Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - i need advice..

i have a house built in 1941. the couple who lived here built a ramp from the driveway around the back and a walkway up onto a porch/sm deck they added as they got older and one of them needed a wheelchair. there is a bank here with a concrete area outside the kitchen door. i am dealing with erosion problem on the bank in a way that will deter my canine digging machines. under this ramp there is concrete but not under the tiny deck. there is only soil it looks like under there. i want to tear all this up , and in addition to terracing the bank- turn it into a patio/terrace area that will be much more open and larger. i searched through this site , but it only seemed to have advice on brick patios. i do not want to go with brick. i have alot of mountain stone on my home with the beds and fireplaces so the brick would look odd. since there is already concrete there , it seems to make sense to finish it in concrete. and why did they have to take it all up anyway? what i've looked up so far involves a garden hose and the middle of someone's yard. this is right outside my back door next to existing concrete. i am worried about proper drainage, the concrete cracking, leveling, etc. please give me some advice, thank you for your time.

I'm not understanding exactly what kind of advise you are looking for.

Terracing the yard would make it more usable. You could then pour concrete slabs at different levels and create a series of patios. The drainage/ eroision issues could be handled with a french drain system to control the runoff. You might consider using decks in place of 1 or 2 of these slabs to reduce the amount of runoff you have.

Concrete is going to crack at some point. That can be reduced by pouring it on a deeper base, and using smaller aggregate in the base.

Keep replying to this post if you have more questions or need something explained at greater length.

under the small deck, they have removed the prexisting concrete. i want to replace that concrete. i am wondering what is the best way to replace that concrete next to the old concrete. the bank is going to be a matter of lanscaping timbers and a rambler type rose with lots of thorns. aroung the house i have noticed a hollow for drainage, also on the bank side of the concrete. i am sorry my responses are so muddled. i do not know what i am doing. thank you for your time.--pine

OK -- "a rambler type rose with lots of thorns" -- THAT should cure the problem of the canine digging machines.

Laying new concrete next to old -- I would put some sort of a break between the two, rather than trying to join them together. The old concrete -- specifically the EDGE of the old concrete -- is that a smooth edge, as in the entire pad is still there, or is it a jagged edge, as in is was broken off to get rid of the unwanted section?

If the edge is smooth (finished), then maybe do a border along that edge. If the new and the old will be at the same level, the border could be something like a Trex 2X6 on edge, buried so that it is the same level as the concrete. Drill 1/4" holes in the Trex and put some 1/4" X 6" bolts through it that will be embedded in the new concrete when it is poured to keep the Trex from raising.

If the edge of the old is rough, then maybe break it off in a fairly even line and build a border along that edge -- some rock work, landscape timbers, or maybe use the Keystone blocks? A small planter between the old and the new concrete?

Pineshade7b, in case you haven't noticed, I'm kind of grasping for straws here. If I could SEE what you are dealing with, maybe some better suggestions could be made. Unfortunately, you can't post pictures in this forum. However, if you can put pictures on a web page, you could then post the URL for that page so I could see them. Another alternative would be to e-mail the pics to me -- if you have that capability --duckadam@c-zone.net