headware wrote:
I'm planning on pouring a concrete patio up against my house in the
back yard. A friend of mine has suggested that I drill holes into the
side of the house foundation and plug rebar into them so when the
patio is poured it will be "attached" to the house slab via the rebar.
He says this is necessary to prevent the patio slab from sliding away
from the house after it begins settling. I'm a total novice, but none
of the books I've seen have mentioned this issue. Is he making up
problems or is this something I should take seriously?

Thanks,
Dave

I don't know concrete, but what you are suggesting sounds like a bad
idea to me, especially if you live in an area with deep freezes. My
reason is that with some heave from freezing you could end up with the
patio slanted toward the house and have problems with water and/or ice.
If not properly done, it might even expand enough to crack foundation
or do something else weird.