Gravel Placement in Preparation for Monsoons

Since the excavation to address drainage issues from the North slope (discussed in the previous post), I shoveled, then hauled, 5-truck loads of gravel from a dry wash in the nearby canyon to spread over the disturbed clay soil.  This action was motivated in preparation for the forthcoming summer monsoon season. 

The red arrows in the annotated photo below show the following: 1) How the ground is sloped so the water will now move away from the building, 2) Water path toward the building from the north slope.  3) Drainage scheme from the excavation to move water from the North side of the building, curving East and then South away from the structure entirely. 

The photo below shows additional gravel deposited onto driveway over top of clay soil that was disturbed due to excavation.  Without this gravel, walking on wet clay during the summer monsoon season would result in excessive mud build-up on shoes vehicles and other 'wheeled' equipment.

The next step will be to construct a stone masonry stem wall (approximately 2-ft height) to retain the North slope; then gradually smaller in height on the east side of the building (above photo shows predominately the East side of the building).