Block Wall, Bay Window, Fill and Mold?

[BrianJWhite]

Hi all. I’m new to this forum and any advice is greatly appreciated. I’m putting in a small block wall in front of a bay window. The finished height will be just above the bottom part of the bay. We would like to fill in the area with and then put some plants in there. I have heard that if we don’t keep 6 inches of empty space below the bay we run the risk of having mold problems in the future. First off is this true? Also what about the siding part that’s not under a bay, does this area need to be clear from dirt as well? If so does anyone have any recommendations on how to accomplish our goal with out risking damage to the house and out health? Thanks Again.

Brian

[Bill Schwab]

What part of the world are you from? In our area, San Diego building code writ says we have to keep all hardscapes 2" under the weep screed of the stucco (the same as the siding bottom in a home) and 4" for areas with dirt.

Several reasons for this, but mold is one you don't want to even mess with if you can avoid it. You have to have an air to light transference in order to let the siding vent properly.

Without seeing your particular situation, I can only speculate, but what I would do is keep the dirt well under the siding, and slope it away from the home. Is there any rise from where your home is over the ground now? If it is flat, rather thahn building a wall, I would just plant for some texture and interest and call it a day.

[Stonehenge]

Brian, can you post a picture of the area in question? I'm having a hard time understanding what you're after.

[BrianJWhite]

Thanks for the input. Sounds like a big yes to me. I guess we will change our plans a bit and be thankful I found this fourm before I did something really stupid.

The second and third picture in the "Home Improvements" album show the bay window before the block wall and after the block wall.
photos (http://spaces.msn.com/members/BrianJWhite/PersonalSpace.aspx?_c01_photoalbum=showdefault&_c02_owner=1&_c=photoalbum)

The reason for the wall was to hide the ugly. But we can still do that with out filling behind the wall and under the bay widnow. We'll just have to plant taller bushes in there :)

[Stonehenge]

Oh - yeah - you'll want to drop the height of that wall and make sure you have slope away from the house. You'll also want the plants sitting highter relative to the top of the wall (you might be able to leave them where they are after lowering the wall.