalk, the water will, very slowly, drain through there and, in the winter, freeze. Freezing water expands and it will rather quickly crack the sidewalk (if things go well) and/or the foundation (if things don't go well).
If your contractor thinks this is OK as-is, you might want to get a city/county inspector involved and withhold any further payments until it's corrected.
I note that there's a solid white plastic cover in the sidewalk. Is this supposed to be a cover for a drain for this area? If so, it should be replaced with a perforated cover to actually allow water out. It could, reasonably, also be a screw down flush cover to a sewer line clean out. If that's the case, you do not want to open that up. You'll be allowing sewer gas directly out of the sewer lines and you don't want that - it smells like... sewer.
