Slope solutions

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Hi All,

We moved into this house over the summer and I've been exploring options about what to do with this slope. The former owner covered it with river rock and attempted to place landscape plants on it. Needless to say, the river rock continually rolls into the gravel drive because of the slope.

My hope would be to use the same retaining block that was used on right side of the picture to increase the area of the side yard a little. I was curious if people would suggest a single wall, probably 7-8 ft wall off the side of the house or a tiered wall, maybe one 4 ft and the other 3 ft.

I'd love to hear input as to what you all would suggest regarding the design of the walls or whether you would suggest something else entirely. Thanks!

PS the landscape ties are just lying in the grass as a reference point for myself in this photo. They are not actually a part of the yard

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Comments (3)

PRO
Patrick A. Finn, Ltd
9 years ago
When you say 7-8 ft, are you talking about height? I think you could do one wall, that could actually be fairly short. Sorry for the crude drawing.
At the closest point to the garage it could be a little shorter than the wall on the left and get shorter as your yard slope increases.

Similar to how this driveway keeps the top of the the wall flat even though the wall is getting shorter. I'd say do this to make it look cleaner, unless the retaining wall to your front door takes care of it differently.
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Bette P
9 years ago
You have a tree where the shadow is. They can suffocate and die when you dump more than 2 inches of dirt over top of their roots. The roots extend out past the canopy of the tree, so if you see branches above, there are roots at your feet and beyond. Consult an arborist before you do anything.

Depending on an arborist consult, I would consider leaving the grade as is. Match the material of your retaining wall. I think it will look fine being a lower height and dropping in height as it comes down the driveway. You could plant a low ground cover up against it to soften the edge.
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PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
9 years ago
Seems obvious you need a retention wall to hold back the sloping ground. I'd match what you have but soften the appearance with cascading plants and flowers.

The siding on the home seems too minimal and the brick too much. I have change it in the photo.