Lawn beside a garage wall

[Tony Carnell]

Hi all,

We currently have a concrete path leading up the back garden beside the garage. We wish to dig up this path and make a new one running more up the middle of the lawn in a winding motion to make the best use of the space. The lawn will then run right up to the garage wall.

My question is will removing the path and taking the lawn up to the brick wall of the garage affect the wall? I'm thinking of damp etc. The garage is of single course brick construction and as far as I'm aware has no damp proof course.

Could I paint the wall below the lawn level with a bitumen-based paint perhaps?

All advice gratefully received.

Tony.

[Palindrome]

I can think of all sorts of long term problems. So, I would either run a cutter along and leave a 6" section of the path in place, next to the garage. Or put in a 6" strip of new concrete/slab next to the garage. Whichever is easier.

That will achieve a number of things. Less chance of damp. Less chance of de-stabilising the wall (What are the wall footings like? Could the path be supporting the wall?). Less chance of roots doing damage. Easier to deal with ivy and other climbing menaces.

However, if you don't - provided that the soil level isn't higher than the previous path level and is kept to that height (tricky) and nothing other than grass grows there (tricky) - then you should be ok.

Waterproofing single skin walls in contact with soil is almost impossible, IME. Even if you keep the water out from outside, you risk capillary rise on the inside..Trees manage to get water to 100+ feet, just using capillary action - a few feet up the inside of a "waterproof" coating is no problem.

-- Sue