I could use some ideas on walkway design on L shaped entryways? for my sister, she does not live in a multimillion dollar home its just a simple normal haunted 1920's home that they are fixing up.She would like Something simple. However she like earthy and stones of plenty. One problem they have is it likes to flood right there. They know They have to raise it some to avoid it washing out. Right now there is an old rock path thatll have to be removed. O and they have the ugly meters all right there by the door not much they can do bout that. Want something that will make look better and draw the eye away from that stuff and also give them a path Thanks

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Alisalicious,

No idea what you are talking about. How about a picture?

the entryway is going to fall off when you raise the house to put a new, higher foundation under it. make a couple of cuts to insure it doesn't take anything else with it. fix the siding around the front door, add a screen door, and put a little surround around it to keep the mailman dry when they're knocking.

the utilities will need to be disconnected and reconnected when the house is raised if they come up buried to the house. you might then be able to move some of them.

while raising the house, raise the landscape... have the floodline shot with a transit so they build 4 or 5 blocks above the expected water, and waterproof to that level on the new foundation, with an EPDM sealed membrane underneath as well. then reslope around the house, and cut a drainage swale to the street from the back, so that any standing water runs around the house and outta there.

if you're going to fix it, don't fix it for this year. fix it for one or two feet over the 100-year flood plain. then everybody can relax. don't forget the drain tile and set a spare, battery-run sump pump in each of the sumps the foundation guys figure you need. that way if the power fails in flooding, you have time for a cheap $10 alarm to alert you to get alternate power over there.

and don't worry about the walkway until the lot is re-landscaped. whatever you have got within 20 feet of the house is going to be torn up and changed, I guarantee it. any heritage flowers etc, move them inside and distribute thinnings to trusted neighbors to grow, just in case.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: swschrad,