How does a wider driveway help? Is it going to be too close to the neighbors property line on the left . IMO too much driveway is never attractive and I love a walkway from the street always if possible but maybe have it a bit curved not a staright line next to the driveway Please remove the shutters on the house they do not belong on double width windows anyway. Waht does the back door pic have to do with this dilemma

I don’t think you should widen the driveway. I do think any pathways or pads should be paving stones.

it doesn't have to be a straight line from the road.

Pointless to widen driveway, you probably will still only be able to get 2 small cars in garage. The sewer placement is also not going to allow a wider driveway. Clean out the garage and store the barrels in there. The side garage door is meant to be used from the backyard not the front. You probably don't have enough room for a walkway on that side. Just lay flag stones or concrete sqaures there

Thank you everyone for reading and responding my post!

Surprised so many people vote against adding 2’ border on each side. I thought it would make driving car out of garage easier if a car is parked outside. But it’s true I’m unable to widen the curb cut, and my drive way is short only 21’. So maybe this driveway border idea isn’t as practical as I thought. I should just drop it.

Interesting to know the garage side door is meant for people access from backyard. I constantly use it from front when I don’t want to open/close my garage door, so I figured I should create a little walkway to connect it with driveway.

I’m showing the side wall because that’s where I plan to add new pad to put trashcans. Right now trashcan has to be in the trees mulch area because I got no room for them in garage.

What do you suggest for the new walkway on the left. Should I remove that existing tiny concrete and replace with paver/flagstone, or add concrete? If I do paver would it look odd to not match concrete driveway? Should I consider pave around the tree or move the tree a little?

From my left wide wall to property line, I got 16’

To keep it really simple just get pavers the same size as the pad in front of the garage side door and lay them along the side of the house keeping a little grass edging in the middle and keeping the same line as the pad you already have.

I definitely wouldn't widen the driveway. I don't think it's worth the expense and I don't think it would look all that great. What you have now is nice, as far as driveways go. :)

I wouldn't add a sidewalk from the street along the edge of the driveway because of the grate on the street. You don't want anyone having to walk on that.

Now the tree in the middle of the yard - that is a dilemma. I don't care for stone edging around trees in that position. I would dig up the area around it and do some plantings under the tree. It needs to have more of a presence in your yard. It looks a little lonely. :(

Like I said pavers.

Here is widen driveway and path.

Here are more photos of this tree area. It’s a crepe Myrtle. The root is 5’8” (point to point) from my foundation. From both street and side, it’s 4’ from the wall.

Is it too close to the house that will cause trouble down the road?

Is it too close that’s not leaving enough room for my new walkway?

Are we better off transplanting it a little bit to the left or just replant it? I like the idea of having a tree there because I hope the matured tree gives some shade and privacy.

Here are a few suggestions:

Your storm sewer and grate would be the wrong place to put a path to the street. Why? You do not have sidewalks in your neighborhood. I wouldn’t have a sidewalk just to the street. If you have visitors who park on the street in front of your home, their cars will block it. You could lengthen and/or reshape your sidewalk to your door, but I would have it connect to your driveway.

No one freak out please, at this suggestion. It is one several of my neighbors have implemented to solve the multicar/guest car parking problem. It can be made to look attractive. Form follows function, remember?

If your HOA (if you have one) and building code allow, you could add a parking pad in front of the house. It could double as an attractive outdoor patio when not in use by a car. If you go this route, get a professional landscape designer to create it as part of an overall plan for the yard.

I totally agree with the need for a pad for garbage cans. My city keeps adding cans and now we have three, one for garbage, one for recycling, one for yard waste. Far too much to put in any garage. I have a side garden that has a concrete pad to the side door (never access it from the back yard) and around that is pea gravel and flagstone pavers for stepping. I put the cans there. When the third can was added by the city this year, I simply park it on the pea gravel. I think a pad of professionally installed pavers would look fine. Again, it needs to be part of an overall plan.

All the best to you on this project.

Highland Park Nantucket · More Info

Beach House Entry · More Info

Exterior · More Info

Two story addition with interior remodeling and porches · More Info

High Park North Front Yard Parking Pad · More Info

Regarding the crepe myrtle, I do think it's too close to the house. Note how far away it's been placed in DigDougDesigns mock up. They can get so big so quickly. Love them and have a few myself. I'd bring it forward a bit so the branches aren't hitting the roof when it gets larger. Your neighbor's crepe myrtle is definitely too close to the house.

Crapes come in different sizes - we don't know whether the OP has Natchez (big white) or Acoma (little white), etc. If it's a medium to smaller crape the placement is fine. The roots aren't going to damage your foundation - tree roots penetrate a cracked foundation. Your home looks fairly recent so I doubt the foundation's cracked.

Very nice home. I wouldn’t enlarge the driveway though - you’ve already got the ”Welcome to My Garage with House Attached” feel going on. More concrete would only emphasize that.

Your other ideas are good though. For sure, enlarge the pad outside the garage for access and a place to put your trash cans. You can make it attractive with strategically placed fencing. I don’t know a lot about crapes but that placement looks attractive to me.

I don't know why some commenters are talking about a new pathway - a sidewalk - to the street. The OP never asked for that. Also, never asked about additional parking.

Simply, if you measure a parking space at your local grocery store, it probably ranges from 9' wide down to 8' wide. If you're lucky and it's 10' wide with the double lines then you feel much more safe from dings in your door, and can step fully out of your vehicle, right? Now, a typical residential driveway width is 16'-18'. So think if you drive up the left side and park outside and leave room for the 2nd car on the right. If you were playing the "lava" game and not trying to walk on the grass, you'd have to shimmy out just like in a skinny grocery store parking space.

Adding a border will help with that, as well as looking better to many people, and will not accentuate the garage as being more "in your face." I would argue it actually brings the scale down if you choose colors/materials that accentuate a design element of your house, regardless of how wide the width of the driveway actually winds up as including the border.

Here are some examples of a border:

Thank you very much for every one’s input! I really appreciate it.

Now I’m leaning toward the safe and simple route. Move my tree over to join existing mulch area and replace small concrete with paver.