I have a raised flower bed about 11' long, 4'high and 32" wide beneath our livingroom window. It has been there since the house was built 33 years ago. Recently when we watered the garden with a sprinkler - ie. the water oscillating and hitting the window and running down - we encountered water coming in through the finished basement ceiling on this outside wall. This doesn't happen when it rains hard, likely because the house eaves somewhat protect the area directly under the window. Is it suitable to dig out the earth and flowers, reparge and tar the wall and put some form of impermeable material against the wall to solve the problem or is a raised flower garden against a house wall a bad idea in the first place?
Answer:
Because it is coming in and showing up at the ceiling level, you can expect almost any part of that wall from the window sill to the joint between the foundation wall and actual structure. Digging things up is certainly in your future and I don't know that I'd suggest that you put a raised garden against that, or any other wall.
