Landscape Help-Retaining Wall Slope
Hilary
4 years ago
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Comments (7)
Patricia Colwell Consulting
4 years agoHilary
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Filling in a sloped yard with an existing retaining wall
Comments (19)what is it you like so much about the house? It looks beautiful on the outside but according to what I saw on your realtors website the inside is pretty common for houses in that price range. Did you ever think about finding a house with a beautiful interior, a yard you like and change the outside to the craftsman style you appear to like? Think about how much the potential house costs, how much you will spend altering the yard (while taking care of a small child and newborn) and then what is the return on the house if you decide to sell. The market is slowing down quite a bit and that has to be taken into consideration. While it is true houses are meant to live in they are also investments. I do not know anything about the area you are looking in but read up on functional obsolesence. If there is nothing in the area to compare it to there is no value in it. If you over develop your house it will only price so high meaning you spend $$$$ on a house put $$ inside and $$$ outside, you might only be able to get a very small percentage of that back on a resale (if you are lucky). Youe could lose quite a bit unless of course the market goes back up which I do not see happening. Think beyond the emotion on this one. Good luck in whatever you decide to do. It can be a heart wrenching thing to fall in love with a house and then have to deal with the big BUT. It happens to me all the time. I found the perfect outfit but it does not fit (but I can always go on a diet but the reality is that a year later it is still hanging in the closet with tags on it and now going to Goodwill), found the perfect TV but it does not look right in the room I wanted it for (but I can always put it in a different room and then i still have to buy a tv), found the perfect car but hate the way the seats feel (but I can always replace the seats but I will be uncomfortable for now)...no matter how much I love it the "buts" come into play. With patience you will find what you want with a smaller sacrifice. You probably did not get the answer you wanted here but you asked for advise and I assume you wanted honest opinions. I hope we made you think of a few things before making such a large commitment. You are talking about a half million investment so invest wisely!! I am done preaching cause I do want to beat a dead horse. Let us know what you decide and keep us posted. If you decide to do it anyway (and judging by your responses I think you will) start another topic to let us in on your project so we can all know what all is involved and how much it costs. Regards Ms Jay...See MoreCreating beds, working with retaining walls and slopes!
Comments (24)Thank you Yardvaark! It never occurred to me to check and see what the neighbors had in their yards! We have neighbors to the north and south, with the east side of the property bordered by a public hiking trail. There is a cement wall and fence separating us from the trail, but only chain link between us and the neighbors. The southerly neighbor's lawn is mostly grass, but the northern one is VERY overgrown with all sorts of climbing plants, vines, and who knows what else. Anyway, I did a little recon this morning to see what we currently have growing in our yard. I'm not sure any of this qualifies as groundcover, though. In addition to the following, we have ALL sorts of ivies and creeping vines growing over various areas. The slopes are mostly grass and weeds right now, which is problematic because the grass grows enough to need mowing, but you can't mow up there, so DH has been having to basically hold a weedwhacker over his head to trim the area. This plant occupies a large chunk of the backyard currently, although it's actually in an area I would like to use for herbs, so it may get ripped out. No idea what this plant is, but it is reasonably attractive and seems not to need much in the way of maintenance. Another view of it (lower left corner): We also have several large patches of this this paler green plant growing throughout the backyard - it's definitely mint of some sort, but not sure what kind. Probably not something to use as groundcover since I know mint can be invasive. The flat lawn areas tend to have a lot of this next plant (weed?) poking up, especially in areas that don't get a lot of sun: And finally, there's this guy, which occupies a chunk of the backyard as well: I'm not at all opposed to spending a little money on something new that will really suit the area, but there is quite a lot of slope to cover (I would estimate 1000sf). Never having to worry about trimming those slopes again would be worth a pretty penny, though! Any thoughts about these current residents?...See MoreRetaining Wall Landscaping Help Needed!
Comments (8)Except for the dog issue, I'm confused about what you're trying to do with fences. If you must fence the property line, which it as top of berm, I presume you would eliminate fence close to retaining wall (so as not to have a strip of land sequestered in between two fences.) It would be vastly easier to understand if you'd take a site plan (I'm sure you have one since the house is currently being built) and mark out your intentions, and submit a photo. Hopefully it will explain what/how you mean about running a fence "half way." In regards to the issue about the dog or children jumping off the retaining wall. I can't really believe either wouldn't be able to learn their capabilities almost instantly. The wall doesn't look high enough to be a real danger and won't there be unpaved areas at its lower side? Doesn't seem like a problem. When I was a child we would think this wall a nice toy. Plantings could easily limit access....See MoreLandscaping on top of retaining wall - Help, please!
Comments (12)You want to allow spacing to 5' wide for both hydrangeas. And the Pink Beauty (aka 'Preziosa') is going to be a water hungry plant until well esablished, so may need a lot of extra attention in the area you have it intended for at least the next few years. I think it makes the most sense to scale out the area on graph paper, noting where the trees and their roots are located, and then draw in the desired plants at their full size. That will tell you how many you can fit in and how best to space them. But the presence of the trees and their heavy, aggressive root systems is always going to be a factor of what will work and what won't. I would focus on part shade plants that are drough tolerant once established. And with fairly shallow root systems that can cohabit with the trees....See Morefrankielynnsie
4 years agoHilary
4 years agoChristopher CNC
4 years agochiflipper
4 years ago
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