How to Increase Backfill Height Against a Basement Wall

Basement walls are usually backfilled to a height that is below the bottom of the siding. This prevents soil from pressing up against the siding and causing it to rot. Backfill needs to be high enough that it causes water to run away from the foundation rather than toward it. If the soil around your foundation is lower than the surrounding area, you will have a pool next to your house whenever it rains, and that water will eventually find its way into your basement.

Shovel
Backhoe
Rake
Clean fill
Topsoil
Grass seed

Instructions

- 1
  Remove any obstacles from within 3 feet of the basement walls of your house wherever you will be increasing the backfill. Dig up shrubs and bushes, keeping them in large root balls covered with burlap for later replanting. Remove cement or brick walkways.
- 2
  Adjust the height of the bottom of your house siding if the backfill you are planning is going to come closer than 6 inches from its present position. If you backfill over the surface of the siding, it will begin to rot. If you cut off several inches from the bottom of your siding, you will need to replace it with stucco, cement grouting or some other water-resistant surface.
- 3
  Apply clean fill around the base of your house. You can do this with a small backhoe or by hand with a shovel. The first method is easier and faster; the second method will cost you less. Even if you use a backhoe, do the fine work next to the basement walls by hand to avoid the risk of hitting the basement walls with the backhoe and cracking them.
- 4
  Cover the fill with 4 to 6 inches of clean topsoil. Shovel and rake the surface of the topsoil to create a gradual slope that descends as it moves away from the house.
- 5
  Replace bushes, shrubs and walkways. Plant grass in the new soil to stabilize it and prevent erosion.

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