The ground is still generally sloping away from the house, but there
are a few problem areas that need to be fixed and erosion areas
which needed to be prevented. The area is under a gutter which,
doesn't seem to handle the torrential thunderstorms during the summer
time.

Choice of material is more of an opportune thing.... I picked up
about one and a half tons of washed gravel no clay or soil....
sitting around doing absolutely nothing, so considered this would do
the job of preventing future erosion.... and because the gravel can
be inclined very nicely, a plastic membrane would help divert the
water into the backyard away from the foundation.... the fact
that some water MAY be retained in small pockets in the membrane
isn't all that important as there are foundation plants which could
use the moisture. I'm inclining the gravel about 24 " away from
the house, into another gently sloping area starting at 36 which
has foundation plants... so the runoff will have plenty of places
to be used.

Compelling reasons the gravel was 1 - free 2 already onsite 3 - I
needed to use it for something.. Beats the heck out of hauling fill
dirt. to regrade and then worry about compaction and erosion again.

Hopes that explains the why !!

Peter


On Sat, 1 Aug 2009 07:41:45 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Aug 1, 8:45*am, bob haller wrote:
On Aug 1, 7:20 am, "Colbyt" wrote:





"Red Green" wrote in message

...

wrote in news:u5877598iigth4i3np5nmr3p8otq08ukro@
4ax.com:

I'm using gravel to provide an incline for water run off away from the
house Managed to snag a load of gravel for nothing, so might as
well use it. Plus this is under the eaves of a house and the gutters
occasionally leak and overflow, so gravel is being used to
prevent erosion.

I have one layer of gravel inclined away from the house and would
like to place a waterproof membrane over this layer, and then place
another layer of gravel on top. The first layer is already inclined
away from the house.

What type of membrane or plastic sheeting would be best to
use? Something that is fairly durable and long lasting.

Thanks in advance !!

Peter

fairly durable and long lasting.

And made to withstand water, temp extremes, sunlight and rocks on top?

Pond construction liner.

EDPM (vs PVC) liner would probably be the Cr me de la Crop.

You didn't say cheap.

Maybe try roofing supplier as well. I believe I've seen in this group
that EDPM is used in certain roofing applications. I know the pond liners
run 20 and 45 mil thick.

I agree that would certainly be the ultimate choice.

Some lower cost options include 4-6 mil plastic or a single row of roofing
shingles placed end to end.

I would use landscape fabric cut into strips. It is not water proof but
would serve the purpose of allowing heavy flow to run off.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

install a perforated pipe running to daylight ...........

far better to upgrade to larger gutters and downspouts. water
cascading down side of home can cause big grief like rot, mold on
inside of home, detoriation of brick and even siding.

better to fix the real problem than try to redirect water.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I assume by gravel he means washed gravel or stone? If it's true
gravel, ie stones mixed with sand, clay, etc then I don;'t see the
point at all. Even with stone, it doesn't sound like a good plan to
put a membrane between the existing stone, then more stone on top.
The water has no place to go and with an irregular surface to the
membrane, will tend to pool up in spots and stay there until it
evaporates.

Normally, just having the grade slope away from the house is
sufficient to move water away