Victorian Terrace ground height reduction

[Copse Road]

Hi everyone, the ground height on my victorian terrace is currently above both the slate DPC and the air bricks, which are 'protected' by a shroud of bricks.

I cleared out a small section of earth today, exposing the air brick level & two further courses of brick below.

I'm planning on removing the brick air vent 'shrouds' then levelling the entire ground to that depth & finishing with a membrane then crushed buff stone - am I handling this correctly? Have I missed something obvious?

Thanks a lot, I'm anxious to ensure the DPC & air bricks can function properly before winter - it's a North facing garden so the ground is near permanently damp.

Pictures included:

A - front view, high ground level, air brick shrouds

B - side view of high ground level

C - dug down 3 courses

D - close up view & my plan

Bonus info - the previous owner used the brick air brick boxes as planters for daffodils....

 

[Lacan07]

Sounds like a plan, get rid of it all, I'd do the path way too. Leave the newly exposed brick under the slate DPC too dry out for a year or two, (in case you were tempted to black jack it). You may need to do some repointing too.

Don't forget to slope the ground away from the house slightly. I guess if you were to cover the the exposed ground with a water proof membrane you could ensure any rain hitting the area will wash away up the pavement but unfortunately not on to the street due to the height difference. It might be worth digging a deep gully at the pavement boundary filled with stones as a kind of soak away. Others on here may advise better.

 

[malcolm]

Definitely makes sense to lower the external ground level. Worth thinking about where rain water is going to go if that makes your ground level lower than the neighbouring land. Is that likely to be an issue? Otherwise looks easy.

 

[Copse Road]

Thank you both for your replies, as suggested I'm going to remove the whole lot, path and all, down to that level to let the bricks air out.

Sadly I have no surface water drainage connection, so I think I'll slope gently towards the pavement and add a gravel trench. I am considering adding ACO channel drains along the front of the house & the sides to redirect rainwater coming from my neighbours to the gravel at the front boundary of my property.

I'll need some sort of retaining structure along the left hand side to prevent the pebbles & water coming in from underneath the neighbours fence - potentially those concrete gravel boards used in fencing? Or would I be better off hiring a bricklayer to build a short retaining wall?