Asheville Landscaping; Dry Stacked Retaining Walls

When considering a retaining wall on your property the first question you should ask yourself is what type of material do I want to use for this project. There are many options including wood, concrete and stone. 
Wood walls tend to be cheaper than concrete or stone walls. However their life span is drastically shorter.
A concrete wall is very durable and will last for decades, if done correctly. However, if there is an issue with a concrete wall and it cracks or separates, the wall will need to be removed and rebuilt. I have worked and still work with all types of retaining wall materials. Yet I will usually recommend a dry stacked stone wall as the first option for my clients. Dry stack walling is an ancient craft, possibly the first form of soil retention. When built correctly, it can withstand centuries of weather. Dry stacked stone walls have got a bad reputation in many areas, mainly due to improper construction. 

A true dry stacked wall is constructed using stone of various sizes tightly fit on the face of the wall. Theses stones are backfilled with similar sized stones and gravel to create a structural and free draining area behind the wall. Most failed walls, like this project I am featuring today, are backfilled with only native soils. This creates a devastating amount of hydrostatic pressure behind the wall that causes walls to fail. 
Our clients for this project contacted us with concerns regarding the dry stacked walls they had installed by a local builder no more than 5 years ago. They had a series of walls built in their front yard that were beginning to collapse and wanted to have all the walls built correctly before there was a major problem. We took on the job and have reworked the area giving them new walls and added a pondless waterfall as a bonus feature.

Here you can see the structural backfill we installed when we were fixing the failed walls.

Adding large, tightly fit stone to the backfill, with some gravel and filter fabric behind, will allow any surface or sub-surface water behind the wall to drain freely without any pressure on the face stones. 

We were able to reuse some of the existing stone from the old walls for this project. However, most of the original stone was rather round and not good for stacking a wall.

So we had to import approx. 10 tons of stone from a local quarry to complete this project.

  The picture to the right shows the old failing wall on the top. The lower wall in the new construction using proper backfill and structural stone

We were also able to create some fun features in the new walls, including a stone bench and some inlays that gave this wall character.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or if you would like a free consultation for your project in the Asheville area.

Jacob

Living Waters Landscaping

828-301-8017

Santa Cruz Landscaping: Boulder Placement

I have always enjoyed hiking and spending time in the woods. I love hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains, especially on less traveled trails. I have also spent time in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and the deserts of New Mexico. I purposely seek out high rock outcroppings and large boulders when I am hiking. I love sitting next to a boulder or on top of a grouping of rocks. I am humbled by their timeless strength and peaceful presence.

In my landscape designs, I always try to incorporate artistic boulder placement in the project. Whether its a grouping of boulders in a garden, a large boulder placed in a water feature, or a stand alone boulder feature. 
I take my time in choosing each rock that I will place in the garden. I look at the features and characteristics of the boulder, and I imagine it in the garden with plant life around it. 

Cactus Garden Pathway

This is a feature we did on the West side of Santa Cruz. It was an existing cactus garden that we installed a small pathway through.

At one point in the path, we placed a large flat stone, and carried the pathway around it. The garden itself housed many 50-100 year old cactus and Agave plants. So we chose this stone to look as if it was a huge buried boulder that had been unearthed by the weather over hundreds of years. This took an eye for choosing the right rock, as well as for placing it. For the pathway, we chose a stone that is native to the Arizona dessert. It is a path stone or flagstone that is harvested from the surface. Most flagstone is harvested in sheets that are excavated from under the ground. This stone has been weathered over time and even has lichen and moss growing on it. It went well with the ancient look we were shooting for.

I also enjoy placing large boulders in a water feature. It gives the feature a more balanced and aged look. 
Having a variety of sizes of stone in a waterfall helps it to blend in and look natural. 


I still have a lot to learn about setting boulders in a landscape, I enjoy it a lot and I will keep studying and learning as I go. 
www.livingwaterslandscaping.com