How Far Should Dirt And Plants Be From Siding

Wood siding stucco vinyl brick.

How far should dirt and plants be from siding. If the adjacent ground is concrete such as part of a patio or a sidewalk it still requires the same clearance as bare earth. Wood siding clearance is recommended to be 8 inches from soil. If your grade is level with the siding install a drip edge level with the mulch. Also do not allow mulch wood or stone or vegetation to come in contact with any siding product.

Wood products need to be able to dry thoroughly after rain and the extra space aids that process. The reason for this clearance requirement is that while moisture will rot wood and damage other siding even if the ground isn t holding water against the siding rain splashes up and soaks the siding. When it is higher from the ground splashing water onto the wood is minimized. Wood siding should be 4 or so from the ground whether that be soil or solid surface.

The further the better. The national renewable energy laboratory suggests planting low growing evergreen shrubs where their furthest mature edge will end 12 to 18 inches away from the foundation. All siding should ideally have at least 6 to 8 inches clearance above the ground. Install the drip edge one foot from the siding when controlling a grade and a little outside the drip line of a home when controlling splashing water.

This needs to be at least 6 inches to prevent any chance of termite invasion or mold problems in. That ll block what is generally the least attractive view of any house and help insulate your home by blocking the direct path of icy winds in winter. Leave a 1 2 gap from the top of the edging to keep mulch from touching the siding. At least 6 inches of the foundation should be visible above the dirt line to create a gap between the actual framework and siding stucco or other exterior finish of the home so it doesn t rest too.

The dirt should never touch the siding a minimum of 2 of concrete between dirt and siding. The recommended clearance of masonry siding products brick stone etc is 6 inches. That would vary with the installation but siding should pretty much never finish at the patio surface there should always be a gap and that will vary from 2 6 depending on the type of patio materials. Any clearance is better than none.

Measure the distance from the soil line to the bottom of the siding on the exterior of the house.