AboutMarc Chapelle, ASLA Expertise As a licensed Landscape Architect, I can answer general questions about style and design, ideas and suggestions for site amenities, larger site-planning issues, or recreation and park design.
IF YOU JUST WANT A PLANT SUGGESTION GO HERE: http://www.growit.com/PlantInfo/LandScape.htm
I prefer you ask somebody else why your petunias are not as perky as they should be...I'd LOVE to tell you how can use those petunias to increase your home's value!
Experience Member, American Society of Landscape Architects (ALSA.org); Past clients have been mostly contractors, developers and local civil engineering/architecture firms, plus the occasional homeowner. Currently, I design recreational facilities for the National Park Service (DOI).
I am located in the dry Great Basin area (Greater Nevada/Utah), so the use of landscape materials OTHER than plants is emphasized. As a licensed Landscape Architect on the East and West Coasts, I have been in practice over 20 years.
Organizations ASLA (ASLA.org)
Education/Credentials BSLA in Landscape Architecture, 1989
Many additional seminars, educational venues, and classes (both taught & attended)
Awards and Honors Best Multifamily project, 1993
Best Model Home Landscaping, 1993
First off, thank you so much for this service you provide!
My question is pretty simple... is it safe to line our foundation with decorative landscaping bricks, considering said bricks be sitting one high (not stacked), and run flush with the bottom of our siding? We are considering this because our foundation doesn't sit far above grade, and we'd like to make a mulch area with bushes and flowers along the front of our house, without having the mulch or dirt close to the foundation.
Thanks so much, Mr. Chapelle!!!
Zak
Answer Hello -
I took some time think about this question, as I wanted to consider all of the possible ways you could connect brick to the foundations of a home.
IF your siding is also brick, I don't see a problem with brick-on-brick. IF your siding is stucco, I also don't see a problem with it, as long as you use a vapor barrier or mastic (kind of a gooy oil-based paint that creates a water-inhibiting layer).
IF your siding is wood or composite I would avoid having the brick touch the wood, and the Uniform Building Code recommends a 6-inch gap between earth/dirt/soil/planting media (including mulches) and any wooden structure because of the concern for wood rot &/or entry points for termites.
Here are examples of planters & brick patios that are brought right up to the edge of homes. Some utilize flashing or moisture barriers at the point of contact with the structure:
I generally AVOID dirt around the sides of houses, as it has the potential for water damage under the foundation or crawl-space, as you irrigate these planters. It can also trap and hold rain-water from downspouts & off the roof eves, after a rain event...Not good.
After re-reading your question, can you pave up to the sill-plate of the foundation? is that what you are asking? The "mulch area" can be in an area slightly away from the foundation, like a walkway between the house and planter.
