Landscaping around a Slab foundation

I own a house with a slab foundation; I’m looking for ways to spruce up the front of my house with some type of landscaping. Unfortunately the house is a little below grade in relation to the street, but I have lived in this house for almost 2 years and have not noticed any pooling or pudding around the foundation. the property line of the front yard is lined with shrub/bushes (I'm new at this, I haven't realy figuered out the diffrence yet) I live in Massachusetts, and have weathered some pretty bad storms in this house with no damage. The previous owners put down some rocks in the front of the foundation, the inspector explained to me they probably did that to help with the drainage of water and rain that was get near the foundation. The rocks are a pain to keep neat, getting the leaves and pine needles out is a hassle and they don’t really look all that great. I was thinking mulch but I don’t want to put mulch right up against the wood siding of the house, correct? If I haven’t seen any evidence of water/draining problems, should I be concerned about removing the rocks completely? Planting or just letting the grass grow and may be just putting some potted flowers down? Would it be ok to plant flowers or any type of plant directly into the ground that close to the house foundation? The previous owners “installed” wood boards around the bottom of the house to hide the concret. Should I be concerned with rot or bug infestation if I put anything that might retain moister to close to the foundation?
Any advice or ideas would be a huge help. I can’t find anything on the web.

Photos would be a huge help.

here you go.. this is an older pic from when we first bought the house. I will take better Pictures in the moring if you think it would be more of a help.

Good. Photos showing the rocks you might want to move and the foundation, as well as the nearness of the planting area, or lawn, would help.

I'm not thrilled with boards to hide the concrete when shrubs could do it for you and probably with less danger.

My friends moved into a house with rocks in a trench around the foundation. The flower bed was built up taller in front of the trench. They had some left over topsoil so they filled int he trench with it. This caused the first floor bedroom to flood when it rained. They had put down new wood flooring before moving in and it was ruined. Are the rocks below or above your slab? The trench was to drain off the roof run off. gutters would also have fixed this but the house did not have gutters in front.

This message was edited Apr 13, 2014 9:01 PM

They are below. the slab comes up probaly 2 or 3 inches from the ground. There is no trench dug per say, they just put down about 1/2 of rocks, the boards covering the concret do not touch the ground, to me it look like the put the rocks there for decoration more than drainage. pirl, what kind of "danger" to the boards present?

Possibly danger, if they're really wood. I'd rather have the concrete showing than expose the siding to unnecessary dampness.

The boards are not actually part of the siding. they nailed in planks to the house. the nails must not ge galvinized beacuse they are starting to rust throuh the paint. you think it would be better to take them off? I will defantly take better pic in the moring so you have a better idea about what is going on. But in general, how much should i worry about damiging the foundation or, like steadycam3 mentioned water getting in the house if i put a layer of mulch down and plant some flowers or any other type of small plant?

It works now so I recommend don't change it. Move out about 5 feet from the house to do your planting. Once your landscaping matures you wont be able to see the foundation. Also, if you like you can paint the edge of the slab the same color as the house. It will make it invisible.

Perfect Steadycam3! I think you just answerd my question; Move out about 5 feet. I was thinking I had to go right up against the house or close to it, beacuse that is what I have been seeing at other houses and online. But moving out makes perfect sence, you really wouldn't be able to tell from the street. and still give the water some where to go. Is 5' a minimum? would 2 or 3 feet be ok? Now, off to find out how to start a flower bed! I noticed under your name it says Zone 9A, whatd does that mean? Or is that a question fo another thread? Thanks Again!

zone 9a is my agricultural growing zone. It is based on the maximum low temperature. The higher the number the hotter the growing zone. You can google agricultural zone and find yours based on your zip. I would not go closer than 5 feet but that's just me.

Thanks Again!

Planting right up to the house really isn't a good idea. I agree with steadycam and would go out at least five feet. The little shrubs you may buy in one or two gallon pots will grow. Believe what the label tells you (regarding eventual size) and don't plant too closely. You can fill in with annuals while the shrubs expand. You just might want to use the entire area, outlined by the walk to the driveway, for just plants. Think about it.

You do want some room between the house and the planting since leaves will accumulate and you'll need to get in there to clean twice a year.

You live in USDA Zone 6 and your local nurseries should be selling shrubs and plants suitable for your zone.

Try using Pinterest for ideas on landscaping and make use of your nursery people. They can tell you how far from the house to begin and end your planting. You have to decide if you want shrubs you'll be pruning year after year or plants like azaleas and rhododendrons that require a lot less care. Consider the colors of each shrub and how they work together. Generally a larger shrub would go at the outside corner so take the time to look around since you'll be living with it for a long time. Take a walk around your area to see the shrubs other people are using.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=pinterest+shrub+landscaping&qpvt=pinterest+shrub+landscaping&FORM=IGRE#view=detail&id=90F05D34A9BECE8393E78678072F12F0B2A53281&selectedIndex=61

To prevent the Slab, walls and any wood connected to the actual building material used for the house, It is best to leave a space between the slab and the start of any garden be it border, bed or growing climbers up the walls.

The general rule would be to leave a space between for a pathway, about 2-3 feet is more than enough, this pathway is to allow for any maintenance to be carried out on the roof, walls, down pipes, electrics, Phones and ofcource the actual roof for repair to tiling or water pipes that catch run off from the tiles.

The pathway should be solid enough to take ladders, wide enough to walk a barrow + tools and solid enough to withstand heavy traffic IF your going to make a flower or shrub border.

The PLANTED out border in front of this pathway will ofcource be hidden by fact that after a couple of years, ALL the flowers, shrubs and maybe even small tree's will be matured enough to hide the space between the border and house walls, you could even have a few half looped arches fixed to the wall at spaces, then grow say climbing Roses or other climbing plants, these would work as a backdrop for shrubs, add height to the design and if you like, perfume the air outside a window if planted a short distance away from the window for safety. You could even plant a low hedge about 4-5 feet tall or lower IF it is obstructive, this hedge wont be out of place IF you use the green colour as the backdrop for a rose border as that's how it was done in the olden days.

I don't see this slab as a problem, more as a great challenge to do something different and it is important enough to be a camouflage for the division between the slab and the formal part of the garden.
The pathway is easy to maintain, keep clean and ofcource allow freedom to work on the border as well as the fabric of the building for painting, clearing drains or whatever.

Best Regards and good luck. WeeNel.

Remove the wood that is hiding the concrete slab.
Termites can climb at least 6" so fast that you cannot keep track of them, and be into the structure of your house.
Damp wood is a highway for many rot organisms, and attracts insects and other pests.

I would do all I could to keep a DRY DRY DRY buffer between the house and any source of water.

A shallow layer of rock is probably not enough. I would trench around most of the house and add drain pipe, back filled with rock, and lead that pipe out downhill, away from the house if there is such a location. Otherwise add a sump pump.

Around here the local code requires:
6" of concrete below wood siding, and below any structural wood, such as the studs and any other part of the house. Does not matter if it is a slab or a vertical foundation. Make a barrier that is harder for termites to cross, and for water to rise and flood the house. (Older houses do not follow this code and have problems)
1" minimum of fall at 4' from the house. This means the soil slopes away from the house at a 2% grade for at least 4' from the house.

So, I agree with the others: Air out the concrete. Paint it if that is what you need to do to make it look OK.
Keep the rocks clean and clear. Do not do ANYTHING that might allow them to fill with soil, leaf litter or anything else.
Do the planting away from the house.