Gravel strips around the house and paving work: pros and cons

Nobody [emoji22]?

Me as a layperson: A dimple membrane serves as protection for the foundation and is simply laid between the foundation and the gravel. A simple version that is not fixed and does not require a visible rail is sufficient. Whatever sticks out at the top is cut off. That’s how it was done for us.

Best regards, Yvonne

We also had a gravel strip installed. However, we had the curbstones laid crosswise instead of upright; they still sit in a concrete shoulder. This was cheaper than making the gravel strip wide enough with upright curbstones so that it serves as a walkway. The walkway is good! In muddy weather, we always walk around the little house with clean feet. And who would want to disturb a developing lawn at the beginning. But I often see developer houses where the grass grows right up to the house.

We have Birco channels for drainage. It is important that they are not too short but cover a complete stretch, e.g., the garage driveway, even if one meter less could probably handle the expected amount of water well. Better too many Birco channels than too few; they are not expensive, and their installation is so familiar to the tradespeople that you don’t need to worry much about them messing it up. The pipes must, of course, be laid in the ground beforehand, and the height of the surface covering must also be known. If we had patio doors without any threshold to the terrace surface, we would certainly have installed Birco channels there as a precaution. However, the terrace floor should have a slope away from the house anyway.

Hope this helps you, best regards

Gabriele

Thank you very much in advance. Yes, these are all just "little things" that you simply have to deal with. Everything is supposed to be done correctly.

A dimpled membrane serves as protection for the foundation and is simply laid between the foundation and the gravel.

In my opinion, the dimpled membrane protects the plinth or the render in the plinth area against mechanical damage caused by the gravel strip and against standing moisture on the gravel. The type of dimpled membrane probably does not matter; the simplest standard product will do.

The curb set in the concrete usually does not enclose the gravel strip against the house. The gravel strip is open at the bottom. Only with non-permeable soil (soil survey) is additional drainage needed. In most cases, this will not be necessary. There is also a bit of roof overhang.

With the channel, you can't go wrong in my opinion ... use the standard product from the civil engineer. In front of the patio door, choose stainless steel design covers at your own discretion (sample).

I would like to join the question again... Is a dimpled membrane between soil/gravel and the concrete slab absolutely necessary even if the facade does not extend into the gravel? I don't quite understand the purpose, since the water then stands against the dimpled membrane and not directly on the concrete of the slab. Also, water can be pushed up from below between the dimpled membrane and the base, right? Which product is best to use for this?