I had last fall to look at the yard and gardens and see the good, the bad and the ugly.

Part of the ugly is an area against the house that seems to always stay damp. It doesn't get any direct sun and has been over-mulched for years. It was also the area our inspector thought may have had termites. Makes sense b/c they like moisture.

I'm planning to remove the mulch but need to know what to put down instead that will keep the area drier. Stones/pebbles? Sand?

There is an Azalea and Rhododendron planted there.

Any ideas would be welcome.

TIA,
Rose

Basically you have to figure out which way the ground slopes, dig a trench from the wet area to lower ground, add a few inches of gravel, and lay a drain pipe. That will let the water drain away from the foundation.

If the problem is that the neighbor's land is higher, you drain parallel to your house, so water will hit the drain first, not your foundation.

Look up "Correcting drainage problems" on Google and there is a ton of info explaining why it happens and how to fix it.

However if you change the drainage and the area is no longer moist, then you may have to change what you plant there.

Other plants that like moist soil in the shade, cardinal flower, bottlebrush grass, columbine, wild geranium, great blue lobelia.

You may want to do some googling on the term rain garden. Ton of information out there.

Though typically you do not want to have a rain garden next to the house.

You are complaining of wet soil...yet state that a rhoddie and azalea are planted in this area. ??? Is is safe to assume that these plants are indeed growing, not presenting brown, downward curled leaves?

Also, where do your gutters empty? Do you have a downspout in the vicinity of this wet area?

For all your downspouts (and especially in that area) you need to get downspout extenders to empty the water at least ten feet away from the foundation of your house, preferably where it will run AWAY from the house.

Water in soil exerts pressure against your foundation, which is never a good thing! Neither are the molds or leaks that could form there.

Tomorrow I'll ask my geotechnical engineering professor what brand of professional to look for in particular.

No soil covering will dry the area out, although some will not retain water, like the rocks and sand you mention. But why put in a mulch if you don't want to retain moisture? Rocks and sand won't contribute anything. They won't dry the soil, and they won't improve the soil, and they won't keep weeds down.

Willows and cottonwoods will dry out a wet area but you wouldn't want to plant them next to the house. Smaller plants like joepyeweed suggests might be better.

If you wanted a professional to do it, you would call a surveyor who could come out and help you, but as joepyeweed stated, you can pretty much tell for yourself. There are plenty of how-to descriptions and videos out there. I found a decent one here:

http://www.ehow.com/video_4419517_check-grade-around-home_s-foundation .html

Checking and fixing that grade is #1--get that water away from the foundation!

I guess the only other possibility that you might consider is if there are any water sources in that area that might be leaking, especially since this house is new to you. We had a mucky situation next to our house when our well busted its pressure cap, flooding the well and all the surrounding ground!