Maximum sideways slope in a sidewalk?

I have a sidewalk that I'm having some trouble with. The section that's problematic is only about 12 feet long. On the left side I've got the house, which I obviously don't want to go above the floor slab. On the right side I've got a retaining wall with a footer that extends into the area I'm going to have the sidewalk. The problem is that the top of the footer is about 2" above the slab of the house. So if I keep the sidewalk surface about 1" below the slab for safety, I'll be sloping up (sideways) by about 3" over a 6' wide sidewalk. That's a bit over a 4% grade (sideways). Is that going to be uncomfortable or awkward to walk on? What is a reasonable sideways grade for a walk? Incidentally, yes, sloping towards the house is problematic for drainage, so I'll be installing a slot drain there that drops into the french drain right next to the house. submitted by /u/zimm0who0net [link] [comments]

Jun 4, 2025 - 21:20

I have a sidewalk that I'm having some trouble with. The section that's problematic is only about 12 feet long. On the left side I've got the house, which I obviously don't want to go above the floor slab. On the right side I've got a retaining wall with a footer that extends into the area I'm going to have the sidewalk. The problem is that the top of the footer is about 2" above the slab of the house. So if I keep the sidewalk surface about 1" below the slab for safety, I'll be sloping up (sideways) by about 3" over a 6' wide sidewalk.

That's a bit over a 4% grade (sideways). Is that going to be uncomfortable or awkward to walk on? What is a reasonable sideways grade for a walk?

Incidentally, yes, sloping towards the house is problematic for drainage, so I'll be installing a slot drain there that drops into the french drain right next to the house.

submitted by /u/zimm0who0net
[link] [comments]