Driveway too steep! Bring driveway to street level & build new garage.
Hello we have a large and very steep driveway. In the winter it gets very icy and is a risk for falls. Snow removal companies refuse to remove the snow all the way to the garage doors because of risk of sliding into the garage doors. As a solution we would like to level off the current driveway up to the street level and build a new closed off garage above. Our city has pre-approved the building of a new garage however it cannot be attached to the house. It must be built 4 feet from the house. As per the current city bylaw you cannot build a property that is >30 % of the entire land. The maximum allowed dimensions for the new garage are 22 feet wide by 20 feet deep. The city is asking that we provide the plans for our extension before giving us a final approval and permit to build. Any suggestions to make this aesthetically appealing within a reasonable cost? Other possible solutions? Below is a plan of the driveway to scale and pictures of the front and side views of our house as well as one with the driveway. Thanks for your suggestion
Comments (14)
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Comments (15)"... planning to bring the drive up as high as possible now, though ... we don't want it so high that it starts to block that lower-level window on the left." Your problem with getting good feedback is going to be that you're starting this process without properly introducing people to the surrounding site. We have only a snippet of information ... more or less a theoretical house front. Not a complete front yard or a driveway or even a good picture that shows the land/house relationship. As it is, every solution offered is already limited by your own preconceived notions, which limit what you show us. We've been here before and didn't come to a conclusion that you got excited. The set-up now is little different. Whatever you do architecturally, outside of changing the main entrance to the basement floor, will make no difference insofar as solving the problem, which has not yet been clearly identified (the path from parking-to-front-door problem.) No one can investigate how changing the approach to the house might work toward solving your problem. Most other threads on the forum seem to reach a more or less successful conclusion because they involve a little planting or a simple problem. Here, the problem is much more complex, but the base information is threadbare. Like a newspaper that starts with the front page headlines, and then goes to article titles, and then on to elaboration of details, is how you should be presenting information. We should see the whole front yard at a distance, some sequential pictures that show the present approach, some wide span scenes (from slightly overlapping pictures) that show the area from at least 2, or maybe three different points of view, since there is topography involved. (Each point of view should be a complete scene ... not a disconnected picture.) A landscape architect could not assess and explore the issue with so little information to go on. I'm not trying to be a downer about your thread or issue, but trying to say if you want to be happy when you leave, you've got to produce enough information to work with....See MoreLady killed in her driveway setting up garage sale
Comments (68)They are now offering a $20,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the killer. The truck has been identified as a Nissan Frontier with crew cab, I think it's black, definitely very dark. I am hoping with the increase in rewards someone will be talking. Here's pictures of the lady and her husband. This needs to be solved!...See MoreDriveway too steep! Bring driveway to street level & build new garage.
Comments (1)photos missing...See Moredropping a steep driveway to street level
Comments (5)In Trail where my son lived they got tons of snow and he had heat installed in the driveway to melt the snow it was great and in your case perfect since the garage is higher than the driveway all the water will just run away. Where is it you live ? We live near Kootenay Lake . I can’t really see how to address this without a whole lot of work to see exactly what can be done , with a big enough money tree anything is possible...See More
Silvana P
5 years agoSilvana P
5 years ago
PROBeverlyFLADeziner
5 years agogeoffrey_b
5 years ago- PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
5 years agoNot sure about the scale, but in copying your home details here's how a separate garage might appear. IMO the mansard roof is a real issue
Silvana P
5 years ago- PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
5 years agohttps://www.angieslist.com/articles/are-heated-driveways-worth-cost.htm
As long as there is a drain at the bottom of the driveway and the heating element, I don't find the steep driveway aesthetically not pleasing............different than the norm in your neighborhood. However, those of us who live in metro areas are quite accustomed to having to drive down ramps to get to a garage enclosure.
highdesertowl
5 years ago
catlady999
5 years agoHU-979133467
3 years ago
littlebug zone 5 Missouri