It is advantageous to construct an elevated bed next to a house for planting flowers, fruits, vegetables, and other kinds of plants. It can eliminate built-in corners and free up a lot of space in your yard.
Due to dampness and root intrusion into the foundation, garden soil can weaken a home. By placing a barrier between the ground and the wall, it is safe to build a garden bed up against a home. By constructing the garden bed 12 to 24 inches away from the home, additional security can be added.
To avoid harm to your home, careful planning is essential when building anything foreign close to it.
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It’s uncommon to build a raised bed up against a house, so you should think carefully before you start executing your big design.
These include
- Defending the home from water
- defending the home against insects and roots
- Plants’ exposure to light
The following articles may be of use to you:Garden raised bed with termitesHow to guard a brick wall from dirt and waterWhat causes concrete to crack due to tree roots?
Table of Contents
How to Build a Raised bed Against a House
You must take the following actions in order to construct a raised garden next to your house:
1. Dig down into the soil
To prepare the dirt for building a bed, dig down far enough (about 10 to 20 inches). Use a large log to compact the soil on the surface, then use a level meter to level it out for proper drainage.
2. Cast bricks around the excavated area
Bricks should be used to build the raised bed’s framework, and bricks or cement blocks should be used to finish the front and rear of the excavation.
3. Line a layer of bricks as a veneer in front of the house wall
Bricks can be attached to the wall or laid out in another layer in front of or next to the current wall.
4. Install a waterproof barrier
Install a cotton fabric or thick waterproof plastic sheet now to create a barrier between the wall and the bed.
5. Line the Bottom of the Raised Bed Garden
Filling the bottom of a garden with organic debris would enrich the soil with nutrients as it decomposed. Additionally, this fills the garden bed without the need to add a lot of nutrient-rich soil, which would raise the project’s cost.
6. Add Filler
Any type of organic material, including tree bark, logs, wood chips, hay, or even old soil from a previous garden, can be used for this.
7. Add soil
On top of the organic material, spread a layer of soil enriched with nutrients and organic fertilizer.
8. Add plants
The bed is now prepared for a variety of plants, including flowers, fruits, vegetables, or a mix.
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The Downside of having a raised bed against a house
Beware of these drawbacks before building raised beds in your garden plan for a rooftop or courtyard:
1. Lack of sunlight
Sunlight is a factor to take into account while constructing a raised bed next to a house. You would not have many issues if the wall faced south.
The plants that are on the southern side of a wall structure benefit from the sun’s nearly 12-hour period of uninterrupted daylight in the northern hemisphere.
The amount of sunshine that the plants would receive will be constrained if the wall faces east or west. This will have an impact on the overall crop production throughout the growing season (beginning of spring to the end of fall)
2. Waterlogging and Salinity problems
If a barrier isn’t used to shield the house structure from moisture over time, the walls will start to soak up water and deteriorate.
If the foundation of the home is subjected to any pressure from soil movement, cracks will result.
3. Promotes pests and insects
Unwanted bugs can enter your home if soil is next to a house, in this case, the walls of a house.
Termites are underground insects that like moist, dark environments to flourish. Cellulose, an organic fiber present in wood and plant materials, provides nutrition to termites.
This means that they can rapidly undermine the construction of any home by eating through any wooden components, rendering it inhabitable.
Waterproofing to protect the foundation of the House
The home’s foundation needs to be shielded from exterior and underground water seepage.
Use a waterproofing solution to ensure that water does not seep into the wall’s foundation.
You can use a variety of techniques to stop moisture from penetrating into a wall’s base.
Here are some of the more widely used techniques:
Heavy polyurethane coating
This coating is synthetic and typically has a thickness of two to three times that of regular coatings.
The coating’s goal is to stop moisture from penetrating through the outside walls and into the interior spaces, where it can eventually lead to strains and cracks.
Concrete Penetrant
Penetrating sealants function by raising the concrete’s surface tension.
These materials will produce hydrophobic water-shedding, which means that instead of allowing water to sink into the sealed concrete surface, it will be immediately rejected from it.
Fiber Cement Board – Prevent water ingress
One of the better options for building materials that function on home exteriors to stop moisture from seeping into the house’s foundation is fiber cement board.
For water molecules to enter and become a problem, the holes in concrete fiber must be much larger.
Epoxy for Walls
On cement-based substrates including concrete, plaster, cement-mortar, and cement boards, epoxy functions as a protective and ornamental paint to keep moisture out.
Pool Liner
On a garden bed, using a pool liner before adding soil and other substrates can assist prevent water from flowing the wrong way.
Bitumen Paint
Similar to epoxy, bitumen paint coats and shields the wall’s surface from the damaging effects that bare dirt can have on a wall.
It is fairly affordable, widely accessible, and easily applied with a paintbrush.
Preventing Root Damage Using a Tree Root Barrier –
The wall will not be directly shielded from soil by a tree root barrier.
It actually acts as a hard barrier to stop growth in undesirable directions, preventing tree and plant roots from approaching your home.
By collecting moisture and causing the soil beneath the foundation to sink, roots can cause cracks in concrete structures and home foundations. The removal of the support from beneath the foundation creates a void, which increases pressure and leads to unintentional cracks.
Additionally, as the roots get bigger, they can exert more strain on the walls and foundation, leading to tension and cracks.
Benefits of using a barrier lining during construction
When building raised bed gardens, a barrier liner is quite helpful since it will help shield walls and other foundations from the affects of having plants nearby.
- A liner can shield nearby walls from stray roots.
- Additionally, it can keep runoff water in the soil.
- protects the soil from weeds and pests like termites.
Roots are kept at bay
By collecting moisture and causing the soil beneath the foundation to sink, roots can cause cracks in concrete structures and home foundations.
The removal of the support from beneath the foundation creates a void, which increases pressure and leads to unintentional cracks.
encouraging water runoff
Raised bed gardens are designed to make efficient use of improved soil for plant and food growth.
Therefore, the characteristics of this soil would
- give the plants healthy nutrients
- Root aeration for plants
- decent drainage
Defending against plants and pests
Weeds from the existing soil would not be able to enter the soil that is rich in nutrients and is meant for your plants because of a lining barrier.
By vying for space in the raised bed, they could deprive your plants of nutrients if you let them.
Furthermore, pests like termites are present in untreated soil naturally and can easily contaminate the adjusted soil combination.
If you choose wood for the siding on your raised bed, termites could be an issue because they can quickly chew through it, compromising the raised bed’s structure. The result was that the wood would snap with little any force.
Will the Soil Affect the House?
Yes! The soil will have an impact on the house because, when it rests against the brick and mortar building, moisture from the soil will begin slowly seeping inside.
The routine watering of the plants in the raised bed will eventually cause the wall structure to weaken.
It is never a good idea to just deposit soil against any wall construction without the right protection in place since it can allow termites and other insects that live in the soil to enter the building.
Should you Join the Garden Bed to a House?
A house and a garden bed can be connected. However, because it was not a part of the basic structure while the wall was being built, if bricks are used as the siding material, it can eventually fall away from the house wall.
When this occurs, you can line the raised garden bed with a protective liner as previously mentioned to stop any dirt from washing away.
Many new homeowners inherit previously owned garden beds when they purchase their new houses, and they are consequently faced with the same issue.
The portions of the garden bed that connect to the wall simply disentangle.
Filling the crack is what you can do to address the problem, which may appear to be one. A basic mortar filling mixture will work.
Can Roots Cause Damage to the House?
Plant roots may wreak havoc on a home by
- causing strain and foundation fissures in the house
- absorb groundwater and add moisture to the bricks of the wall
The soil shrinks as a result of the moisture level being lowered by absorbing water by the roots. Because of this shrinking, the foundation is damaged and the soil below moves.
The same thing occurs when water is lost by transpiration and roots put pressure on the walls, resulting in concrete fissures.
Because of this, it is also advised that raised bed gardens be built 1 to 2 feet away from a house so that the walls won’t be harmed by the garden’s roots.
How to Stop Roots in an existing garden
– Cast bricks around the excavated area. … Suitable drainage
Security against plants and pests
The soil that is designed for your plants is nutrient-rich, therefore a lining barrier would stop weeds from the current soil from getting in.
They can deprive your plants of nutrients if they are permitted to do so since they will compete with each other for space in the raised bed.
The Takeaway
Moreover, pests like termites can easily permeate the altered soil combination as they are naturally present in untreated soil.
If your raised bed is made of wood, termites can be an issue because they can easily chew through the siding, weakening the raised bed’s structure. The wood would consequently snap with a minimum of force.
Yes! Because the dirt is pressed up against the brick and mortar construction, moisture from the soil will begin to slowly seep inside the home, affecting it.
As a result of routinely watering the plants in the raised bed, the wall structure will deteriorate with time.
FAQ
Can I build a raised garden bed next to the house foundation?
It’s never a good idea to just push soil against any wall construction without the right protection in place as it can serve as a pathway for insects and termites living in the soil to enter the house.
Can I build a garden next to my house?
You can connect a house to a set of garden beds. Because it was not a part of the original construction while the wall was being built, siding made of bricks has the potential to come away from a house wall over time.
How do you put a flower bed next to your house?
The raised garden bed can be lined with a protective liner, as previously described, to stop any soil from washing away when this occurs.
Can I put a raised garden bed next to house?
Inheriting previously owned garden beds when purchasing a new home is a dilemma that many homeowners encounter.
How far should garden be from house?
Simply separates are the portions of the garden bed that connect to the wall.