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Front Door Steps

Frank
11 days ago

New build. The front door is pretty high compared to the ground. Original plan was for concrete steps and platform at front door. However, because the door is pretty high, a concrete set of steps would end up looking giant due to the height from ground to the front door and slope of land. Option of using trex deck instead with lattice on the sides to close it off. Thoughts on this or alternatives?

Comments (8)

  • Yvonne Martin
    11 days ago

    We need photos to show the lay of the land as well as the front of the house.

  • skmom
    11 days ago

    We just moved into our new build last fall. Our yard is very steep, though you can’t tell from this photo. But our home is 3 floors and our front door is between the top and middle levels. It was a literal nightmare to get the driveway slope correct given the limitations of our site (incorrect measurements, and not wanting to go back to the county to start over...) and compromises had to be made. We always knew we were going to end up with stairs up to the front door, but they were originally supposed to be higher. The garage was originally supposed to be level with the middle floor, but that’s not what we ended up with, and instead we have 4 steps down to the middle floor on the inside of the garage. All that to say, we ended up going with cedar steps and small decking for our front door area. It matches our cedar deck which is on the back and side of the house (not pictured) and a very prominent part of the design of the house. We also have two cedar structures at the top of our property that coordinate... a very nicely built trash enclosure/ mail drop enclosure, and a custom sign built with our street numbers. When looked at as a whole, the cedar porch fits in.

  • skmom
    11 days ago

    Here’s a further back view of our house, hubby was still building our sign at the top of the driveway that our house numbers go on. You can better see how the porch relates to the rest of our home.

  • Frank
    Original Author
    11 days ago

    The stairs would be straight out from the front door with a small concrete area and then down to the ground. The builder is basically saying if they do concrete stairs with a platform, the concrete will look enormous from the sides because it will be high up and sticking out. At the top of the stairs will be a pad where two posts come down from an overhang. They recommended we do a trex deck instead so, not sure what is the better option.

  • PRO
    Mark Bischak, Architect
    11 days ago
    last modified: 11 days ago

    What does the designer of the house recommend?

    What do the drawings show?

  • Frank
    Original Author
    11 days ago

    They recommended the trex because concrete would end up looking like a tall block on the front of the house. Just don’t know how I feel about lattice on the sides of the steps to enclose it

  • vinmarks
    11 days ago

    Why does it have to be lattice? Look into deck skirting ideas. Will you have landscaping that might camouflage the sides?

  • littlebug Zone 5 Missouri
    11 days ago

    Agree with vinmark 👆. Lattice reminds me of our first house (50 years ago). There are more options than lattice today. You can’t even see the sides of these steps below.