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Post by shabbychick on Aug 5, 2013 18:26:58 GMT -8
I'm attaching a picture of the back side of my fence, which is my neighbor's yard. The back yards in our condos are a continuous slope, and as I pulled up the pavers in my back yard, I realized that the rain has washed some of my soil down into the neighbor's yard. I'm planning to re-level and re-paver my yard but am also going to try to do something with the neighbor's yard. They don't have any interest in working in the yard, nor do they have the money for it, so I"m going to do this for them. As you can see, there is a short slope about about 56 inches from top to bottom. One edge of the slope has already been blocked with large pavers (I'll post that picture in the next post). I'm planning to get more big pavers and create a retaining wall probably no more than three courses high. I need to also install some kind of paver at the top of the slope to try to keep my dirt from filtering down into their yard under the fence. I'm wondering if it might make sense to try to terrace the slope. There's not much room for more than two levels there. I'm thinking the upper terrace would be made from much smaller blocks. The bottom blocks are the 17-inch D-shaped pavers, so I'm wondering if I should go with the 12-inch pavers of the same shape to create an upper terrace or whether I should use a couple of courses of the smaller square pavers (I think they're called Roman stack). Or should I go ahead and use the big ones for the upper slope, too? Any ideas? I'm trying to take care of this project on top of redoing my yard (with about $225 worth of pavers) and also replacing a grass strip in my front yard with flagstone pavers and pea gravel. I don't want to spend a lot of money, but I want the neighbors to have a tidy little garden that isn't going to slop down into the rest of their yard when the rains come. Any advice? I've never built a wall before in my life, but I figure I'm on a roll here. In the last week I've rebuilt a whole section of privacy fence and rewired a lamp. I Am Woman!!! Thanks for your help. Attachments:
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Post by shabbychick on Aug 5, 2013 18:30:01 GMT -8
Here's a picture of the upper part of the slope which already has a few pavers installed. The whole length of the fence I'm terracing is only about 9.5-10 feet, so this is a relatively small project. Attachments:
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Post by Vintage Girl on Aug 6, 2013 10:43:34 GMT -8
I would terrace it. That will look so pretty and I think the two levels will add depth to the area. I would use the same pavers for both levels. How niceof you to help out your neighbors. I am sure they will love and appreciate it  Don't have any tips for the logistics, as I am not good with this type of project. Hopefully Allen will chime in. And wow can I say you are very very handy. Hubs and I have tackled everything up to a room addition, but I was mainly the assistant and supervisor  ;D |
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Post by shabbychick on Aug 7, 2013 17:53:49 GMT -8
Thanks. I think I'm definitely going to have to create a couple of levels as well as installing some blocks at the top of the slope just beneath the fence rail. As I pulled out the tree roots that were growing in my yard and along the fence line (which was no easy task, I'll tell you!), more of my dirt has migrated down the slope. I'll be installing some paver edging on my side of the fence to keep the pavers in place, but if I don't do something to keep the soil under the pavers from moving, I'll be back in the same boat I'm in now with a yard that tilts enough to make me dizzy.
As I get older, I find myself willing to tackle more and more diy situations by myself as long as I can lift and move the materials myself (or get someone to do it for me). The Internet has been a huge help there. I can find a video showing me how to do almost anything on You Tube or This Old House! It has made things much easier and given me a lot more confidence.
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Post by Mac78 on Aug 8, 2013 3:39:39 GMT -8
Wow, you are a power woman. lol I have no ideas to offer, but think it sounds like a good idea to terrace it. How nice you are willing to help your neighbors. They are lucky to have you beside them.
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Post by shabbychick on Aug 8, 2013 5:49:48 GMT -8
Thanks, Marie. They've always been nice to me, and I do believe that neighbors helping neighbors is the way it ought to be. I'll post pictures after I get it done.
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Post by Mac78 on Aug 8, 2013 15:48:55 GMT -8
Amen to that Shabby, "Neighbors helping neighbors", that is how my mom taught me, and I try to do the same in teaching to my own kids. I feel quite lucky, as we have great neighbors, but again, more like they are lucky to have me as a neighbor, as I have the snow blower, will pick up the yards after a storm, etc.
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Post by rosemary on Aug 8, 2013 16:15:57 GMT -8
A very kind thing to do for your neighbors, shabby. Maybe this will get them interested in their yard. I'm looking forward to seeing the project when you are finished.
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Post by Vintage Girl on Aug 12, 2013 7:41:15 GMT -8
I miss the old days when everyone helped each other. Nowadays you are lucky if you even know your neighbors. And of course everyone is so self absorbed, that there is no more courtesy. I would love to go back to about 40 years ago  |
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Post by rosemary on Aug 12, 2013 18:25:28 GMT -8
I feel the same way, vintagegirl. I have been very sentimental about the past recently. Forty years ago sounds about right. Now all we need is a time travel machine . |
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Post by Vintage Girl on Aug 13, 2013 7:47:19 GMT -8
Would love a time machine!!! I could go back and see everyone that has passed from my life. Just 24hrs to let them know how much they meant to me. I have been very very sentimental lately also  |
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Post by allen820 on Aug 15, 2013 5:49:06 GMT -8
I certainly agree. There are so many folks who I, too, wish I could have visited "one last time." And, heck of it is, there are folks in my life now that I know I need to see and visit, but I just haven't -- guess I'll have the same thoughts about them, too. The world, at least my world, is so busy that I can't get done what I have to do (at least what I think I have to do). There is just not enough of me left to do the things you talk about that ultimately are more important. I think it is time for a reset -- if I can figure out how to do that.
Allen
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Post by Vintage Girl on Aug 15, 2013 11:12:44 GMT -8
That is so funny you posted that Allen. I need to "reset" my life also. Recently some things have happened that have made me rethink things. Am seriously considering retiring next year and taking it more easy. I will never fully quit working. But I would love to just work parttime and work closer to home. Once I get the numbers back from my retirement coordinator I wll be making a decision. It is time for me to slow down, smell the roses, and relax a bit. That is so hard for me to do, as I always feel I have "things" I must do also. Hard to change, but my old body is telling me I must  ;D |
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Post by shabbychick on Aug 19, 2013 8:02:07 GMT -8
Well, we got the retaining wall built. It looks pretty good even if we did have to cobble together a few different kinds of stones to get the configuration we needed. Now I'm on to laying the pavers in my yard, and let me tell you, it is not as easy as it looks on This Old House. It's crazy hard getting the yard leveled, and when it's level one direction, it's not level the other direction, and when you add the pavers, they're not level, either. It took me four hours yesterday to lay one ten-foot by one-foot section, and I still have another 60 square feet to go. I am rapidly losing the will to live, especially the third or fourth time I smack my finger with the rubber mallet trying to level a paver. I'm starting to wish I had just hired someone to do it for me. I love the idea of being self-sufficient, and the instructions make it seem relatively easy, but it's a challenge for me. I'm building muscle toting all those pavers around the building, though, and carting fifty-pound bags of sand around. I'll tell you, if Home Depot is really serious about helping out DIY women, they should start packaging materials in bags that don't weigh fifty pounds! If/when I prevail in the back yard, I'll post pictures. In the meantime, please think level thoughts. |
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Post by rosemary on Aug 19, 2013 8:32:51 GMT -8
I know what you mean, shabby! I put down some rocks in front of my steps a few years, and I don't think they were ever truly 'level'. It is just hard to do.
I'm with you two, allen and vintagegirl--life just goes by too fast. I guess it was speeding by 40 years ago, too, but I'd still go back for a day or so if I had the chance:).
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Don't have any tips for the logistics, as I am not good with this type of project. Hopefully Allen will chime in. 
;D
;D