Landscape Design
Not Your Typical Fence: 8-Foot-High Rock Wall Gives Yard Privacy
A landscaping team installs a gabion wall, typically used as a retaining wall, to fence off a home’s pool and side yard
The wall: The rock wall is 8 feet high, 23½ feet long and 2 feet thick. “Traditionally, these types of walls are built to retain large embankments,” Burke says. “It’s more of a civil engineering, not residential, application.”
The expanse of wall provides privacy to the homeowner’s side yard, which has a pool and seating space.
The expanse of wall provides privacy to the homeowner’s side yard, which has a pool and seating space.
The wall is made out of 2-by-3-foot galvanized steel baskets that are connected with tie straps. This gives the wall its shape and rigidity. The frame is built around steel supports that give the wall additional structural strength.
As they added on baskets, the team filled each one with riprap. In this case, that was two tones of crushed limestone. “The wall weighs a lot,” Burke says. “It should also last longer than the house itself. It’s not going anywhere.”
The longevity comes at a price. Burke estimates that this type of wall costs 10 times more than a normal fence. But it will also require little-to-no maintenance and will weather nicely alongside the home’s corrugated steel and reclaimed wood exterior.
As they added on baskets, the team filled each one with riprap. In this case, that was two tones of crushed limestone. “The wall weighs a lot,” Burke says. “It should also last longer than the house itself. It’s not going anywhere.”
The longevity comes at a price. Burke estimates that this type of wall costs 10 times more than a normal fence. But it will also require little-to-no maintenance and will weather nicely alongside the home’s corrugated steel and reclaimed wood exterior.
Side yard: The home’s side yard features paved sitting areas and a 10-by-30-foot pool.
Fencing: The rock wall, at the back of the photo, screens the pool area from the front yard. A wood fence divides the yard from the neighbor’s home.
Concrete pads: The rock look continues between the concrete pads around the pool. The gaps are filled with native Texas river rock, which is a mixture of sandstone and limestone. “They are soft, not angular, so they don’t hurt if you step on them,” Burke says.
Landscaping: Burke used Savannah Holly trees, Mexican feathergrass and Gulf muhly grass around the pool area. He chose those plants because they are evergreen, will grow to create even more privacy and won’t disrupt the pool environment much. “The Savannah Holly trees do drop a few berries,” Burke says, “but they are a minor issue.”
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Fencing: The rock wall, at the back of the photo, screens the pool area from the front yard. A wood fence divides the yard from the neighbor’s home.
Concrete pads: The rock look continues between the concrete pads around the pool. The gaps are filled with native Texas river rock, which is a mixture of sandstone and limestone. “They are soft, not angular, so they don’t hurt if you step on them,” Burke says.
Landscaping: Burke used Savannah Holly trees, Mexican feathergrass and Gulf muhly grass around the pool area. He chose those plants because they are evergreen, will grow to create even more privacy and won’t disrupt the pool environment much. “The Savannah Holly trees do drop a few berries,” Burke says, “but they are a minor issue.”
Poolside Plantings: 9 Ideas for Easy-Care Combinations
Pool: The rest of the home is symmetrical and clean, and Burke brought that into the pool’s design. He also wanted it to be functional and safe, so he made it as big as the space allowed. But it’s still small enough that it’s not impractical to heat in the winter.
Pool tile: Stone Ventures; pool plaster: French Gray, Durazzo
Pool tile: Stone Ventures; pool plaster: French Gray, Durazzo
Water feature: The homeowners also wanted to include a water feature with the pool. Considering the home’s industrial style, Burke decided to create this three-spout feature out of copper pipe at the end of the pool near the rock wall.
Browse outdoor water features
Browse outdoor water features
Originally, he wanted to have the pipes coming out of the rock wall, but that ended up unfeasible. Instead they ran them up between the wall and the side of the pool and surrounded them with grasses.
Lighting: At night, LED lights in the pool and in the home’s overhang light up the family’s outdoor hangout.
More
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Other Resources on Houzz
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More
Garden Walls: Gabion Evolves From Functional to Fabulous
Poolside Plantings: 9 Ideas for Easy-Care Combinations
Other Resources on Houzz
Find a landscape architect or designer
Find furniture, lighting, decor and more for your outdoor space
Landscape at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two boys in middle and high school
Location: Dallas
Size: 1,120 square feet (104 square meters)
Designer: Ross Burke, principal designer at AquaTerra Outdoors
Backstory: The new home’s architect, Russell Buchanan of Buchanan Architecture, had the idea of using a gabion wall to screen off the home’s pool and side yard. He handed the idea over to Ross Burke, principal designer at AquaTerra Outdoors, and let him and his team make that happen. “We did a lot of research to figure out how to put this together,” Burke says. “This was the first time we’d done anything like this. The first time you do anything, there is a learning curve.”
Scope: The AquaTerra Outdoors team, with the help of Rick Fontenot of Constructive General Contractors, designed and built the rock wall, as well as the side yard’s pool, landscaping and patio space. The project took the team about three months.