Before you spend a dime fixing a heaved sidewalk, answer one question: whose sidewalk is it? The answer varies more than most homeowners expect — and a ten-minute phone call can save you the whole bill.
The general shape of it
Sidewalks along public streets often sit in the public right-of-way — but responsibility for maintaining them varies by city and county ordinance. Some municipalities maintain them; some put repair responsibility on the adjacent homeowner; many land somewhere confusing in between. Rural West Alabama adds its own wrinkle: outside city limits, there may be no public sidewalk program at all.
How to find out — the ten-minute version
- —Call your city or county public works office. Ask two things: is the walk in the public right-of-way, and who's responsible for repairs? Get the answer attached to your address, not in general.
- —Ask about permits while you're on the phone. Even where the homeowner pays for the fix, work in a right-of-way often needs a permit or has spec requirements.
- —Write down who you talked to. Boring advice that settles arguments later.
We can't answer this for your address — every town in our area handles it differently, and guessing would be exactly the kind of thing we built this company not to do.
Where we come in
Sidewalks on your own property — front walks, paths to outbuildings, pool walks — are yours, full stop, and that's our bread and butter. And if the county says a right-of-way repair is on you, we can quote it like any other residential job: walk-through first, base prep that stops the heaving from coming back, photo before the pour. Fixing a heaved walk without fixing the water and base under it is how you buy the same repair twice.
