How to simply and reliably repair an old house blind area

The blind area around the perimeter of the foundation of the building protects it from rain and melt water (the main thing), can serve as a pedestrian path (optional), and also gives the building aesthetics and a finished look. But over time it deteriorates and requires repair. Any adult can do it, even without special knowledge and skills.

Will need

Materials:
iron rods;
plastic bottles;
wooden stakes and edged boards;
self-tapping screws;
reinforcing mesh;
concrete solution.

Tools:

a sharp bayonet shovel, a hard broom, a measuring tape, a heavy hammer, construction thread, a mallet (rammer), a drill, a trowel and usually an angle grinder.

The process of repairing a destroyed blind area

Using a bayonet shovel, we remove vegetation from the cracks and at a distance of 20-30 cm from the outer edge of the old blind area. We sweep away debris from the concrete. We mark the updated future blind area by driving in metal stakes at its beginning and end, at some distance from the edge of the old blind area.

We stretch the construction thread between the stakes. For safety, we put plastic bottles on the pins.We dig the soil along the entire length of the blind area between the old blind area and the stretched thread to the width of a shovel and a depth of 10-30 cm.

Be sure to carefully compact the bottom of the resulting trench using a homemade beater or tamper.

Let's start laying out the formwork. First, we drive wooden stakes along the thread, and then screw planed boards with a thickness of at least 25 mm to them from the inside using self-tapping screws and a drill.

On the base, using the same thread, we mark the level of the top of the base of the future blind area so that a guaranteed slope from the foundation to the outer edge of the blind area is ensured.

We lay concrete slats 2-3 cm high above its surface on the old blind area and lay the reinforcing mesh on them.

We fill the space between the base and the formwork with concrete, smoothing and compacting the concrete mixture with a trowel. Solution proportions: 1 part M500 cement, 2 parts sand and 3.5 parts crushed stone or screenings.

At the final stage of laying the concrete mortar, we smooth its surface according to the rule, observing the specified slope and a thickness of at least 7 cm, otherwise it is difficult to ensure the required strength.

Thanks to digging a trench along the edge of the old blind area, the concrete pouring looks L-shaped in cross-section. This form provides a water seal, preventing water from getting under the foundation (the main goal of repairing the old blind area), and also, due to soil pressure, the new blind area will not slide and move away from the base.