advice/tips/suggestions needed!



Our house is on a hill. The downhill side has been washed away over the years. In-laws, who live across the street, are doing major home improvements (building an addition, extending driveway, etc.) which resulted in the removal of a lot of earth. The workers carted each load across the street and dumped it in our yard.



So now I have a very large amount dirt, 90% of it is where I'd like to keep it, it's flat and slopes slightly away from the driveway and foundation of the house. I want to keep it there.



The deepest/tallest portion is around 5'-6' deep. I was reading that building a wall that tall can get pretty complicated and pricey, making sure it's strong enough and dealing with drainage and such. I was thinking of dividing it into a 2 step terrace sort of thing.



Now, since this was a spur-of-the-moment thing, I didn't exactly save up for this landscaping project. I was thinking of using cinder blocks for the walls (there's a CL ad for cinder blocks at $.80 each), and when I can afford it, bricking up over the cinder blocks with something more attractive. I even read that I could buy molds for making my own blocks out of concrete, which I'm thinking I could color as well, for a decorative and cost-efficient finished look.



Your thoughts?

This thread is useless without pics, and a topographical map.



Seriously, It sounds like a big job. I would definitely agree with your statement about terracing the project to keep individual wall height down to around 2 feet or so, especially if this area will contain kids.

Pics would be nice, I'll try to take some tonight.



I don't know about "containing" kids, I have a pen out back for that, but that's a good point.



Some folks have suggested landscaping timbers, but I uncovered a few those at a different spot in my yard (they were buried under leaves) forming a small wall, rotting away with the dirt falling through.

My Dad and I built one with discarded wood railway ties, it retained about 6 feet of dirt. Its important to overlap the joints of course, and the first 2 rows we drilled right through them, and pounded 6'feet of re-bar into the ground to hold them. The railway ties were cheap like borscht.

I like the railroad tie idea. I don't think you will find anything else that is both suitable and near as cheap. Here's a bit of a discussion: A Crosstie Retaining Wall



And don't underestimate the forces at work. I've seen more than a few cinder block walls only a couple feet high that have been bowed and tilted by the weight of the contained soil. And they look like hell.

Certainly, with any wood product, you will need to find something that has nasty chemicals in it to resist insects and rot. Railroad ties do contain such chemicals. Even so, they have a finite lifespan.

buildin one too... ive got a decline im tryin to level for a shed...

dont forget to add drainage baldy..

I think the main challenge for me is that the fill is already there, I'm going to be building a wall around the existing loose dirt.



I'll have to look into the drainage thing, I have no idea on that.

If it's going to be large, you really need to have an engineer look at it, it needs to be properly drained among other things. I can have my dad take a look if you come up with some photos and info, width, height, etc. etc... he's a building inspector (retired) so he knows quite a bit about them.

Pics, the first few don't give much perspective, but I'm standing at the edge of the flat surface. The later pics give it more perspective (taken from the lower end). The portion of the house with no vinyl siding is the foundation/concrete wall of the house.