Two years before our major remodel, we had a sidewalk put in and expanded the deck. This provided access to the walk-out basement.
The yard has a small retaining wall that had to be considered when putting in the sidewalk, along with the grade of the yard. Since the sidewalk would be a distance from what was the end of the current deck, we decided to have the deck expanded to meet it, which doubled the size of the deck.
Ready for pouring.
To accommodate the sidewalk, the downspout flow was rerouted by piping it under where the sidewalk would be poured. See the downspout route and drain put in place so water/ice wouldn’t accumulate on the concrete. Also note bump out for wheelchair turns.
Nice rounded corners.
Deck BEFORE:
Deck DURING:
So happy I requested a gate at the top of the stairs to contain small children and pets.
When the inspector came, the code had been changed for rail height, so we added a bar to make it higher.
The rail addition did NOT work as the sun/heat made it bow.
I asked them to build me a planter to grow lilies of the valley plants in the shade of the stairs.
Deck AFTER:
Entrance to walk out basement:
Result: Clean and smooth path to the lower level and a large deck to enjoy.
Climbing Downhill 