We just purchased property, and the inspector was horrified at the grade next to the house. We had to dig it out and dig a trench through the sidewalk, lay a drain line with an air valve or something like that, out to the street.

Dirt too close to the foundation can cause all kinds of rotting problems, so you really need to bite the bullet and put a drain in there.

The guys are here now doing this, and where they cut the sidewalk, they put a strip of brick over the drain pipe and it looks very nice!

Good luck!

Suzi

Thanks - that is a good idea. I was worried about the silt getting into a drain but we could put rock up against the foundation with a catch and then run it out under the new path to a box or something. The rock would be hidden by landscaping so you really wouldn't even notice it. Thanks again.

There's no way anyone could advise how to keep water from becoming an issue unless you provided much more of the basic information. Where does water collect? How does it leave the property? Can you show its route and the probable obstructions along the way? The basic plan should be not to trap any water as it's trying to leave the property. (Sometimes easier said than done.)