We opened for business April 1, 2009 right on schedule. There were several jobs that had carried over from the previous year, since I was working in Florida and Fort Wayne, IN during 2008 my projects did not really get started until May. Steuben county has many lakes that were formed when the glaciers pushed through creating deep, natural lakes surrounded by steep hills which often require "taming" with stairs and retaining walls.
When I first started landscaping railroad ties were the most commonly used to build retaining walls and steps were often concrete blocks that were continually shifting with the winter freeze and thaw. Hand rails were made using steel pipe set in cement and occasionally I would run across a wooden railing. Railroad ties were often cabled from the rear into cement pilings and had a inch or two setback to provide structural integrity. I started using 5 x5", rough cut, treated timbers in lieu of ties and would run dead men (a timber set perpendicular into the wall) anchored 4' back with r-rod drilled into the end that was set in sacrete, my walls did not move. This also eliminated the need for setback, at the time that was "state of the art."
My goodness how times have changed. Now retaining walls are generally segmented retaining walls (SRW), come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors to match whatever need you can dream up. My company also specializes in the lost art of stacked stone walls. These are walls built from local stone, referred to as glacial stones that are quarried from our local gravel pits. Depending on the height of the wall, its function (actual retention or accent) and client use we construct these walls with the largest stones on the bottom, use fabric behind them to keep the soil from leaching through the stones and sometimes will bury a row of big stones as a footer. These walls are extremely popular for their natural look, durability, flexibility and beauty. I have several employees who are very talented builders of these walls, one woman in particular who does an outstanding job even maneuvering the biggest stones. These dry stacked walls are back filled with compacted coarse sand and organic soil is often added to the last foot depending upon what we are going to grow.
Recently we started using very large pieces of flagstone to build patios, benches and sidewalks. These stones are available in tan/brown shades and blue/gray, they are referred to as super slabs. All these products whether natural or man made present unique problems for installation and transportation on the hills were we work, sometimes we have to get down right inventive to just get the materials down the hill. Another problem we face is people in this area are following the nationwide trends and building homes that occupy most of the lots, leaving a mere five feet on either side of the home. Not even wide enough for our John Deere tractor, would it not be for the graciousness of most neighbors our job would be impossible.
The photograph on the top of the page shows a wet stacked stone wall that was preserved from the original home (left), the metal object is a boat lift that was still out of the water from winter. On the right is the free stacked wall with a bench seat (in progress) that we built. The bottom photos depict the super slab patio and walk. In addition we built a matching stone wall in front of the mortared wall as a planter, sodding completed the job.
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