Question
I have a front porch that is tile covered. For some reason, the front face was not finished with tile, and there is open space under the porch ( there is not cement that extends entirely to the ground ). Not only is it really ugly, but the flow of rainwater goes right under the porch via the sidewalk. My questions are:

1. Can and should I pour concrete or mortar under the porch to fill this void, making it more water tight?
2. When I do this, should I try to grade the sidewalk to not allow rainwater to pool there.
3. After this is done, can i add tile to the front face.

Thank you. I can provide pictures if need be.

Tom Rehm
Asheville, NC

Answer
Without a detailed picture I will do my best.
Here goes...
1. Yes if you can fill the void it would be ultimately better than not filling it. The difficulty though is getting it "well" filled. You might need to PUMP it in so it is filled under a slight pressure, allowing all the gaps to fill.
2. It is always bad if water is pooling. So if you have the opportunity to slope the sidewalk so it will drain that is good.
3. Without seeing the face I can not say if tile will work. You need to consider how the edge of the tile will look at the top of the lip where it meets the flat surface. I cant think of any typical reasons why you could not do this.


Sean J Murphy, LA,ISA, LEED AP
Please check out my blogs and articles on landscape topics like this on my websites.
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