Garage/yardworks

[Mandofred]

Perhaps it's me, but theres no mention of the water staining down the wall which I imagine is from guttering?
This surely needs sorting as that will be a source of water into the brickwork.

Done and dusted on that one. First thing we had taken care of when we moved in. The two peaked roofs on the garage drained mostly towards the middle and that roof drainage area needed replacing and the drain off fixed. Works fine now. That was something that made things worse, the water just ran down the sides when we moved in.......the guy who had rented this place for the last 20 years did nothing, he was a real pig....and the owner just closed her eyes to the problems.

 

[Mandofred]

If you're digging down a bit more anyway, why not install a perforated pipe to take any water away from the area? It would seem like an easy insurance step considering what you have planned to do.

I think the area drains well. I "think" the problem is just dampness held against the wall. The rocks would still be damp even with a French style of drainage put in. As I've stated.....I think it's just that the gravel has been built about 2 feet over the damp proofing. There wasn't any loose water on the inside of the garage, but the bricks were just constantly damp and icky and I didn't want that much humidity sitting around inside the building. I have an elliptical machine in there that is just showing some signs of rust even with it being drier in there. Our old garage was attached to the house and that kept everything in there nice and dry.

 

[RichA]

I'd be really wondering why somebody would build up a couple of feet of gravel like that in the first place. It's such a strange thing to do.
What if you want to push a wheeled object down that path; push chair, wheelie bin, lawnmower, wheel-barrow? Won't they sink in?

Edit: then again, just looked at the original photo. Can't get past those steps anyway.

 

[Mandofred]

I'd be really wondering why somebody would build up a couple of feet of gravel like that in the first place. It's such a strange thing to do.
What if you want to push a wheeled object down that path; push chair, wheelie bin, lawnmower, wheel-barrow? Won't they sink in?

Edit: then again, just looked at the original photo. Can't get past those steps anyway.

My wife has lived in this immediate area most of her life. According to her this is what has happened.....at the front of the garage there are 3 steps up to the level of the gate (and another couple of steps up to the front door). When the houses were built she says there would have been several steps back down when you came through the gate....which would mean there would have been at least a couple more steps up to the back door. We assume they just said "that's a pain the butt....let's fill it in level to the back area".

Putting composite decking down over the gravel..(once I've done something with the garage waterproofing and likely lowering the gravel level)...just makes walking and wheeling things much easier. Those back steps are a real killer for me, each step is a tad high and there is no railing to hang on to...... I'm not getting younger and I've almost done a header against the garage door a bunch of times on my way out to the garage. We are turning the steps sideways (and shallower steps) which opens up the walk-through area and have a decent railing put on.

 

[RichA]

My wife has lived in this immediate area most of her life. According to her this is what has happened.....at the front of the garage there are 3 steps up to the level of the gate (and another couple of steps up to the front door). When the houses were built she says there would have been several steps back down when you came through the gate....which would mean there would have been at least a couple more steps up to the back door. We assume they just said "that's a pain the butt....let's fill it in level to the back area".

Putting composite decking down over the gravel..(once I've done something with the garage waterproofing and likely lowering the gravel level)...just makes walking and wheeling things much easier. Those back steps are a real killer for me, each step is a tad high and there is no railing to hang on to...... I'm not getting younger and I've almost done a header against the garage door a bunch of times on my way out to the garage. We are turning the steps sideways (and shallower steps) which opens up the walk-through area and have a decent railing put on.

I understand why somebody might want to raise the level of the path with decking, like you suggest.
I can't fathom why anyone would bury the bottom 2 feet depth of the outside of a building with gravel. Any crap that would normally get blown, washed or swept away on a hard surface will filter down and get trapped under the gravel; eventually turning into silty mud and preventing any natural drainage.

 

[Mandofred]

I understand why somebody might want to raise the level of the path with decking, like you suggest.
I can't fathom why anyone would bury the bottom 2 feet depth of the outside of a building with gravel. Any crap that would normally get blown, washed or swept away on a hard surface will filter down and get trapped under the gravel; eventually turning into silty mud and preventing any natural drainage.

Yep. That pretty well says it all. That's what I have found while digging out the gravel....slowly filling with dirt but still drains well. Like I said, I plan on washing the gravel before putting it back to get rid of most the dirt and probably add some new gravel. It will keep draining well, I just need to reduce the amount that is touching the wall and hopefully line the wall with something that will lessen any water issues.

This all would have been done over 20 years ago, and very likely from shortly after the house was built in the mid 80's. I think somebody had some money and it was going to be their last house or something. They added the double garage, they put paving slabs to make a large patio that is kind of falling apart now. They had a small fish pond put in (fairly badly) with water piped from the garage and electricity as well. Added a large conservatory. They likely just wanted what they wanted and didn't care what would happen 40 years later.

 

[rulefan]

.... and didn't care what would happen 40 years later.

Does anyone these days?

 

[Tashyboy]

Does anyone these days?

It’s odd but I have got to an age where when I do big jobs now. I want it to last til I have popped my clogs.