Maximum Allowable Leading Edge Height

3,392 Views | 29 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by Good Bull Jones 17
Good Bull Jones 17
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My house has a drainage ditch/canal right next to it. I am worried about having such a large leading edge on my property that future kids could very easily fall into. The ditch is 48" deep.

What is the largest leading edge that is allowed to be built on someone's property? I tried looking it up on uniform development code but I really am not very familiar with where to search for info like that and couldn't find anything.

I am wondering if it was built out of code, or if I could justify getting the county to put some sort of grate on top of the ditch or something of the sort.

https://imgur.com/a/KphwcTj





04.arch.ag
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Commercial standards are required at 30" provided it is actually along a path of travel. That's why there is a guardrail along the street sidewalk. We typically will have them for anything over 18" or so as a CYA.
Good Bull Jones 17
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What code dictates that? Maybe I could look for the residential equivalent?
agdaddy04
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Just curious but did they just put it in or did you not think about it when buying? Why concerned now?
Jason_InfinityRoofer
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agdaddy04 said:

Just curious but did they just put it in or did you not think about it when buying? Why concerned now?


Probably Because when you buy a house, kids are in the future. The future tends to sneak up on ya after you get all settled in.
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Picard
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Just put a red balloon on the street side and everyone will stay far away from it


Good Bull Jones 17
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It was always a concern, but the house met all of our other criteria and we figured we'd either keep the kids out of the front yard or we'd find some sort of solution like building a fence or a grate.

So it's not that the concern is all of a sudden, it's just been on the back burner and now I'm just trying to figure out if anything can be done about it or if something is wrong with this situation to begin with.
JSKolache
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Man that's weird, never seen anything like that.
04.arch.ag
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IBC section 1015.2
mosdefn14
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Can you not put an iron fence down the side? Possibly shrubs?
Tom Cardy
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I think the spirit of the question is that OP doesn't want to cover a fix on their own dime if the city/county/HOA/whoever is obligated to provide the solution.
FatZilla
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Put a small decorative picket fence along it on your side?
Good Bull Jones 17
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Kick-R said:

I think the spirit of the question is that OP doesn't want to cover a fix on their own dime if the city/county/HOA/whoever is obligated to provide the solution.


Correct. If I bought this problem and I own it, then I understand, but if something was built out of code, then I'm not going to spend upward of $1,000 and my time and labor to fix the developer's screw up.
agdaddy04
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I can't imagine it would be out of code. But have a city inspector come look at it? What do your neighbors say?
JP76
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Look on your survey and see if lies in a city drainage easement
Dr. Doctor
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Usually industrial code is 4 foot. Taller or deeper than that and you need a fence.

For example, a berm around tanks are usually is less than 3' because over 4, you'll need stairs and it will count as an enclosed space and other things apply.

~egon
The Collective
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I don't have much advice here, but I do want you to know that one day your kid will be old enough to weed eat that strip between the fence and the concrete, and that my friend, is a good day.
The Collective
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edit: of course someone already made the joke.
fka ftc
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agdaddy04 said:

I can't imagine it would be out of code. But have a city inspector come look at it? What do your neighbors say?
Only thing I would caution here is that if is not to code and you own it, you will then be required to fix it.

I would be most concerned about the area between the railing at sidewalk and to the front corner of house.

Any child or adult running in your front yard could easily take a dive. Even worse if water is flowing with the outlet at the bottom.

Look at your survey and your HOA docs and see who is responsible. If you are, consider running some steel railing or fence from sidewalk railing down along canal and to front corner of house. Then consider hardscaping the area alongside the house and that area between fence and canal.

But do check on responsibility. Very possible that may be the city responsibility if part of the street drainage. In that case, send pics of people who broke arms and legs falling into concrete canals. Good luck OP. It would be something I would want to addres.
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MsDoubleD81
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Wow. How much water flows thru it when it rains? Are there other houses in the neighborhood like this? Have you asked the neighbors on the other side? Seems like they'd be concerned too.
The Collective
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I feel like that thing would be awesome assuming it generates a decent flow rate during a storm.
CapCity12thMan
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why not put some sort of metal grate over it?
bobbunker
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Typical.... Man up and put a grate over it.
Good Bull Jones 17
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I Have Spoken said:

I feel like that thing would be awesome assuming it generates a decent flow rate during a storm.


Yeah it does get crazy during a big storm. Kind of cool.
Good Bull Jones 17
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I'm out of town for the weekend but I'll check survey and HOA docs on Sunday and report back.
Diggity
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bobbunker said:

Typical.... Man up and put a grate over it.
Rexter
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You should add some cinder blocks in 2 rows across the channel, spaced 20 ft apart, with each row 2 or 3 blocks high. Obtain a kayak, and the next time it rains, tie the kayak to the rail on the sidewalk. Leave enough rope to get the kayak between the rows of blocks. Presto! You have white-water rafting right at home.
Good Bull Jones 17
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Ok so took a look at my survey and the ditch is not on my property. The survey does note a 9' drainage easement that starts 5.5' off my exterior wall.

With that, I found this in 2015 IRC (International Residential Code):
Section R312 - Guards and Window Fall Protection
R312.1.1 - Where required
"Guards shall be provided for those portions of open-sided walking surfaces, including stairs, ramps, and landings, that are located more than 30 inches measured vertically to the floor or grade below at any point within 36 inches horizontally to the edge of the open side."

I feel like my yard is a walking surface......
cbminers
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Why do I get the feeling that if you do convince them to do something about it, their solution might be ugly AF?
cslifer
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Your yard doesn't count as walking surface. The meaning of that term includes pathways, sidewalk etc. I understand that you can and do walk in the yard, but the primary use is not walking.
ETA: That is why there is a railing where the sidewalk goes over it, the sidewalk meets the definition of a walking surface and would need the protection.
Good Bull Jones 17
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cslifer said:

Your yard doesn't count as walking surface. The meaning of that term includes pathways, sidewalk etc. I understand that you can and do walk in the yard, but the primary use is not walking.
ETA: That is why there is a railing where the sidewalk goes over it, the sidewalk meets the definition of a walking surface and would need the protection.
I'm sure you're right. When I read the code, I immediately thought about how there is a railing at the sidewalk, because surely THAT is what they mean by walking surface. They seem like they satisfied code, but it's still not great for me......

I guess I'll need to think about whether I want to do some sort of fence or a grate.....
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