Walkway next to garage

cprao

I have around 8 foot and 20 ft space next to my garage and my neighbour.

The first 4 ft from the garage plain and the next 4 ft is sloppy upwards.
My plan is to lay some pavers (I have many used ) on the plain so that I can put trash cans.. and being it pavers it is easy to pull them.

Now my question is -1 )I don't know whether or not should I put a walkway, right next to the foundation wall.

2) Next, I would like to put a gate so that trash cans are not visible from outside.. so it won't look ugly. But the question is - I am not going to build any wall (wood/iron/brick) between ours and neighbour.. still can I put a gate by putting a pole to support the gate. so one side it would be a pole and the other side it would be the garage wall..
Does this makes sense ?

Please see the pics.
http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/v...1/P5200433.jpg
http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/v...P5200432-1.jpg
http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/v...P5200431-1.jpg

sdsester

Saw no pics.

I would not rush to anchor a gate off the garage framing.

Pics appeared when I looked at this again. Of course you can hang a gate from an anchored post.You will want a 2 by to a stud in the garage for the hardware latch and support. Depending on the gate type you finally choose? Give it cross support or turnbuckle it so you can adjust it back to square as time goes on. Putting an adjustable wheel under the garage end will take stress off the post it is hanging from too.

Wildie

Yep! OK!

cprao

Pictures are added now. Please review and comment again.

sdsester

That grade looks quite severe to me. You cannot expect a walkway to be built on it and isn't water when it rains in California seeping into the garage.

I thing your project focus should retaining things first.

How did things get graded with that much of a slope leaning toward your garage?

cprao

What I am thinkng is by creating a walkway with a slide grade towards the driveway, I can make the water not to seep into the garage wall.. Does this make sense ?

sdsester

Perfect sense I guess but if I am reading the pictures wrong you have something like a 20 degree slope or more leaning directly into your garage.

You are going to have to grade it out somehow and if the slope extends 20 or more degrees on the neighbor side. You are going to need to add a retaining wall and some sort of drainage.

Sounds like you and the neighbor talk?

By the way, what is the neighbor even lower than you like? Can you talk to them?.

One of the sad things that happens with real estate developments is that contractors come in, scrape the land and jut pile the dirt somewhere. Most major developments never bother to pay a civil engineer or landscape architect to fix all the mounds of dirt. after all is done. The mounds left by earthmovers are now owned by you.

You cannot get away with a sidewalk on the slope you are showing. How would you even walk on it?

You need to carve a somewhat level path and retain soil or whatever getting to it.

Ron6519

Not with the slope you have from the hill next to the garage it doesn't. You will need to erect a small retaining wall into the hill with drainage behind the wall sloping to the driveway.
The walkway will slope away from the garage and down to the driveway.
Ron

cprao

My plan it not to lay down the walkway for the whole sloping area.. for for the first 4 ft which is flat.
The then water comes from hill the area on this walkway and the walkway will be sloped to outside to the driveway. This way I will not not let water go into my garage.. at least to a great extent.

Also I am planning to put some fruit trees on that hill area, it also helps to absorb some water..

Does this make sense ?

cprao

Neighbor are on high level than us. I will only put the walkway on the first 4 ft from the garage.
This walkway would be leaning to the driveway so that water can get out without going into garage.

Ron6519

Your understanding on this is flawed, but it's your house, do what you want.
You asked for advice and I told you what needed to be done based on what I see in the photos and my experience.
Ron

sdsester

No it does not make sense. You never seek to invite water toward a structure!!! Hoping you can outsmart one of the most powerful natural forces and drain it off down the drive.

Regrade that area. Add drainage to help your new retaining wall.

You have no room to plant fruit trees in that space by the way. How would you ever get around them to prune or even pick things. And asking a tree to hold a slope like you have to keep water away from the house. Not wise.

If you like the neighbor? Why don't you see if you can work on fixing this grading situation together. The good neighbor fence would have to come down so you could fit a small bobcat.

cprao

Thank you for the advice. I am planning to degrade the whole area now.