Take care of the foundation water drainage issue at the bottom of the foundation, install a by-pass and run it under the slab tied into an existing drain. Clean it up, parge the rest of the walls, and apply the final surface finish of your choice.

Thank you GN Builders! That sounds like a daunting task- breaking up slab and changing plumbing, am I understanding correctly? I am usually all for investing in a job done properly, but we’ve had to replace 90% of the plumbing in our house since buying 4 years ago and I’m not too excited about doing any more!!

You just need to make a few slab cuts near the foundation wall and drill a few holes in the block and install 1 1/2" pipe and fill the cut sections of the slab back with concrete.

There are a few other ways of doing but the slab will have to be cut in sections or along the perimeter depending on what system will be used.

This way any water entering the block cavity will drain under the slab instead of filling up the cavity and penetrating through the block face onto the slab surface.

Contact a few contractors dealing with this, some masons also do this type of work and get a few prices, the area is very small so it shouldn't be too expensive to do that.

Good luck

It does not look inviting or as cared for as the rest of the property. First I would remove the guard rail on the side of the staircase and replace it with a long raised planter that fills the whole bed (I see the smaller black planter you have there now). Plant it with a low growing dense shrub to form a low wall- cheap and will feel less enclosed while still preventing people from falling into the staircase. Next I would remove the short section of railing on your deck then build a new ipe wall to match your other ipe walls from the basement landing all the way up to where the deck handrail had been. Maybe integrate lights and signage so it looks like you are supposed to be here.

Thank you HALLETT & Co! This is really what I was envisioning, I appreciate your insight. Now I just need to find someone to do it!

Fix the drainage first--it shouldn't drain so close to the foundation of the house. Once that is done, you can fix the entrance.