and the beast lay slain...

this palm really was a beast, but it had to go. It was right up against the house and in the way of the dryer vent and plumbing for the washer/dryer area. As you can see the roots are not very big, but there are a ton of them. I had this tree practically laying on the ground and there were still roots holding on.
Once the beast was out of the way I dug out the dirt against the side of the house and prepared a moisture barrier at the base consisting of tar, tarpaper, more tar, and more tar paper.
I still haven't found a good skirt for the bottom of the house there, but I still plan on digging a drainage ditch along this side of the house, since the neighboring lots basically drain down towards this side of our house.