Sidewalks & Walkways in Gastonia, NC

Sidewalks and walkways carry your family and visitors every day, so a lifted edge or a standing puddle matters more on a walk than anywhere else. We pour new front walks and side paths, replace broken sections of older walks, and rebuild walks that roots have pushed up. On many of Gastonia's older homes, the walk is as old as the house.

Old houses, old walks

Census survey figures show close to 15 percent of Gastonia homes were built before 1950 and about half before 1980. Walks from those years were often poured thin and laid right on the dirt. Half a century or more of clay movement, growing roots and freezing water leaves them tilted, cracked and heaved. When a whole run is failing, replacing it is usually neater and longer-lasting than fixing one panel at a time.

Living with tree roots

Big shade trees line many older Gastonia streets, and their roots are the usual reason a walk lifts. Before replacing a heaved section we look at the root itself. Small roots can often be trimmed without harming the tree. Large anchoring roots should stay, so the answer may be to curve the walk, widen the base or raise the grade over the root. You hear the choices before anyone cuts anything.

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Building a walk that lasts

The old walk or the sod comes out, the soil is packed, and a compacted stone base goes down. HomeGuide's sidewalk guide notes that walkways typically run 4 to 6 inches thick, with the extra depth where a walk crosses a driveway or takes heavier use. Forms get a slight side-to-side pitch so rain drains off the edge. On a 4-foot walk we place joints every 4 to 5 feet, add isolation joints at the porch, steps and driveway, and finish with a broom texture for grip on wet mornings.

Signs your walk needs attention

• One edge of a panel sits an inch or more higher than the next
• Grass and weeds grow through the cracks
• Water stands after rain or ices over on cold mornings
• The walk has sunk below the porch step
• The surface is crumbling and the stone is showing
• There is no path at all from the drive to the back gate

The walk along the street

The public sidewalk in front of a house may sit in the city right-of-way. The City of Gastonia requires a formal encroachment agreement for construction that extends into its right-of-way or easements, and work there must meet minimum insurance requirements. Before touching a public walk, we ask the city's Engineering Division who is responsible for it and what approval is required.

Porch steps and landings

Many walks end at steps or a landing. We can rebuild settled concrete steps along with the walk so every riser matches and the landing drains away from the door.