Building an Alley Trash and Recycle Pad on a Tight St. Pete Lot

Plenty of St. Pete houses load trash from the alley, not the street. Cans sit in the dirt, the collection truck chews the same corner, and the back gate turns into a mud pan after every storm. A two-pallet leftover patio is not a pad.

How we build the pad

We size the pad for the cans plus a service step, compact a base that takes a truck tire at the edge, and pitch away from the fence and the house. A soldier course at the alley side can be replaced after scuffs. If the city or HOA wants screening, we leave post sleeves so a future enclosure does not cut the finished field.

On historic and mid-block lots we also match the walk that already runs to the gate so the pad does not read as a different job. Joints lock. Edges get pinned. We do not leave a lip that catches a can wheel.

How to start

Photograph the alley, the gate, and where the cans sit now. Call 727-490-9798. Most of these pads do not need a full driveway permit, but we will say so after we see the grade.