alabamanicole said: :.. relieve some pain points when mowing -- there are a couple of nasty slopes." "I am thinking of long shallow "steps" made with landscaping timbers" These issues of grade modification should be worked out first, since all that follows will be dependant on it. The use of a series of timbers in a stepped arrangement will be difficult to transition to the areas of original grade and would be very tedious to mow and maintain. It is the transition of the modified areas to the drive and house foundation/walls that is the most difficult in this case. Ordinarily, to lessen a steep slope one lowers the highest grade and fills the lower grades. But here the highest grade abuts the drive and a sheer drop at the drive edge would not be wise. Also grade changes at the house perimeter may not fit with the foundation footer and brick exterior. Another consideration of cost is to balance the amount of soil removed from one area to match the fill in another area. I suggest you plan the area in back of the house along with the plans for the front. I think it likely that any plan will result in extra soil needed for the front and the place to get it is in the back. Below is one of perhaps many plans that might satisfy your goals. It includes a new plant bed in front of the porch and a retaining wall further out. Note that there is some grade transition at the west edge of the new planter bed to match drive grade and little grade transition needed where the retaining wall nears the drive.

Your sketch isn't what I initially had in mind, but it might work. It's obvious disadvantage is that it places the bulk of one leg of your house directly adjacent to the lot-line house of your neighbor. The result would be 5' "tunnel" between the two houses. If you don't care about that or your neighbor's reactions, this idea might be worth pursuing. What I had in mind was to reverse the "L" shape of your sketch, such that one leg would be along the property line easement (as you have shown) and the other leg would be along the property line at the bottom property line. The garage would be located at the end of the "L" closest to your neighbor's property line. Garage entry might be on the side of the garage closest to you neighbor (a side loading garage) or on the side facing the street (a front loading garage), depending on choice, space available and plan arrangement. If you could get a side property line variance for the 20' setback, you likely could make enough room for a side entry garage closest to your neighbor. I don't understand the typography of your lot, so the slope may make my suggestion impractical and your idea the only feasible concept. Good luck with your project.

Many thanks to everyone who offered advice. The spectrum of approaches bounded by camouflage at one end and major structural changes at the other defined our decision-making space. I think we have ended up about in the middle, which is where we started. As of this evening, I think the second step from the top has been cross hatched with some kind of power saw. The layer of whatever will not be added until after we have tried out some dummy layers and looked at the results from across the street. (The shot posted above is Google earth's street view, from last summer.) Lest someone thinks this house is getting a slapdash rehab, I just want to reiterate that in the 14 months we've owned it, we have found no structural problem with the porch or the steps, just the extra high riser to the top and the fact that -- as a spirit level shows -- the floor of the porch and the top of the step slant at almost the same angle from level, but in different directions. A moderate-cost attempted fix for the steps is demanded by what we have already invested in this 1354 sq ft (not counting the basement) house. New drywall throughout, because the plaster board was pretty widely damaged; lots of insulation in the exterior walls; a Space Pak AC system; substantially upgraded plumbing and electricity; scraping and patching of the 90-year-old cypress siding (most Sears kit houses in the neighborhood have vinyl or hardie board); and (although I expect to be excoriated for this decision) new (not replacement) super efficient double paned wood framed windows throughout (except the tiny basement windows.) I cannot afford a structural approach to the crooked porch unless something turns out to be structurally unsound. Casey: Thanks for the quality of your attention. I had in fact been fretting about the crookedness of the left posts, but redeployed my concern to the steps. I can for sure see now that it is mostly the steps that are crooked, but messing with anything that could shatter the terra cotta terrifies me. We have already cannibalized two old chimney flues to stabilize the piers, but that work was from the surface in. arlosmom: Your approval is especially appreciated because I spent a good part of today drooling over your kitchen. For the same reason that I cannot bring in an engineer for the porch, the kitchen is getting a careful plan, but the cabinets and appliances that are going in right now are all from craigslist. Good quality, newish, but nothing like as appropriate to the house as yours are to yours. And I had to let the drainboarded cast iron sink go, because there would have been no room for a dishwasher. lesterd: The house is in a city with horrible muggy summers and pretty mild winters. Plus, the soil is really dense clay (having dug up the "lawn" this spring and planted what I hope will become a cottage garden, I have have an intimate knowledge of that clay, as does my spading fork). There may have been heaving at some time in the distant past, but the porch really does seem quite solid now. I will never be able to retire either, whether or not our porch remains crooked. When I became besotted by this decrepit bank-owned charmer in early 2009, I convinced myself that it would be a good investment of my retirement funds relative to stocks or money market funds. It is cheerfully eating me alive and, although I think I am largely giving it the renovation it it deserves, my dreams of spending months biking through Finistere and Calvados have receded dramatically. So far, it seems to be worth it. I love the fact that someone bought two freight car loads of numbered parts and built his or her own home. I love the house itself, and I think it is going to turn out to be a reasonably energy efficient and quite pleasant not-so-big family house.

And please post when you do get the plans so we can see. We're all house junkies on this forum. (For example, one of my favorite things to do is go on Sunday's to look at open houses and I bet I'm not the only one!) I can't speak for how to interview or questions to ask, but can suggest some things once you've narrowed it down to the "one". Start putting together pictures of homes you like, rooms you like, etc. The more research you do like that, and you'll start to see patterns in what you like. Put a list together of MUST HAVES for your home. Put together a second list of wish to haves and a third list of I'm dreaming but wouldn't it be nice because you never know when a good architect or designer can add in your dream wishes too. If you must have certain rooms near one another, spell that out roughly. As I said, I wanted the view from my great room/master/dining room/DH's study to be my pool and back yard and I wanted my rooms to create a backyard courtyard feel. I also wanted my laundry near my bedroom but didn't need a laundry room. Have your budget in mind. Know your priorities. It's obvious that you're not looking for a large house. Do you want to be able to have more details like crown moldings, wainscoting, etc? One thing though is DO put that garage in now. The cost really is minimal. :) Best of luck. Keep an open mind and don't rush the process. I started in March and thought I'd have it worked out by the summer. HAH! Getting it right on paper is a lot cheaper than having to make changes once you start building.