I had 2 mudjackers come over today. Using their level it is mainly off on the right side towards my home and towards the middle by the spruce trees. 1 person said he would need for me to remove my step so he could mudjack it 2 inches. The other person said I should also remove my step, but he would raise it 4 inches and cut 4-6 inches of the slab back from the home. Yesterday 2 concrete contractors came and basically said I should rip it all out and repour it. Al of them told me that I should completely remove the mulch away from my home. I should get lawn and garden topsoil and pitch it away from my home all around. 25% Black Topsoil, 75% Brown Topsoil. It is a premixed blend with a recommended use of no more than 4-5 inches. it is richer than regular brown topsoil. I also showed them my basement drywall. Al basically agreed that I should start fro the outside and not do any epoxy injection yet since it's a small leak.

The continuing confusion in this thread is due to the fact that the rise/run is shown on opposite or opposing pitches on an elevation. The architect's notation is correctly shown. It's some of the folks on this thread that are misinterpreting what is shown. Looking at the elevations, the horizontal element is always shown as 12, regardless of the elevation side or direction of pitch. The horizontal element is consistently 12! 12! The vertical dimension is the pitch dimension and in the elevation it is consistently shown as 10! 10! Thus, on each opposing sides of the roof, the roof pitch is 10 in 12, but the geometry of the notation 10/12 has to be reversed to match the change in opposite pitch. Just look at the elevations and the horizontal and vertical notations. Vertical is always 10. Horizontal is always 12. It's that simple! 10/12 is not the same as 12/10! Come on people! I don't know what experience that response comes from. The numerator is always the vertical axis. The denominator is always the horizontal axis. Thus, it's clear that 10/12 is not the same as 12/10! I have never seen a set of construction drawings or known a roofer that measures horizontally in less than 12 inches. Does anyone think a 4 in 12 pitch is the same as a 12 in 4 pitch? Come on! The denominator is always 12 inches. It's the standard of the trade. It's the way a framing square is marked! As for architects being a strange group and not above making things confusing that could be simpler, just go back and re-read this thread, from top to bottom, largely made up of comments from non-architects. Now that's confusing! And inaccurate! Thus endeth the lesson on roof pitch and notation! :-)

Thanks... :-) I see that it is hard to see the flat part in the pictures. Below is a picture that shows it better. The reason I spoke about grass is that I want to be able to walk about on the flat part and not have to weed whack it when the weeds get high. A low groundcover would be bad in case the dog goes here, and we wouldn't be able to see it and step in it!! There is some groundcover around on the slopes, some ivy, some barren strawberry (I think), maybe some others. I was thinking about planting some azaleas along the bottom of the slope; there is already one there to the left just out of the picture. Or maybe some along the top of the wall. Maybe clematis to fall down over the wall...

Now that there is a competing dominant fence, it nullifies yours. In spite of the fact that you have the right to it, I would remove it because it makes things worse for you. While removing it wouldn't change the need for different planting, it would nevertheless help with maintenance and appearance. I presume that where you need the privacy/screening most is in line with the patio...? A large shrub form (with foliage to the ground) would take care of that. A big, fat Camellia, for example, would work, and be maintainable over the long term. Of course, you could explore using other evergreen shrubs. Extend the shrubs as far as the screening is needed I would section off the entire space between patio and fence (as shown in illustration) and fill it with a solid bed of groundcover so that there's no mowing this area at all. Something like solid 'Big blue' Liriope would be nice since it blooms for a period during the summer and looks tidy otherwise. But there are many things you could use. Also, there could be an odd-number grouping of small, multi-trunk tree form plants such as crape myrtle to give a filtered, semi-screened view along the property line. The more trunks there are, the more screening effect. And finally, some annuals or perennials for color near the corner of the house could give some cheer to the patio area.