The front of our house was pretty boring with nothing but a flat patch of grass, so in June I put a flowerbed in right next to the house. I wood basement that is only half underground. Basically what I did was dug about a foot down in the ground bordered the sides and front with some brick work two bricks high (leveled and glued) so that it would end up slightly raised once filled. I then filled it up with a load of rich soil and mixed in some peat moss. Cleaned up and planted some flowers.

I was talking to a fellow about it the other day and he said that I should have put a liner up against the house. I tried to seach around the web and can't find any similar situations that point to this liner. I figured that with the basement and foundation being wooden and the outside wall tared in some way that I wouldn't have to do anything like that.

The conversation started because I was talking about the basement having an almost cat urine or super musty smell in the basement. It happens to be around the point where the flowerbed was planted. I don't over water, but it has been raining quite a bit lately so since that conversation it has me wondering if somehow moisture is seeping past the wood into my wall. Outside there it just smells like plain old dirt

Really worried about this now and landscape companies I talked to won't give any answer, they just want to come and landscape for you. Here's a few pictures of what I built...

hey !!!

i will start off by saying i am no expert but have done quite a few landscaping projects !!!

never seen a wood foundation, but adding a liner up against the wall would be a good idea... and not to late to do..

unless your basement is done up and you can t see the inner walls, you should find a way to get in there to see what is going on... last thing you want is the foundation to start giving up on you...

we have concrete foundation here and they are tared as well just to make sure no moister gets in...

job looks good, nice work....
just wondering what your winters are like... normaly you would put a good layer of stone dust under the brics to keep frost from moving them,, but if your winters are mild you will be fine..

like i said , i am no expert so hope this info helps you out.

Steff

I did virtually the same but put in a window well and raised the level of dirt up a good foot. All along 2 of the 4 sides of our house and no issues. I was against cement foundation though.

normally you seal the exterior of the concrete to keep the moisture from going through it as concrete is not water proof by itself. as far as the wood siding, here in the states the wood has to be at least 6 inches from the dirt. if you are putting dirt up against the wood you will need to make sure the wood is pressure treated and more than likely it has to be a vapor barrier between the 2 surfaces.
to be safe contact your local building department. but dont tell them who you are or your address, because they will come out and nail you for permits or what ever.
looks good, is the wife happy?

Thanks for the responses guys. I asked a few people that I know and they said that the tar on the out side of the wall should be more than enough to keep the moisture out. The smell seems to be noticeable on and off in different parts of the basement. I noticed it yesterday at the other end of the basement. Gonna try to get a dehumidifier and clean the carpets to get rid of it. Hopefully that works.