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Should Sidewalk Be Higher Than Lawn? Yes, Here’s Why

Lawns are necessary for an aesthetically pleasing home, but not all lawns need to be at the same height. 

Homeowners should be mindful of their sidewalks when choosing either to raise or lower their lawn.

Walkways should ideally be higher than other parts of the yard. This is because water runoff that will flow into the backyard will end up in the lowest points, making it even hard to step onto the walkway and compromise its integrity.

It is important, however, that walkways are not too high because this will make it difficult for disabled or elderly individuals to get in and out of a home. 

The slope of the sidewalk should be gentle and easy to manage for anyone with a walking disability.

This blog post will discuss whether or not raising your walkway is a legitimate option before making a decision on how high you are going to make it.

What is the minimum thickness for a concrete sidewalk?

Beside the fact that concrete has been around for centuries, it also is one of the most prevalent and popular materials used in construction. 

It is a versatile material that can be used in both residential and commercial construction, typically by mixing cement and aggregates. 

The mix of cement, sand, lime and water will form a hard porous mass with large voids that must be filled with reinforcing steel bars before the concrete can be used outside or poured into forms. 

A sidewalk is one of the most visible parts of a residential or commercial structure as it shows the way that pedestrians and vehicles will use, and it is important to get a favorable bond between them.

It is typically made with a concrete slab at least four inches thick and a thickness that is needed to prevent the concrete from cracking. 

As such, concrete required a thicker slab than was typically used in previous years and this led to the concept of a minimum sidewalk thickness. 

The minimum sidewalk thickness increases based on the anticipated use of the sidewalk and its location to other structures. 

One of the most important factors in designing a sidewalk is how it will be used, and this is usually determined by climate patterns or other geographical conditions (such as snow melting) as well as local building codes…

While concrete does not deteriorate, there are environmental factors that can make it weaker over time according to research.

When concrete is exposed to different elements, such as heat or cold, it can crack and lose strength.  

Should sidewalk be higher than lawn?

Pouring water from the hose into your lawn can be a difficult task, especially if you’re trying to keep it off of the sidewalk. 

In order to avoid this problem, many homeowners have opted to raise their walkways. 

Before doing so, though, they usually wonder whether or not it is safe to do so. 

Should the sidewalk be higher than the lawn?

Yes. Raising your walkway may be a great idea if you have a small yard and you’re trying to prevent rainwater from pooling on your walkway. 

It is also a good way to prevent mud, which can get stuck in the cracks of your sidewalk and make it harder for you to keep your yard looking nice. 

In order to stop this from happening, homeowners often raise the sidewalk above the height of their lawn.

Raising the sidewalk height is a delicate decision that needs to be made based on the physical characteristics of your property

The basic solution is to measure down from the grade of your driveway or into-yard, whichever will bring you to within 4 inches minimum of where you want your curb ramp. 

This looks good for most people because it preserves the depth of their yard, or at least does not reduce it too much that the grass grows over the top of the sidewalk. 

References

Luo, D., Wang, Y., & Niu, D. (2013). Durability environmental regionalization for concrete structures. Mathematical Problems in Engineering, 2013.

Zebedee Nambaleo
Zebedee Nambaleo

Zebedee is the founder of RealEstate Ke. He creates content by carefully examining and analyzing the real estate market, home improvement resources, and government data. His analysis is based on the principle of supplying high-quality, relevant, and in-depth information to his audience. By evaluating the current conditions and predicting future trends, he provides his audience with invaluable insights that allow them to make better decisions.