I am going to have the property regraded, it has been 30 years and is in bad need. It will have to come up any where from 6 to 10 inches, I am the lowest house in the area. I have a 10'X 19' deck about 3 feet above the ground, it has soil underneath with black fabric to stop weeds and grass. Would it be better to fill it with soil to the required height or would it be better to lay heavy plastic, run a perforated pipe along the foundation with an exit to a lower area and fill it with gravel. If gravel is the choice the what size gravel would be best. Also, would it be better to dig a channel along the foundation, lay in the plastic sheets up the foundation and put the pipe in then cover it with gravel.
Answer:
You'll be better off raising the grade under the patio so that even after it settles you'll still have a healthy 8 to 10 inches of slope in the first 5-10 feet as it goes away from the house. Following the fill, I'd put back the no-weeds sheet and then a couple inches of 5/8" gravel over that. While you're in the process you might also think about laying in 1" chicken wire all around the patio so that at least a foot of it goes under ground and the rest of it severs as a skirt around the deck. Being as you'll no longer be doing as much crawling around down there, you won't really care but skunks, raccoons, cats, etc. won't get in there at all.
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