Also make sure you have good surface-water drainage patterns; meaning away from the house and sloping to a logical termination. Your old sand base was likely able to absorb water from imperfections and low areas, but not anymore.

Before proceeding, level the yard as necessary to provide proper drainage. Yank out all the bricks and pour two or three inches of concrete over the ground (more is desirable if you like), placing the bricks in the wet concrete as you go.

You will find that pea-gravel concrete will be easier to mix, work with and set bricks in. After the concrete dries, fill the

joints between the bricks with mortar mix, or use sand again if you prefer.

Q: Our 6-year-old condominium complex has had massive amounts of leaks and rotting on the southern sides. This was found to be caused by faulty installation of the stucco surfaces, which trapped water inside the walls.

We did not even know we had a problem until water appeared inside units. The damage was so extensive that major structural items needed replacement.

Our insurance company (which incidentally is the same as the builder's) would only correct areas in danger of immediate collapse. They then canceled our policy. We were offered no help with construction repairs.

We find ourselves caught between an insurance carrier, an unresponsive builder and attorneys who want $100,000 retainers to touch our case. We are 20 owners, the majority senior citizens, and certainly cannot afford the attorney fees or the comparably priced repairs.

We assumed that buying a new building meant that proper warranties were in place. Attorneys have told us that the four-year, statute-of-limitations has expired because it was a latent defect. Can you help us?

A: The material you have on your building is called Exterior Insulating and Finishing Systems (EIFS). EIFS is also called synthetic stucco but is not to be confused with conventional stucco. They are different products that have a similar appearance. EIFS is a very resilient and waterproof material, which surprisingly is the very cause of the problems many buildings are having.

EIFS was introduced to the U.S. market in 1970 and used mostly on commercial buildings. In the last 10 years or so it has rapidly gained a large share of the residential market because of its many undisputed advantages.

But many applicators in the past were not aware of the importance and proper methods of sealing around penetrations, flashings and interfaces with other materials. The problems with the material surfaced in North Carolina a few years back and here and in other sections of the country more recently.

In very general terms, when water gets behind EIFS and its substrate insulation board, it is trapped because it is watertight. There are new published guidelines by an industry group for installation and installers are much more careful with sealing. But this is an ongoing, complicated saga, and there will certainly be more said about it on these pages in the months and years to come.

I am unaware of a hotline or clearing house for helping consumers in your situation, although I have heard there may be a class-action lawsuit filed in this state soon.

For now, if you haven't done so, file a written complaint with the state Attorney General's Office, 900 Fourth Ave., Room 2000, Seattle 98164, and with the Better Business Bureau, 4800 S. 188th St., Room 222, SeaTac, WA. 98188. Be sure to include the brand name of your specific EIFS product, if possible.

Ask The Expert answers readers' questions every Saturday. Send questions to Ask The Expert, Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111, or call 206-464-8514 to leave your questions on Ask The Expert's recorded line. E-mail address is dhay@seattletimes.com