DIYbanter - View Single Post

Norminn

wrote:

Thanks for your replies!!

My wall is about 3' high & 25' long- hasn't moved a hair in 5 NY
winters. It is serpentine & I think that adds to both appeal and
strength.

Jim, that's good to know! I like the idea of serpentine walls too. I'm
concerned, though, that building one wall above another will create
additional issues over and above the construction of one wall--what do
you think?

Norminn, the slope is away from the house and will stay that way. we
have a flood plain easement on our land and in fact the neighbors'
gardens drain into that so, I don't think it will be a problem. Also
we're thinking of putting in a pipe from the lowest terrace to
encourage water down to that area. What sort of plants did you use to
control erosion? And how quickly do they establish a root system
sufficient to have some effect?

I'm in Florida.......one good one is liriope IIRC. It is pretty, tall,
dark green grassy stuff and
doesn't spread. I also used concrete edger with rock and landscape
cloth behind it - the edger
stops the water flow long enough for it to soak into the ground through
rock and l. cloth.

The space we had to work is very small, as downspouts are next to patio
and not far from hedges and walks. The hedges were dying because so
much soil had
washed away. Replaced soil. In some spots I used plastic trays that
plants come in,
doubled for strength, placed in ground and filled with rock. I don't
like those concrete
thingies for downspouts.

County extension service or a good nursery can surely give you tips
about landscaping
the area.

The condo next to ours is only about 10 years old and probably doesn't
have 10% of the
lot with permeable ground......huge concrete parking area and most of
the drainage off
the building goes into the lot and then into our yard. Didn't take note
of that until we had
seawall repairs and new erosion came right after repairs. Strange the
things you study
when hubby is the building manager

)

Your terrace idea is probably fine, but plants can do a lot of work with
the right choices. The
grassy stuff we used, planted on a slope, would probably do a lot to
slow the flow and hold
the soil, as it is dense and has very strong, dense roots.