Is it weird if I offer to repave the sidewalk in front of my house?

[PaperclipGod]

It's broken to shit with tons of weeds coming up through the cracks. A buddy of mine does concrete work and we could repave it in a day. Hardest part would be breaking up the remnants and hauling it away.

Anyone here work in local government? Would this even be feasible from a legal perspective?

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

most likely it is already your legal responsibility to maintain it.

 

[eldorado99]

The only thing I could think of against it is that the city would be concerned about insurance issues if you got hurt. If it was me I would probably just do it and not tell anybody.

 

[waffleironhead]

depending on where you live, it may already be your responsibility to replace it. Some places, the city will split the cost.

 

[Jumpem]

most likely it is already your legal responsibility to maintain it.

This. Around here the home owner, not the city, is responsible for maintaining the sidewalk.

 

[Lifted]

Would this even be feasible from a legal perspective?

Depending on where you live it's not only feasible, it's your responsibility.

 

[Wordplay]

It's broken to shit with tons of weeds coming up through the cracks. A buddy of mine does concrete work and we could repave it in a day. Hardest part would be breaking up the remnants and hauling it away.

Anyone here work in local government? Would this even be feasible from a legal perspective?

You might need a permit first and thats about it.

 

[Newbian]

Like people have said, check your laws for where you live.

Some places it's up to you to maintain it and others will not allow you to replace it.

 

[DrPizza]

It'll vary a lot depending on your jurisdiction. I say, go for it. Especially if you have a buddy who will help & let you borrow the equipment. Materials wise, it's pretty cheap. Generally, (I think), labor is the lion's share of the cost of putting in a new sidewalk.

Oh, and to answer the OP, yes it would be weird. You don't "pave" concrete. You pave asphalt.

 

[paperfist]

It'll vary a lot depending on your jurisdiction. I say, go for it. Especially if you have a buddy who will help & let you borrow the equipment. Materials wise, it's pretty cheap. Generally, (I think), labor is the lion's share of the cost of putting in a new sidewalk.

Oh, and to answer the OP, yes it would be weird. You don't "pave" concrete. You pave asphalt.

Hopefully he doesn't mean to actually pave it cause that looks beat.

Check with the local trash company too as they may be willing to pick up the demoed concrete in front of your house if you put it at the curb.

 

[PaperclipGod]

This. Around here the home owner, not the city, is responsible for maintaining the sidewalk.

Seriously? Where do you guys live? It's definitely all city-maintained around here. You're actually expected to lay a new sidewalk where you live? I've never heard of that before.

 

[Anubis]

town does it where I am

they also plow the sidewalks after it snows

 

[PaperclipGod]

It'll vary a lot depending on your jurisdiction. I say, go for it. Especially if you have a buddy who will help & let you borrow the equipment. Materials wise, it's pretty cheap. Generally, (I think), labor is the lion's share of the cost of putting in a new sidewalk.

Oh, and to answer the OP, yes it would be weird. You don't "pave" concrete. You pave asphalt.

Technically you can pave with anything... the word is defined by the materials implementation, not the material itself. i.e., paving with blocks, tile, shit...

 

[twinrider1]

I'm responsible here. Any movement that creates a 1" or greater elevation change is considered a tripping hazard and the city code guy will be sending me a nastygram in a heartbeat.

 

[PaperclipGod]

I'm responsible here. Any movement that creates a 1" or greater elevation change is considered a tripping hazard and the city code guy will be sending me a nastygram in a heartbeat.

That's insane. Don't trees cause that kind of damage constantly?

 

[Via]

My neighbor told my the rules are weird here:

If you leave the sidewalk alone (don't maintain it, shovel snow etc) the city takes responsibilty for it, but as soon as you start to maintain it you are soley responsible.

That includes people slipping on ice. He warned me to leave it alone.

Since he's live here for 8 years I figure maybe he knows.

 

[arkcom]

I tore out the sidewalk in front of my house and didn't even replace it. It's been a couple years and no one has mentioned it. I live about 50 feet from city hall, so they know.

 

[Praetor]

Seriously? Where do you guys live? It's definitely all city-maintained around here. You're actually expected to lay a new sidewalk where you live? I've never heard of that before.

Here, if you have a sidewalk it's considered public property but the homeowner is required to maintain it. If it isn't maintained, then you can be fined.

My mom lives in a 70+ year old house without a sidewalk because of this. New construction is always built with a sidewalk, dunno if that was a new requirement passed a few decades ago.

 

[pcgeek11]

Seriously? Where do you guys live? It's definitely all city-maintained around here. You're actually expected to lay a new sidewalk where you live? I've never heard of that before.

I've never heard of it being the home owners job to maintain a sidewalk. That is nuts. Next they will want you to pave the part of the road in front of the house.

 

[slag]

I've never heard of it being the home owners job to maintain a sidewalk. That is nuts. Next they will want you to pave the part of the road in front of the house.

In Lawrence if we have sidewalks, we have to maintain them. No one typically fixes them, but snow shovelling has to be done within 72 hours of the last snowfall or it is ticketable.

 

[lxskllr]

I've never heard of it being the home owners job to maintain a sidewalk. That is nuts. Next they will want you to pave the part of the road in front of the house.

That's a bizarre concept to me as well. Screw that. Put jersey wall up at the property lines, remove the sidewalk, and plant corn.

 

[PaperclipGod]

In Lawrence if we have sidewalks, we have to maintain them. No one typically fixes them, but snow shovelling has to be done within 72 hours of the last snowfall or it is ticketable.

Right... i'm not talking about shoveling snow though. I'm saying literally breaking up the old sidewalk, hauling it away, and pouring a new one.

 

[TwiceOver]

Same here. Everything 4 foot into the property from the curb is city property maintained by the homeowner. This includes the curb itself, the "boulevard" (as we call it, the grass from curb to sidewalk), and the sidewalk itself.

 

[highland145]

I've never heard of it being the home owners job to maintain a sidewalk. That is nuts. Next they will want you to pave the part of the road in front of the house.

Same. I might could understand shoveling the snow for safety but we don't get snow. We did have to pay for curbing but we(everyone on the street) asked for it to be put in and then was only half the cost.

 

[Jumpem]

Seriously? Where do you guys live? It's definitely all city-maintained around here. You're actually expected to lay a new sidewalk where you live? I've never heard of that before.

Syracuse, is the city here that requires it. If you don't do it, the city will come repair it and bill you.