Solution and help needed for filling in dirt, sloped path

[Wellyeaman]

We have a path going from the side of our front drive way to the side of our house. This dirt area is sloped and can be difficult to wheel rubbish bins on especially when trying to raise the bins over the concrete risen section at the edge of the driveway. I am looking at getting advice as to what would be the best approach to covering and sealing this small section so that it is raised enough to meet the same level as the edge of our front drive way. ie. should it be concreted, tiled, covered with bitchumen or something else? We basically need a sloped path to help with the flow from the side entrance to our front driveway. Edge of front drive-way leading to the side entranceRaised concete section can be seen at the end of the dirt pathIncline from back yard to front entrance

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Wellyeaman,

You can select any number of finishes here. Have a look at our Ideas to revamp your side yard for some inspiration. It looks like you have enough room there to place down some road base, compact it and lay pavers. You might like to lay two pavers side-by-side to create a path wide enough for your bins. By utilising pavers, pebbles and boarders, you generate interest in the space, as is shown in the project linked above. Here's a helpful guide: How to lay paving for a path.

Concreting might be the most effective method if you are just after a functional finish. You should find this step-by-step guide useful: How to pour a concrete slab. Also, checkout @Nham's recent project where they took a similar space and concreted it: Fixing up the side path. They achieved a really great finish.

Let me also mention some of our experienced contributors @diy_hausdesigns, @weekenddiyer, @pete_brig and @hazesnow as they might have some suggestions for you.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Wellyeaman]

Thanks for your ideas and feedback Mitchell. We will have a look at the other ideas and think about what we should do.

[pete_brig]

Hi @Wellyeaman 

Stating the obvious but that's a challenging site with fall along the length & side-to-side.

My suggestion is to use timber to build a ramp so you can control the rise rather than being dictated to by the ground slope. You might be able to overcome the natural slope for a concrete path by putting boxing/retaining on the lower side along the fence and cutting/filling as necessary to get a uniform rise.

Either way, it'll b an "L" shape so you could put plants on the inner part of the L between the ramp and house.

If you give dimensions for the lengths, widths & fall, that'll enable more detailed suggestions.

I can' easily find my original post but this one shows the boardwalk I built directly  on th ground. Not shown but the boardwalk goes around the house to th side gate to provide a good surface for getting bins in & out as well as gas bottles. I was lucky that I had a flat surface but it shouldn't be too hard 😁 to build up the lower side. Or as for the suggestion re. concrete, level the ground & just build the path on the ground as an alternative to concrete.

[MitchellMc]

Here's your original discussion post @pete_brig. I trust @Wellyeaman will take plenty of inspiration from what you were able to achieve.

Mitchell

[pete_brig]

Thanks @MitchellMc .

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[Wellyeaman]

Thanks for the help Pete, much appreciated.

I will try to reply with the measurements soon. Regards,

[EricL]

Hi @Wellyeaman

It's fantastic that you've received excellent suggestions from @MitchellMc and @pete_brig. Just to give you a bit of a visual idea of what it might look like if you used pete_brig's boardwalk. However, the proposed plan of creating a boxed/retaining wall to control the drop and slope is an excellent idea. Just to add to the suggestions already made, I recommend planning the drainage along with the ramp. Should you have a heavy downpour the water will drain away effectively.  

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Wellyeaman]

Thanks for the visual idea. That looks great. Something I might need to work towards.