Should you dig up the soil around the foundation of your house?

Question

I have one room that smells musty all the time. I went around the outside of the house and noticed that the soil was hard and moss was growing on it. My gut is that the drainage on that side of the house is poor and the packed soil is causing the musty smell in the house. Before I spend a ton on some foundation specialist, I wanted to get some opinions about my soil theory. Thanks

Answer 1

Is it a slab, or stem wall foundation. If it's slab, it's unlikely to be the culprit. Sounds like there's probably some mold going on somewhere. If you don't already know a reliable contractor, you can get referals from the contractor licensing board in your state. You should be able to get an estimate for free.

Answer 2

excavating near an existing foundation can be costly and time consuming. Prior to doing that you need to be sure that the area in question is in fact causing the problem ( it could be moisture from the water table seeping in rather than moisture from above making it way down.) A simple way to identify this potential is as follows, Raise the grade along the foundation by raking, sloping the existing dirt, making sure you have positive flow for minimum 5 to 6' Cover this 'test' area with a barrier (6 mil poly sheeting) draping the poly up along the foundation, and out over your newly created sloped grade. Now cover the poly with a landscape material, preferrably rock to protect from puncture. This 'test' area should be along the foundation stretching beyond the affected area to see a true result. Having completed this procedure, use a fan to move air while venting the room for several days. If the musty smell diminishes, it is likely that your issue has to do with a water table source, or a possible leak or penetration within the structure, such as a window area where the moisture could be traveling inside a wall structure.

Answer 3

You should first of all improve the drainage away from the footing and have a gradual slope of at least a 50mm fall over a 1 meter length from the wall. You should never excavate adjacent to the footings as usually your termite protection barrier is placed near the footing and if you dig it up you would have to get the barrier put back in. Also, excavating next to the footing at depth could increase the chance of subsidence to that area of the house. Best bet is to scour the surface and fix drainage first.

Answer 4

Is there dirt in the basement underneath that room? That would be the most likely culprit. You can get special plastic to cover the dirt in Home Depot or Lowes.

If it's just concrete block under there, then yes you should dig it up, cover the wall with a waterproof liner, and fill up the hole with crushed stone then dirt.

Answer 5

I have a similiar issue. I had a co come out and they said to dig up the soil around and pour bleach down there.

Answer 6

if the room has a crawl space under it , have some foundation vents installed...

Answer 7

water in cellar?wall cracked? if no

put lots of bleach to it. make sure water doesnt puddle to that area.

rain gutters.