ᐅ Gravel Borders Around the House and Paving Work: Pros and Cons

kkk272729 schrieb:

I would at least include a strip on the windward side.

If the sidewalk goes right up to the house, raindrops fall on the stones and splash onto your brickwork.

• Primarily, an eaves strip serves as splash protection for areas with unpaved surfaces.
• That means, where, for example, grass, flower beds, or loose topsoil meet the house, this eaves strip protects the facade from getting dirty due to splash water when it rains.
• This eaves strip can be made of gravel or crushed stone.
• Grain sizes 8/16 mm (0.3/0.6 inches) or 16/32 mm (0.6/1.3 inches)
• However, paving slabs for walkways can also be used.
• The width should be at least 20 cm (8 inches), preferably 40 cm (16 inches).
• You can also install the eaves strip where a solid surface is present if you find that more visually appealing.
• For surfaces such as paving or asphalt, the eaves strip must be edged with a curbstone. If a more delicate look is preferred, options such as steel edging can be used. This should always be set in a foundation with about two-thirds of the support facing the house. This anchors the edging so it doesn’t tip over under the load of the surface.
• For grass or flower beds, a simple lawn edging with soil anchors is sufficient (should be at least 10 cm (4 inches) high).
• The total depth of such an eaves strip as splash protection only needs to be 10 cm (4 inches) if the soil underneath has sufficient permeability.
• To minimize weed growth, you can lay root protection fabric.
• You can, of course, extend any solid surface all the way to the house. There is no reason against doing this as long as
• the facade base is properly sealed,
• the surface is separated from the house base by a delta membrane / drainage membrane or protection mat (at least 5 mm (0.2 inches) thick),
• the surface slopes away from the house with a gradient of at least 2 to 2.5%. This ensures that rainwater flows away from the building.
• If the slope leads toward the house, you risk water damage to and inside the building during heavy rain events.
• A separating layer such as a delta membrane, drainage membrane, or protection mat is necessary to protect the (waterproof) base sealing from mechanical stress and possible damage. For example, a car exerts horizontal pressure on the paved surface, which could otherwise be transmitted to the facade. To prevent the surface from rubbing against or pressing into the base sealing, these separating layers are installed. This is not necessarily required for gravel or crushed stone eaves strips if a stable fabric is laid beneath but can still be done.
• If you know that your soil around the house has poor permeability, the eaves strip can also serve as an infiltration or drainage strip. In this case, the trench around the house must be excavated much deeper and, if necessary, a drainage pipe laid at the bottom, directing water to the local sewage system or to cisterns or soakaways in the garden. This prevents waterlogging near the house in heavy clay soils, for example. The trench is then filled with gravel and covered on top with decorative gravel or crushed stone (grain sizes as mentioned above).