6"x6" lumber that are each vertical, half hidden under the yew. The soil behind it is about 2ft deep near the door and tapers to less than 1 foot

Hope these are ok. Lot of obstructions and wasn't sure what angle to point the camera.

The side of the building with the retaining walls faces the street, South / SouthEast. Zone 6, PA.

GardenGal - Thank you for your input. The retaining wall that needs repair / replacement is the one to the right of the door (as viewed in photo). If eliminating or changing the much shorter wall to the left of the door can be worked into the plan, it would be a good thing. Sorry to be confusing.

I'm still confused :-) Is it the retaining wall that I've added the red arrow pointing to that you want to remove?

The Red arrow is the one i'd LIKE to remove / change. Our volunteers should be able to redo. no?

The wal lon the other side of the door wall the MUST be repaired or replaced professionally. It"s about 3 ft tall, has 2 trees way too close,

I am hoping for some creative ideas we can implement over time, with the wall rework being the first step.

I think I cleared up the confusion. Sorry

The pictures facing the building are taken from too far away. What I'm trying to see most is the area within the red circle -- floor space, and how it joins to surrounding space. Rather than me suggesting where the camera should be positioned, appraise the scene in the viewfinder and stand where you can capture it. It might need to come from more than two viewpoints, but whatever scenes are taken should be complete so we can tell how things fit together.

As I understand it, you are REPLACING a wall, not trying to eliminate it.....?

It really isn't that complicated. There are *two* walls. One on the left side of the door, the other on the right side. The idea is to eliminate the wall on the left side, and replace the wall on the right side.

My first thought on seeing the pictures was to raze everything on the left side, eliminate the retaining wall, or at least move it back, and expand the entry/patio area. If the walk is dry laid ( and it looks like it is) just pry up the parts that flood and put some filler under them. It may take a few iterations to get right, but each one should take about ten minutes. There should be more than enough slope to work with.

I'd go to a lot of trouble to get the water from the top of the drawing to go towards the street instead of the building. That should solve some problems. It is just wrong. It isn't going to be an easy fix, but possibly increasing the height of the new retaining wall, and some associated regrading would do it.

Within the red circle of the drawing in my previous post, there's going to be a stoop, or steps -- or not -- belonging to the door in the picture. We must see what is there ... how the door (finish floor elevation) interfaces with grade.

Thank you Yardvaark and MadG. I'll look my photos and see if I have the area, if not it may be a few days as snow is forecasted to begin in 2 hr! I think I understand the goal.

The threshold of the door is 1 inch above ground. Door opens to a concrete pad, same level as the brick walkway. The brick walkway sunk a bit where the water pools in the area of the blue circle. We could lift the bricks and add filler.

There was a 4" x 4" elongated opening behind the little Christmas tree. I assumed it was damage, could it have been a water outlet?

The lower edge of the window is at ground level. There is a 1 ft wide gravel area in front of the window area, I dont know depth of gravel or if there is any underground piping.

We did some work on the swale at the top of the building, It helped a lot, but needs minor adjustment. Had trouble figuring out how to grade the area shown below to keep stormwater from running to the windows or damaged retaining wall.

MadG - Could I really raze everything on the left side? Or at least reduce the slope and change / reduce that 2 ft vertical wall?

I'm not there, so maybe the slope don't look as bad as they are, but given the grassed slope to the left of the yew, I don't see why not. A certain amount of dirt may have to be moved to get the slopes right, but we are talking garden tractor cartloads, not pickup truck loads.

While it is not a very good picture (too far away) in which I drew red "circle," I don't think you will be able to eliminate the retaining wall at left side of walk, on account of the air conditioner. While you may be able to eliminate part of it physically, it will probably create a maintenance PITA, with soil ongoing, though very slowly, washing onto the walk.

If the ponding at walk is due to bricks sinking in an area after install., then raising them flush should cure, so long as overall length of walk drains.

Will wait for new pictures to see what is possible with the area.

You say wall is "damaged," but can you show this in a picture so we can see what and how?

We did get snow, so no photos today. I'll get some measurements too. Might not be until Monday.

Bone achingly damp out today. Will get photos and measurements tomorrow.

We plan to have the damaged wall replaced with a block wall and install 2 berms to reduce the stormwater runoff.

The pooling in the brick patio area seems to be due to sinking after install, aggravated by previously corrected stormwater runoff problem, and soon to be corrected problem. So far I think we will fix grade as suggested.

Can I bother you again to come up with any design ideas? No work done yet so it looks the same, but I wasnt sure what pictures might be helpful.

1. Trees / shrubs to protect from wind, driving rain, faces south, west. zone 6. Current can be removed, or kept until new install grows. We are patient.

2. Allow light to enter windows and door. Leaves and debris currently find their way to the front of the door, deciduous trees. shrubs etc will add to it.

3. Look more less obstructive at entry, better looking.

Thank you for looking

I am confused. I was wanting to see an area that I drew a red circle around above, which includes floor space, but it is not in any of the recently added pictures.

oh! I thought that was for the drainage part of the problem. sorry. I think I can do it now.

I kind of got the impression in something you said that a wall fix is already in the planning stage. Is that correct? If so, how will it be fixed ... what material?

I can't see that you could do away with either wall unless you were prepared for some major grading work.

I don't know if this would have any application here, but one retaining wall that is not only good looking, but the material is basically free (sort of) is one made out of broken concrete pieces. It is not only more stable, but I think it looks best when it has lots of batter (each course is stepped back which gives the face of the wall the effect of being sloped back.) There are drawbacks in that the material is heavy to work with and difficult to transport. But if you have muscle and trucks and a source, it is a viable option, especially if you have any plans to demolish concrete on your own property any time soon.

Another simple, low cost wall is made of new stacked bags of concrete. The concrete hardens in the bag and the paper is removed. The bags are stacked the same way one would stack pieces of concrete. They interlock by their own weight and shape.

Hi there Yardvaark!

Wall to the right of the door is being replaced by our landscape contractor Guy. It will either be treated lumber, or typical landscape block if we can find one to look ok with the surrounding brick.

Wall to the left, Guy can fix, replace or leave us the blocks or give instructions on how to make more stable. Will work out in the next couple of weeks.

The single trunk evergreen seen in the lowest photo prob should go, no? Too close to wall. Need some wind, rain protection. Maybe some kind of maple? a few feet up and away from building. would be in front of windows, but could limb up. Provide shade, allow light. leaf debris? something else?

all shrubs should go. What about the slate pieces? would there be any reason for them? The whole area feels closed in, dull, decaying.

Door, windows, mailbox the responsibility of the unit owner.

Yeah, evergreen tree needs to be removed in order to fix wall. Plant new 6' away or greater. Don't know what you mean "slate pieces."

The slate - the big ole gray rocks in the garden with the air conditioner.

that is a very cool retaining wall of broken concrete pieces! I'm not sure we have the artistic ability to pull it off in this location, but we have plenty of slopes to try it on...

If you can create a level base of tamped gravel and stack blocks, it's do-able. It does not take any special skill. Mainly muscle and the ability to position something in a careful way.

The "slate" just look like a junky decoration to me ... not anything of significance.

You are most probably right, but the entry door is too close to the wall for me to take this on. There is no room to work, any soil collapse when removing current wall will be a mess and we won't do it fast enough. If you are talking about the wall to the right. The door is the main entry door for the people who live there. We can't learn on this one.

We are excellent at removing shrubs, killing grass, planting trees, shrubs, groundcover and moving rocks around!

FYI, when building retaining walls (any type), excavation is set back farther than back of wall because there needs to be room for drainage (for most walls) and for working. When the wall and any drainage structure is finished, then the wall is backfilled. (You can see details in Google Images.) A typical broken concrete wall that has batter and is made of decent size pieces (18"x18" or greater) does not need drainage structure because it is beefy (so stays in place) and leaky (so does not allow water pressure to build up.)

The first people who looked at the project thought the entire area in front of the windows needed to be excavated, current guy feels he can do what is needed mostly from in front of the door, take out soil, put in blocks, add stone, soil etc. Sorry.

Is this too dreary and physically odd for Landscape Designer to want to come up with landscaping suggestions?

I don't understand what you mean. Landscape suggestions for what?

Tough to landscape something that hasn't been rebuilt yet. Once the wall rebuild and drainage issues have been resolved, then ideas for planting might be pertinent. Distance resolution of the drainage issues and wall rebuild is only guesswork, so IMO until those have been dealt with, not much more can be helpful here. The mason doing the wall rebuild will probably be able to advise whether current plants should stay or not based on how they will effect the wall as well as how the wall rebuild might damage the plants.

The placement of the wall will be identical and the drainage berms will be done so that they can remain lawn, if that is best. All 4 evergreen trees are too close to structures, shrubs butchered.

If the side of building and corner were blank slate, well... except for slope, 2 parallel timber walls, low windows and air conditioner, how could we make it look better?

It's been a bit hard to follow because instead of focusing on the retaining wall structure exclusively, we've been told (I think) that others will just take care of it. I have no idea how they're going to work out the details of rebuilding the wall. But there is no point in thinking about any planting until knowing how the wall(s) will be.

Here's a scheme for walls. They ought to be something along these lines. If I was doing this I would try go create more paved space outside the door. Even if it was only an additional foot at each side of the door, that would be very helpful as the space is currently to tight. Again, some type of masonry wall would be preferable to a wood wall ... for appearance and for durability. I know, some people will respond that proper wood walls will last 20 or 30 years, but masonry will last longer than that while being potentially better looking all the while.

This picture is not meant to account for details, which will depend on materials used. It is a general scheme.

ugh. yardvaark, you are right. So right.

I have to extend the wall to the right of the windows in length and depth so the area in front of the windows is level, then increase the opening at the door, no matter what medium is used for wall. I see that... ugh. $$$.

In case my drawing is misleading on account of the pieced-together picture and "curvature" involved, all the retaining walls are adjoining the building wall at 90* angles. They run straight for a section and then break into a 45* angle. Then the two walls at right turn again at 45* to run in the same direction that they originally began. At the left side by AC, the turns are roughly forming half of an octagon.

No retaining walls should stick up higher (other than an inch or two) than the earth they are retaining. (The original walls seem to be doing this quite a bit.)

I understand. I agree that the retaining wall by the air conditioner is gigantic, hideous and ineffective. I don't understand why the 'decorative fencing' was added to the top of wall in need of repair.

I think the original wall does the 45's, or close. I'll look closer Monday so I can visualize and draw the replacement. I will think on this more, but most likely, the closest we can come is:

1. wall to right of door - move 1 ft from door, lengthen section 90* to wall to open space. remove tree. contractor will do this part, most likely our crew will do balance.

2. wall to the left of door - move 1 ft from door, reduce height, alter angle.

3. alter grade in front on windows to reduce slope.

4. repair brick walkway. remove shrubs.

5. Add the other wall and rest of work to 5-year plan...

"Mater artium necessitas." Indeed, necessity is the mother of invention or in this case ingenuity. The pre-cast bin blocks were a small stroke of economically driven genius by whomever thought of it. While industrial in appearance, that can be mitigated by what goes on around it with paving and plants.

@Yardvaark's sketch from his March 11th posting appears to have it nailed as to wall locations.

Please post some additional photos when you have the time.

Thank you K&D. Our landscape contractors worked off Yardvaark's mock-up for the big picture, adjusting for the terrain characteristics that could only be seen in real life. They are going to complete the wall, grade the area and prep for pavers. We will paint, stain, lay the pavers, and then plant in spring. I welcome suggestions as the project moves forward. Looking for simple, uncluttered and low maintenance.

#1 - what medium do I use for the short wall on the left side of the door?

April

Are you asking about the wall when you reference "medium"?

It's hard to beat formed concrete for simple retaining walls on account of the overall strength, expense and ease of build. Is DIY-able. Details to make it more attractive can be added without too much trouble. Or it could be planned so that it gets a stone or brick cap. Or it could be covered with masonry veneer -- fake stone -- fairly easily.

Hi jalgozziniy, by 'medium', I meant material.

Yardvaark, thank you for the ideas. I will update the photo tomorrow, the guys are working on it now and it will be dark soon.

ideas

more progress... The blocks will have a cap and be stained a natural concrete color.

Although this project has been on the drawing board for a while, it was pushed forward out of necessity and got LARGER than planned.

1. Should the above wall be smaller block and square and mimic the just installed wall? OR diy concrete and rounded, softer?

2. Walkway suggestions? brick? brick-like pavers? slate-like pavers? concrete pavers?

April

DDD Doug! What a warm and inviting scene you created.

Our wall is already redone in HUGE concrete blocks, it was an economic decision.