Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So I have a slight slop on the side of my house and I hate walking over it. I am looking to change some things about my yard to enjoy it some more.
So here's my problem. I am looking to do a tumbled brick walkway that goes from my driveway and curves around to go parallel to the house. I will have a planting bed against the house. The border planned is dry stacked Duke stone (named that because it is used on pretty much all of Duke Universities building since it was conceived and is local to my area). That stone will also be used as edging on the three garden beds around my yard if I choose to go with it.
It will look something like this: http://images1.servicealley.com/image/view?e=rp-500-375-%23CCCCCC&id=sim-5ozvvobjk&reference_id=sir-qo2krcppc (broken link)
The brick walkway and the stone border will abut each other.
Then on the other side of the brick walk will be a short retaining wall that will be needed to flatten out the area. At first I planned to do a cinder block wall faced with the Duke stone but that doesn't give the look I'm after, only would be used to match the colors of the border. And something about the squareness of the wall turns me off. I will also use the stone in the future at the back of my lot that is downhill leading into a lake as a retaining wall to flatten area out there and will be curved. I have looked at this and am pretty happy with it: http://cuttingedgemasonry.biz/yahoo_...154333_std.jpg
My question is: Will this be too many different materials in one area? Or am I just worrying too much? Sorry I couldn't provide pictures of the area. I will try tomorrow in the daylight.
It does sound like one too many types of material.
My area in Middle Tennessee that stacked-stone look everywhere as well. We have a lot of 150-year-old fences that were built to separate farms from each other.
Most of the time, the stacked stone looks best next to a natural element like grass, mulch or wood.
It looks very busy next to brick. Some homebuilders have tried to mix the two on a facade, and it ends up looking off.
IMHO, the stacked stone looks better next to flagstone or something with fewer breaks. There is a photo on this link called "courtyard entrance" that is a good depiction of a LOT of stone next to brick.
The stacked stone looks great next to pea gravel. I think your photos will help.
Will the brick walkway be set or have a sand base? I'm asking because my in-laws have a brick front walk that is about 10 years old now, and the have always had a problem with mildew and unevenness. It may be a contractor quality problem, but they wish they had not done brick.
So I have a slight slop on the side of my house and I hate walking over it. .
I sympathize...I wouldn't want to walk through slop either
(I do not play spelling moniter on the boards and recognize most are typos but some of them turn out funny)
To address the topic.....I also am not in favor of mixing the brick with the stacked
If you like it though, that's what matters.
I say that but mixed brick with rustic myself . However,we used 'aged' brick and allowed for a slight imperfections in the levelness so as to simulate natural heaving due to age.
I agree with above posters...
You do not want a "house that shoe makers (not of trade) built" scenario that can & may de-value your house.
If you already have stack stones... go with stack stones (what color stack stones??? Orange, pinks, greys etc. pick a similar tone, carry on through out).
If you have bricks... do bricks & other materials that bring out its colors (say terracotta w/ terracotta hues bricks etc.).
If really "in doubt" & really really like a mix (rustic & bricks)... consult a professional & have them put their "branding" (name) on it. That will help with value if sprucing up value is your target... landscape designs are aimed to add curb appeal after all.
So I finally remembered to take some pictures today to show you all what I'm looking at.
It is a slight slope. Walking on it is not that great especially when it is wet. I want to flatten it out and love paved brick walkways which I would want to do as well as a mulch bed against the house and some sort of stone for a retaining wall on the right of the walkway to flatten it out. So really I need to figure out what material will go with the pavers. I also have a slope down the the lake behind my house that eventually will get a small retaining wall so whatever the material is for the retaining wall is here it will also be used in the back of my yard in the future.
I am also putting together a container box for the two trashcans coming up so that will be done at or before this project.
I'd be careful with messing with the drainage too much....that's what the slope & slight ditch are. Unless well planned & installed very carefully, you could be looking at major foundation problems down the road.
Can you get a photo from the other direction also showing the whole side of the house & area around it? Maybe taken from down toward the marshy area & looking back in this direction?
Right now, I don't think this is something you should plan yourselves.
I'd be careful with messing with the drainage too much....that's what the slope & slight ditch are. Unless well planned & installed very carefully, you could be looking at major foundation problems down the road.
This is very important.
Having see the pix, what you have isn't really a "slope" that you can necessarily just flatten out. It's graded a particular way for drainage, as 3-Oaks said, as well as for the integrity of your foundation.
I would not mess with what is there. I think you are going to have to learn to live with it.
I already have a site plan that was done by an engineer for water drainage. End result, whatever I do with the walkway it needs to be permeable and the retaining wall with drainage rock and not to go all the way to the valley.
I am most interested in what materials to use that will look good together.
I already have a site plan that was done by an engineer for water drainage. End result, whatever I do with the walkway it needs to be permeable and the retaining wall with drainage rock and not to go all the way to the valley.
I am most interested in what materials to use that will look good together.
There are several types of pervious/permeable materials. The answer lies with how much are you willing to spend(?)
Some are plastic grids, others are concrete grid blocks, and some are nothing more than a well constructed gravel pad/walk.
In your particular case, I see no apparent reason for pervious materials if you control the direction of flow. In other words, I could pour a regular concrete walkway in such a way that it becomes the controller- once it's past the rear corner of the house, it call sheet flow to the lake beyond.
In such tight quarters it would be almost impossible to get enough fall to use a french drain system- so the pervious walk would have to be a "drywell" type system. And to be constructed properly is extremely laborious. Costing a lot more than a well executed concrete walk.
Here's a link that will give you a idea: Permeable Pavers | ICPI
I did one project for a H/O that wanted a pervious patio- actually she wanted a combination grass and concrete grid patio (there were drainage limitations)- It was at least twice as much as just a concrete patio with a drywell and a Hell of a lot more than doing a checkerboard patio with 16X16 pavers and sod that could have been graded with a slight dome- allowing water to not stand.
As far as the bed- as long as the back of the bed is no higher than the present grade elevation I see nothing wrong with that. As far as drainage "from" the bed- that would depend on where the water is coming from. If there is no gutter running along that side of the house (it's a gable end) then the only water that gets to the bed comes from the sky or your hose.
Excessive amounts of water may require additional forms of drainage, but if you're using a typical engineered stone or treated tie that will only be 12-18" tall I see no need for additional forms of water drainage.
There are several types of pervious/permeable materials. The answer lies with how much are you willing to spend(?)
Some are plastic grids, others are concrete grid blocks, and some are nothing more than a well constructed gravel pad/walk.
In your particular case, I see no apparent reason for pervious materials if you control the direction of flow. In other words, I could pour a regular concrete walkway in such a way that it becomes the controller- once it's past the rear corner of the house, it call sheet flow to the lake beyond.
In such tight quarters it would be almost impossible to get enough fall to use a french drain system- so the pervious walk would have to be a "drywell" type system. And to be constructed properly is extremely laborious. Costing a lot more than a well executed concrete walk.
Here's a link that will give you a idea: Permeable Pavers | ICPI
I did one project for a H/O that wanted a pervious patio- actually she wanted a combination grass and concrete grid patio (there were drainage limitations)- It was at least twice as much as just a concrete patio with a drywell and a Hell of a lot more than doing a checkerboard patio with 16X16 pavers and sod that could have been graded with a slight dome- allowing water to not stand.
As far as the bed- as long as the back of the bed is no higher than the present grade elevation I see nothing wrong with that. As far as drainage "from" the bed- that would depend on where the water is coming from. If there is no gutter running along that side of the house (it's a gable end) then the only water that gets to the bed comes from the sky or your hose.
Excessive amounts of water may require additional forms of drainage, but if you're using a typical engineered stone or treated tie that will only be 12-18" tall I see no need for additional forms of water drainage.
Thanks. I'll check into the pavers you mentioned. I was really hoping to dig down a few inches and do a sand base and then some pavers from HD or Lowes in a herringbone pattern. Creating that terrace I see does two things: Gives me an edge on the house side and also on my neighbor side to deal with. The house side I can do edging that will be lower than the beginnig to keep any water for retaining and the neighbor side, well thats my problem. I don't want to add a whole nother material and it look crazy. The water that drains from that vally comes from the street and my neighbors yard actually, not my house, so I'll have to leave that valley there but I don't plan to go out that far with a walkway. I've just slipped and fell one too many times to let this go on for ever. The concrete walkway you mention is the most pratical, I just don't like the looks of it, which is why I went another direction.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
