Your Slab is Showing

"I see your slab!" How embarrassing! Having an exposed slab is not only an unsightly scene, but it can also cause long term damage to your foundation.

(Exposed slab...no shame.)

 

Usually an exposed slab like this one is caused from erosion of the land. Basically, over time, the weather causes the ground to slowly wash away from the house. This process eventually exposes the concrete footing of your foundation.

(The ground slowly erodes away from the foundation.)

(More slab exposing itself.)

(Even more slab exposure! Cover your eyes!)

 

A good way to fix an exposed slab is to cover it with some type of landscaping. In this example, the homeowner requested decomposed granite adjacent to the house. To hold the decomposed granite and keep it from pouring out, we built a small retaining wall using landscape lumber. Since the granite wasn't going to be too high, we stacked only two rows of landscape lumber. A small trench was dug two feet away from the house. The first row of wood was then placed into the trench.

(First row placed down.)

 

After the bottom layer of the lumber was in place, we put the second row on top of the first. To secure the two rows together, we used 1/2" dowel rods that were 18" long.

 

(1/2" dowel rod, 18" long, just like what was mentioned in above.)

 

A hole was drilled through the wood to make the dowels go in easier through the lumber and into the ground. 12" of the rod is the ground to make it secure, while the other 6" of the rod are in the lumber to hold them together (see illustration below). This method of staking the lumber down was preferred since the dowels won't be seen when they're drilled into the wood. 

(A fancy illustration of how the dowels were placed. A picture is worth a thousand words.)

 

After the lumber is secured, landscape fabric was laid out where the decomposed granite was going to be. This barrier prevents any weeds, plants, etc. from growing through the decomposed granite. After the fabric was placed, the real work began. The granite is poured, spread out, and compacted to prevent it from being loose and washing away.

(Decomposed granite on top of the landscape fabric. The water bottles aren't part of the materials for the job, but they sure do help!)

 

After many, many wheel barrow trips of loading the decomposed granite, spreading it out, and compacting it, the job is complete.

(The exposed slab is finally covered up.)

 

The exposed concrete footing is now a thing of the past. No more embarrassing looks and whispers from people walking by. The home owner now has a nice, decorative walking path next to their house.

(No more slab exposing itself.)

(You can open your eyes now.)

 

Other decorative options of covering exposed concrete footings are: making a vegetable garden or planting shrubs and flowers. Doing this not only adds value to your home, but it also it also creates a nice-looking piece of landscape to enjoy.