Thank you in advance

The step up to the stoop should be at least as wide, or wider, that the rail opening. Someone could miss the step on their way down and twist an ankle.

There's not any good way to fix the cracks, other than remove that section of stoop and re-pour it. If you want to "stick a band-aid" on it, the best one would be an epoxy flake coating, as it conceals cracks better than paint.

Yardvaark thanks for the tips on the step up and the railing. That section of concrete with the multiple cracks is pretty worrisome. You could not see it clearly in the pic but there is settling where one part is higher than the other. On the other areas of concrete there isn’t much drainage away from the house. I was thinking of cutting a drain in each slab that drops into a drain pipe. I‘m thinking of replacing all 3 pieces of concrete because if I replace the one cracked portion it will not match the other two.

Calidesign - That is a great tip for the doorway. It is tight I will see about changing the direction of the swing. That would be cheaper than lining up the steps with the front door. Thanks.

I would consider having insufficient pitch away from the house, for drainage, to be a "fatal error." There has been some settling and chances are, in the future, that it will be slightly worse, not better. The edge of the porch slab looks thin. We don't know its construction but, given the cracks, it may be too thin. With those facts, I'd say the best course of action is to tear it out and redo it. You can make it sturdy (thicker) and lasting. And you can get rid of the appearance flaws. It's not that big of a porch so could be DIY if you are handy. It gives you an opportunity to redesign the railing opening for a wider step. Consider removing another railing section and doubling the opening width. You could probably re-use the removed railing as a handrail alongside the steps.

BTW, I don't think the birch tree in the retaining wall has any chance of having a long life in that highly confined space. So I'd consider including that area to be within the scope of redesign. (I don't mean to say that the tree couldn't live. But it's going to bust out of the wall and I can't imagine that its location, right smack in front of the house, is going to make a good finished product.)

Thank you. I got a landscaper to examine and give me a quote.
He estimates that the area below the porch is hollow and the concrete is a premade thin slab. He also thinks the thin slap has settled due to uneven support underneath.
Just like you he recommended to remove the slaps, backfill with stones and then pour new concrete.
Are you talking about the tree in the front by the steps or the one next the front door?

Here are more pictures

More pictures

The birch is the tree showing in the first photo. The other plant (right of door) I don't know what it is, but it is too large to be planted that close to the house.

The steps location seems fine as it is between and serving two doors.

Based on the look, I would surmise that the slab is thin. I'd make a new slab, with correct pitch (1/4" per foot), be a 4" nominal thickness slab. Rather than be confined within a border represented by the top of the wall, I'd have it span over the wall and project beyond it by an inch or 1 1/2" -- like a cap to the wall. This would be better for attaching railing.

Update:
Decided to do pavers for the patio instead of concrete. When the old concrete was removed we found soil that was not level or compacted. The blocks for the wall was hollow and contained water.

@yardvaark thanks

One decision I have to make, should I redo the bottom portion of the walkway with new pavers or should I fill with soil and grass.

?

Please note my street does not have sidewalks in front of houses

Are you asking if you should rebuild the walkway? If it doesn’t lead anywhere, then no. But if you need a pathway from the driveway to the porch, then yes.

Has all of the asphalt been taken up?

Can you take a picture from the street so the whole house and driveway can be viewed?

I’ll try to post more pictures later. I moved the steps for the patio closer to the front door. Creating a curved landing at the steps for the condo but I wonder if I should continue the pavers down to the end of the driveway or just get rid of it.

A path to driveway, from the porch, 4’ wide at minimum to keep people from having to walk on grass or mud. You need something.

Will there be a planting bed in front of the porch where the asphalt used to butt up against it?

One thing that struck me in your original post was that the view from the porch, unappealingly, looked out onto...asphalt. If you’re going to have a front porch with chairs to invite people to sit, then there must be something worth looking at.

A picture without cars in the driveway and one showing how you normally park would help with curb appeal suggestions.

If you leave the access to the patio by the driveway then people will be able to go to the front door without walking on grass. Grass will have a natural cooling effect anfd visually soften the hardscape. Potted flowers on the patio will add needed color. Handrail by steps for safety, but do you need raiing all around due to patio height and code?

I was thinking of placing a flower bed at the base of the step to the porch. It would not enhance the view when sitting on the porch but soften the look of the house from the street. I only have one car a normally park closer to the stairs.

@Anna Yes, I am asking if it’s a good idea to rebuild the walkway all the way to the curb. I notice that most of my neighbors don’t have a walkway and it got me thinking. Does it make sense since there are no sidewalk on my street

Before construction the stairs to the porch was almost straight up in line with the walkway. With the construction we moved the steps to the right and closer to the front door with a semi circle area when you come off the step of the porch

Here is a view from upstairs inside. I hope it gives perspective

Pics

Pics

Yes going to re-add the railing around the porch

I would create a wide, curved sidewalk to your driveway, leaving a 1/4 pie shaped planting bed between your sidewalk/driveway/porch. But before you do that...any way you can run a wire in a conduit through your porch to place a post light at the bend in the grass area for lighting? Just a thought. (Or even do it now for a later post light hook up?). Since you don’t have sidewalks, a sidewalk to the street isn’t that important. But I would definitely remove the large bush that is next to your front door. It serves no purpose and is awkward. You are doing a great job with your pavers! Your porch floor/patio looks great!

This area I am considering just extending the lawn instead of extending the walkway into the wall separating the property to the road. What do you think?

Yes. Unless, for some reason, you need pavers there because the driveway cannot accommodate your vehicles. But I believe you said that you only have one? In that case, even if you have the occasional visitor, etc, the drive is wide enough for their vehicles. Plant grass in that area and gently arc the sidewalk to join the driveway at about that point.

Make this area lawn area

Yes @ptreckel the area in this picture would get pavers but the rest would be grass. We are not tight for space with one car and two cars would still fit.

Pic

Do you plan to have a path from the driveway to the steps curving around the bed? I hope so. Unless you routinely had people parking on the street and walking up that straight path to your steps, there is no reason to replace it, just install a new walkway and in the proper and USEFUL location.

A path is an unwritten sign telling people to “Walk this way.” Put it where it would tell you and others to go.

Agree that a bed would soften the look and approach to the house. You may even get to enjoy it from the porch!

You can certainly plant grass where the old walkway used to be.

Do you have this plan drawn out on graph paper to scale?

Just catching up on this. It looks like some great progress is being made.

"should I redo the bottom portion of the walkway with new pavers or should I fill with soil and grass?" It took me to nearly the last picture to figure out what is being asked! It would have helped much to have all of the project committed to a plan and refer to the plan regarding questions and changes. But I think I understand now. Since the drive is not long, I would widen it by running the walk all the way to the curb. This means that two cars can park in the drive and people can still access the walk and porch easily instead of having to weave their way through cars or brush against them, step on the grass, or in any way be inconvenienced. As well, it puts a decorative, upgraded edge along the drive.

It is still not too late to create a plan. It would help iron out details that are yet to be faced and make discussing any of them easier.

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