Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Eye Sore

Here are some more examples of handyman questions I have receive, and this one was a little different than my normal questions.

Here it is:

In preparing to sell my late mother's home, I need advise on a situation. It is a ranch house on a slab. During the building process of this house there was a threat of a class action suit regarding pest control/Styrofoam edging around the slab. The pest control contractor "solved" this problem by installing a concrete apron around the slab (6 inches wide, 2 inches deep around the entire perimeter). I can't see that this really did anything but make the house look undesirable because the concrete is broken every two feet and broken away from the slab. The Styrofoam has been cut away at ground level. Should I just remove this concrete?

The Styrofoam was a bad idea to start with, it would wick moisture up and increases the chance of insect intrusion. The concrete was almost as bad. Having the Styrofoam cut away is the best thing you could do.
Removing the concrete will not hurt a thing, in fact it could help. You can replace the concrete with dirt, or you can use decorative gravel.
Another thing you may consider is making sure that the gutters and downspouts are working properly. It is equally important to make sure that where the downspouts terminate there is a splash block or some way to get the water away from the foundation.
Water control is important!

Remember "Call your handyman and go fishing"