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We want to pour cement at the front door but aren't sure if we should pour it below, level with, or above the existing foundation. If we pour it above, wouldn't there be a good chance water would be able to run into the house? I would think we should pour it an inch or two below that level, but I don't know what you're supposed to do in situations like this.

We will be finding someone who knows what they're talking about, but until then, for the sake of deciding as a family how exactly we'd all like it to look I was hoping someone could give us some advice.

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brhans
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2 Answers2

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I would pour it below the foundation level for several reasons.

First if the same level it would be easy for a heavy rain to end up inside.

In my current state and 2 others I have lived in the exterior slab is supposed to be 4-6 inches below the siding. I have had issues with home inspections/ bank financing on several flips that did not have the clearance concrete should not be an issue but when flagged by the inspector it has caused problems. In 1 case I had to remove the slab 4” out from the siding and create a depression to provide the clearance crazy but 2 hours with a concrete saw eliminated the bank financing issue so make sure to provide the clearance or you may end up doing similar or loosing a sale.

Ed Beal
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Pave/pour it below, and grade it away from house.

Your challenges are snow and rain.

Snow will pile against the wall, then melt and ingress into siding or framing. Or it will melt & re-freeze between structural wood where it can cause separation at the bottom plate of your framing.

Currently all water heads down into the soil, and so you have to think about where it would go & collect if paved, even if graded. This applies to all water: rain water dripping down from the siding, snow piles melting against the house etc..

Grading it will not be enough to protect the base of your house framing.

Alternatively, you could have a higher slab if you provide alternative means to keep water away form the house, e.g. with a french ditch, perhaps 1 ft of gravel perimeter between house & slab, with an embedded drainage pipe.

P2000
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