u/Treacle_Routine

I’d like to put a small patio in, just a spot for our grills and a little extra space. We’re trying to decide on the left or right of the deck. We had originally planned for putting it on the left of the deck, because it felt more natural. Landscapers who came to give a quote suggested putting it on the right of the deck and flipping the stairs. Here was their reasoning:

On the left side we would be limited to about 9x14 due to the septic tank placement, the left has the AC units which would be buzzing while trying to enjoy the outside in the summer, the lines wouldn’t look as clean because the edge wouldn’t sit quite flush with the ac unit, the hose bib would be right in the middle of it, and the downspout would be running along the edge.

The right would be about 12x14 and would be flush with the edge of the house and deck. They would swap the stairs to the right side, and run the right side downspout underground to an outlet away from the house.

We are replacing that wooden gate/chicken wire on the right side with vinyl fencing so there would be more privacy. The price difference is about $1300 more for the right side.

Pics of the existing area and some (very rough) AI mockups are attached (the red lines delineate the 9x14 space we’d be limited to.

I’m open to hear any suggestions or considerations I might’ve missed while going back and forth on left v right.

We have 2 closets in our entry way, the one pictured and an identical one on the opposite side. I’d like to remove the closet pictured and put in a hall tree, similar to the 2nd pic (ai rendering). Can I simply remove the walls and header around the closet door (red coloring)? Or is there a reason I would have to keep a header in this space. I don’t believe this is load bearing. The only thing above this space is a small crawl space. Thanks for any advice.