Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Oct 04, 2009 10:06 pm So i am happily digging up the lawn in our back yard - way to much effort to look after I want to put a garden bed along the back wall off the house. Does the soil have to stay below the wet coarse bricks?? Or what are my options. thanks guys Building again . . with Redink Pre-start 04/12 Keys - 03/13 Finishing off. . . Painting/Floor Tiles/Carpet - 04/13 Walk In Robe/Lighting/Blinds and Moving 05/13 Gates/Front Landscaping / Pool 05/13 Re: bed height againts house 2Oct 04, 2009 10:11 pm I'd avoid doing this at any cost. You are creating an excellent pathway for white ants to access your home. I guess if you have a steel roof frame and double brick on a concrete slab there isn't much issue. if you do want a raised bed then make sure you do some serious water proofing. overall, not cool. Re: bed height againts house 3Oct 05, 2009 12:32 am It is advisable to have the garden bed or pavers at least 50mm below the damp coarse. A raised bed will allow whiteants and moisture to effect your house, and will be held against you if you ever sell. Re: bed height againts house 4Oct 05, 2009 11:08 am uh-oh... I want a garden bed across the front and never thought of white ants... and don't know what is 'wet course' bricks? I was going to have the soil around about the top of the concrete foundation and the thick layer of mulch above that to approx the top of the lowest brick. Should I think again? Re: bed height againts house 5Oct 05, 2009 5:05 pm The 'wet course' or Damp Coarse is the payer of plastic that sits between the slab and the first coarse of bricks. If you look below the bottom brick you should set a layer of black plastic. You shouldnt have anything higher than 50mm bleow this layer. Re: bed height againts house 6Oct 05, 2009 7:37 pm Hills Guy The 'wet course' or Damp Coarse is the payer of plastic that sits between the slab and the first coarse of bricks. If you look below the bottom brick you should set a layer of black plastic. You shouldnt have anything higher than 50mm bleow this layer. It all depends on the construction method of the concrete slab and how many brick rebate was used during construction, where you live and what most builder prefer to do in your area. It also depends if your house is even on a slab, or suspended, in either case exterior soil levels, including gardens, should at least be 1 brick course or 75mm below the vents or the weep holes. The weep holes are usually on the course of bricks that is sitting on the damp proof course (the plastic layer) so you should leave 75mm below this. Sometimes the damp proof course can be between the concrete footing and the first brick, it can also be numerous courses up the wall, again depending on what construction method was used for the concrete slab. Garden planters etc against a house are not a good idea, they will help attract termites to your house (soil, shelter and moisture) but steps can be taken to help protect your home if you really want to. Re: bed height againts house 7Oct 06, 2009 3:06 pm TRUPM It all depends on the construction method of the concrete slab and how many brick rebate was used during construction, where you live and what most builder prefer to do in your area. It also depends if your house is even on a slab, or suspended, in either case exterior soil levels, including gardens, should at least be 1 brick course or 75mm below the vents or the weep holes. True - I did assume it was a house on a slab as this is the most common (but not the only) method used in WA and SA. Re: bed height againts house 8Oct 06, 2009 3:42 pm Thanks guys all very helpful things to consider The house is a typical WA concrete slab and we have all blue steel beams in the roof - not timber so i think i will go with the beds and just make sure they are 1 course below the wet coarse/weep holes then as there isn't much for the white ants to eat in our place Building again . . with Redink Pre-start 04/12 Keys - 03/13 Finishing off. . . Painting/Floor Tiles/Carpet - 04/13 Walk In Robe/Lighting/Blinds and Moving 05/13 Gates/Front Landscaping / Pool 05/13 Re: bed height againts house 9Oct 06, 2009 9:02 pm Hmm, I didn't think about this. I have a built-in planter box attached to the front of my house, as presented in the initial plan My plans say "5 course high rendered planter, parge brickwork internally". Will this "parge layer" go any way to reducing the risk? My tac-home-ter: Been in 8 months! Re: bed height againts house 10Oct 07, 2009 6:17 pm Orrr NO! Annie, your beached az! Any raised structures against the house just are a risk. Re: bed height againts house 12Oct 08, 2009 10:10 am CSIRO has excellent information regarding care & maintenance of footing systems. The general recommendation is to keep trees and gardens away from footings. Although aimed predominately at clay sites - it is still recommended for sandy/silty soils. Clays swell or shrink to some degree as they become wet or dry out. Reactive clays can do so to such an extent that foundation movements can damage houses. "The site must be well drained. Under no circumstances should water be allowed to lie against the house or even near the house. Large garden beds are best not located near the house. This will avoid the possibility of introducing too much moisture to the foundation clay by overwatering. The zone near the house should be planned for paths or covered with gravel and plastic sheeting. Small shrubs may be planted at reasonable spacings. Gardens and lawns should be watered adequately but not excessively. Uniform, consistent watering can be important to prevent damage to the foundation during dry spells such as droughts or dry summers." May or may not be of use to you, but sound advice to anyone with highly reactive soils. The first thing we ask when someone rings our office about cracking to their slab or structure is if they have trees/plants nearby and their watering scheme. Re: bed height againts house 13Oct 08, 2009 12:20 pm Thanks, that's interesting. Can someone explain how white ants actually get into a double brick house? I'm interested to hear the mechanics of it, because I've always been a bit unsure. My tac-home-ter: Been in 8 months! Re: bed height againts house 14Oct 08, 2009 5:07 pm White ants will follow any crack or cavity that leads them to food. In a double brick house this could be a cavity or expansion joint. Where possible they avoid daylight, but will build mud tubes to protect themselves from light if needed. (a cavity in a double wall saves them the effort) They can and will crawl up through small cracks in a slab if they find a source of food (termimesh usually only protects protrusions for pipes, but any other cracks can let them in), and may make their way up to the roof in a double brick home to eat out your nice timber roof trusses or eat your door frames and architraves Re: bed height againts house 15Oct 08, 2009 6:05 pm Here is information written by the WA Ag Dept's Entomoligists (bug people) http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/impor ... btrend.pdf Re: bed height againts house 16Oct 09, 2009 3:07 pm Fu Manchu Here is information written by the WA Ag Dept's Entomoligists (bug people) http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/impor ... btrend.pdf Aha! So all I need is a moat of vegetable oil! Simple! My tac-home-ter: Been in 8 months! Re: bed height againts house 18Oct 09, 2009 7:16 pm annie.s Fu Manchu Here is information written by the WA Ag Dept's Entomoligists (bug people) http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/impor ... btrend.pdf Aha! So all I need is a moat of vegetable oil! Simple! hahahha 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: bed height againts house 19Oct 11, 2009 10:33 pm yeah, it's the wrong bloody one They used to have a really good ag note on white ants. Can't find it now I'm pretty sure I have it on paper in the office so I'll check through later Re: bed height againts house 20Oct 20, 2009 1:53 pm This has been a really useful thread. We were thinking of planting around the base of our house to tidy up a bit and now I'm thinking this isn't such a good idea. Is it ok if it's beneath the damp course or is it better to avoid completely? What do people recommend instead? ok thanks - yes was wondering if that should have been listed as Option Three! 2 7761 I'll look into different shower heads and ask the plumber about some engineering and see what he says. Thanks 2 9596 i imagine you also have another contract with an architect? and yeah, whatever other's said about special conditions and appendices 16 16041 |