wittejr
Mechanical
- Nov 29, 2006
- 2
Is this a good idea or profoundly stupid???
My house is in a Flood zone(A10). It is built on a slope leading to a canal. It has an enclosed elevated concrete block foundation 7 ft high. My lowest habitable floor is at 14 feet above BFE and Hurricane Katrina filled my crawl space/ basement but didn't reach the main floor or cause any identifiable foundation damage.
I did not build the house so i do not have all the particulars of the original construction, but after reviewing FEMA guidlines for foundation grading in flood zones, i saw a concern i would like to address. FEMA recommends that the interior grade be no lower than 2 feet below the lowest adjacent exterior grade although and equal or high interior grade is preferred.
The exterior grade at the front of the house is about
four feet above the interior grade. It appears to have been back filled and the ground level slopes down toward the foundation with a grade level within 1 ft of the top of the foundation. On the interior grade at the front wall is approximately 4-5 feet below the top of the foundation.
The interior grade slopes gradually to meet rear exterior grade, while the exterior grade drops more dramatically due to retaining walls. As a result, the interior grading of the side and rear walls are equal to or higher than the exterior grading.
I would like to increase the interior grade along the front wall without having the backfill the entire basement/crawlspace. Is constructing a sandbag retaining wall a viable option? I would like to insure that after future flood waters recede there is sufficient support on the interior of the foundation wall to offset the saturated soil on the outside.
I am really not in a position to conduct any more major repairs, but a bags and load of sand are cheap and my weekend labor is free, so if this is a viable option i can address it before next hurricane season. Otherwise I'll just wait and hope.
I would appreciate any comments, suggestions or alternatives. Thanks for your help!
My house is in a Flood zone(A10). It is built on a slope leading to a canal. It has an enclosed elevated concrete block foundation 7 ft high. My lowest habitable floor is at 14 feet above BFE and Hurricane Katrina filled my crawl space/ basement but didn't reach the main floor or cause any identifiable foundation damage.
I did not build the house so i do not have all the particulars of the original construction, but after reviewing FEMA guidlines for foundation grading in flood zones, i saw a concern i would like to address. FEMA recommends that the interior grade be no lower than 2 feet below the lowest adjacent exterior grade although and equal or high interior grade is preferred.
The exterior grade at the front of the house is about
four feet above the interior grade. It appears to have been back filled and the ground level slopes down toward the foundation with a grade level within 1 ft of the top of the foundation. On the interior grade at the front wall is approximately 4-5 feet below the top of the foundation.
The interior grade slopes gradually to meet rear exterior grade, while the exterior grade drops more dramatically due to retaining walls. As a result, the interior grading of the side and rear walls are equal to or higher than the exterior grading.
I would like to increase the interior grade along the front wall without having the backfill the entire basement/crawlspace. Is constructing a sandbag retaining wall a viable option? I would like to insure that after future flood waters recede there is sufficient support on the interior of the foundation wall to offset the saturated soil on the outside.
I am really not in a position to conduct any more major repairs, but a bags and load of sand are cheap and my weekend labor is free, so if this is a viable option i can address it before next hurricane season. Otherwise I'll just wait and hope.
I would appreciate any comments, suggestions or alternatives. Thanks for your help!
