Hi,

I recently bought a place in Northern NJ. In general, the grade if the property is all off but for the moment, my immediate concern is really anything that is against the house. Outside of one part of my house, the soil was piled so high it was burying the siding. However, removing it below the siding and a few inches down the foundation is pretty much creating a giant well up against the house. The bushes and plants in the bed that butts up against this part of the house is a little higher in the middle before going away from the house again so I can't necessarily regrade it away from the house. What are my options here? One person suggested french drains to collect any water and direct it away but there are some pipes entering into the foundation (water supply) in this area as well. Any other ideas to deal with the water? I don't get a ton at this particular spot since the roof overhangs this area a couple of feet but heavier rains will still do it. Attached some photos, hope they are enough to illustrate the problem

 

I had a similar situation but with a bit more room to work. There was limited space between the edge of the house and the property line and all the ground sloped towards the house. I dug down so the bottom of the excavation was sloped away from the house. At the low spot I ran a perforated drain pipe downhill and open to daylight. Then I back filled the area with clean crushed stone. Any water hitting the stone percolated through and then was directed away form the house by the sloping ground at the bottom.

 

Does that mean there aren't any gutters? If so, installing gutters and piping the downspouts away from that area should help a good bit.