Back fill height?

USAFpj · Jun 15, 2015

I'll provide a couple of pics for you to get a lay of the land, but for this crawl foundation, the highest portion (downhill) of block is a bit over 6ft high, but the other end is at about 4ft. Now that is a tall front porch

. My GC was able to tell me these measurements before the block was ever laid, so it's no surprise on paper, but on site it looks immense. I didn't go with a walk out as I was quoted an additional $13K, so a tall conditioned crawl seemed the next best thing. Anyway, once proper back fill is accomplished, what's your guesstimate on the finished height of the front? A 6ft front porch is going to look crazy me thinks...

4570Man · Jun 15, 2015

My porch is over 5 feet on the high side. It doesn't look bad, but lower would be better.

USAFpj · Jun 16, 2015

4570, can you post a pic? Did you utilize that space as storage?

rtimgray · Jun 16, 2015

I find it crazy that it was an extra $15,000 for a walkout. It looks like there is already 6 courses of block (4') on the "short" side, so all it would have taken was digging out about another 4' or 5' of dirt and laying 6 or 8 courses of additional block - POOF - basement! Well, you might want a concrete floor and stairs and a door, but still....

I think you can make it look nice. You can always do some landscaping, rock garden, etc. and diminish the appearance of the tall porch - maybe a few short retaining walls with a planter or two....

It looks like a nice site, anyway. Good luck and take care.

USAFpj · Jun 16, 2015

Well, the increased rate was mainly due to my request for SuperiorWalls. The small things that added up were $4K for concrete, doors, windows, French drain, prep of Superior Wall installation, stairs, etc. The difference ended up at about $13K. I'm sure block vs. Superior would have been quite the savings as well, and this isn't even finishing it out as you can imagine. In the end, I can't say I regret it as we have enough room for the family. And that $13K goes a long way towards a new shop...

rtimgray · Jun 16, 2015

As long as you're happy with it, that's all that matters. Hope it ends up meeting your satisfaction.

$13k would go a long way for a shop for me too....

Good luck and take care.

Cord · Jun 16, 2015

Could always build a two tier boulder retaining wall. It'll get the deck closer to grade and still allow you to have a elevated view.

4570Man · Jun 16, 2015

USAFpj said:
4570, can you post a pic? Did you utilize that space as storage?

I went out and measured it, and it is about 4.5 feet all the way around. It was built with concrete filled 12" block. There is a basement on the other side. We were going to cut a door in the basement for a storm shelter, but we haven't got around to it.

s219 · Jun 16, 2015

Here's a before and after pic, more or less same view. We have a tall corner in the crawl, and put a full height door there with a small 12'x12' slab. Been awesome for storage, and since it's conditioned area, no worries about putting "nice" stuff down there.

And here's the door before it was trimmed out:

hcallaway · Jun 16, 2015

That is one beautiful home. Did you have a build site? I am almost embarrassed to post when I see this home. Love the style.

s219 said:
Here's a before and after pic, more or less same view. We have a tall corner in the crawl, and put a full height door there with a small 12'x12' slab. Been awesome for storage, and since it's conditioned area, no worries about putting "nice" stuff down there.

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And here's the door before it was trimmed out:

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