It's a hodgepodge, with some professionally poured and some DIY from the previous homeowner. The latter includes this odd triangle, which is flaking and crumbling into powder.
Must have been hit by one of these:
Then there's the sunken walkway which fills with rain or snowmelt to create a nice little pond under my living room window.
Finally, there are the steps in front of the door. They don't look too dangerous from the front...
but from an angle, you can see they are a death trap. The top step is only 5.5 inches (14 cm) deep - half of the minimum 11 inches required by building codes. Seriously, what kind of crazy person builds 5.5" steps?
So I'm pretty excited to have all that insanity demolished and proper steps, landing, and walkway poured. Once it's done, I want to spiff up the front entry, which is totally plain right now.
At minimum, I want to paint the front door. I'll go with purple (no surprise there); I just have to decide which shade of purple. I also need to put up a house number. I'm thinking some type of plaque to hang beneath the light.
I gathered some ideas on a Pinterest board.
Okay the *dark door with black trim and window inserts* on your Pinterest board would be amazing. I like the dark purple doors though. Is your house grey? It looks a bit periwinkle on my computer screen.
ReplyDeleteYes, the dark door with black trim is amazing. :) I'm considering a purple version of that - dark purple with black trim - though my door has no glass inserts.
DeleteThe house is grey. My camera insists on making colors look more blue.
No worries... my computer often makes colors look wonky anyway. I love black and grey together. I think the purple door will look amazing.
DeleteYes, yes, yes. Go with a dark purple door with black trim. That will look awesome.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I can never go wrong with black and purple. ;)
DeleteA few months ago, while visiting Brighton there was an amazing house that was painted lilac and the door was a deep purple.
ReplyDeleteThere is a house in my neighborhood which is lilac with a sort of dark berry color trim. It's a combo I would never have thought of, but it looks amazing.
DeleteAll the steps to climb Huayna Picchu in Peru are only about 5 inches deep and about 12 inches high. Not hard going up.... super hard going down. Incas musta had little short feet.
ReplyDeleteI am filled with envy. I want to redo the hardscaping around my house SO BAD.
Treacherous! A slide or chute would have been a good addition. ;)
DeleteI have hated the landscaping and hardscaping for five years... I am SO ready to have something done about it.
I LOVE the way you did the pics on this post, so descriptive!! And you are right, you totally deserve this new driveway, walkway and stairs! :-)
ReplyDeleteThe only problem with blaming the Acme Disintegrating Pistol for the damage is that it usually reverses and disintegrates the person holding it instead of the intended target.
Thanks! With new concrete and new landscaping (hopefully in spring!), I can finally be happy with the exterior view.
DeleteHa ha! Indeed! Acme didn't get many repeat customers with that item. ;)
Long and short mixed steps are deadly!
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Many houses in the neighborhood have enlarged or replaced their front steps. I would have done it sooner if mine got any traffic, but I always come and go through the garage.
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