Return to the Gardening with Stone Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Suggestions for very high foundation
| | |
Posted by LilyNY621 NY (My Page) on Fri, Sep 10, 04 at 17:24
We have to get some fill in here but my excavator mentioned building a retaining wall. We don't want to spend a fortune on the wall, but have heard it may be better to do it considering the slope we will have. Here is a picture to help. Guess you'd have to cut & paste into your browser-not sure how to post a link.
http://www.shutterfly.com/view/picture_dt.jsp?state=67b0de219d54b0c9c487&idx=15 |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Suggestions for very high foundation
| | |
| Lily: I din't look at the picture--too lazy, but by your description, if you need a high foundation, I'd first call a company that does poured cement foundations (as opposed to the old fashioned way of laying block). Tell them how long and how high you want it, and they'll probably give you a price almost immediately. If you don't know anyone at a company that specifically does cement foundations, get 3 or 4 estimates--there are a lot of unscrupulous people out there. I happen to know someone in my area who has done foundations for many years--they used to lay block, then l5 years ago, or so, switched to poured concrete. It makes a MUCH better foundation, and is being done in all but the most rural areas. They used to form up walls to a height as much as 9 feet--and that was years ago. Maybe now they'll form it higher, if you need the height. |
RE: Suggestions for very high foundation
| | |
| Can't access your picture. It would appear that membership to Shutterfly is required. Without seeing it, generally fill will be cheaper than structure (walls), but it brings with it a whole realm of issues...like slope. |
RE: Suggestions for very high foundation
| | |
RE: Suggestions for very high foundation
| | |
| As I said, fill may be cheaper, but it brings issues with it. In your case, with the existing grade already sloping away from the foundation, you'd be chasing grade quite a distance before 'new' slope and 'existing' slope came together. In addition, in order to keep that slope as short as possible (distance from face of foundation to toe of slope) the new slope might be exceedingly steep, or so it would appear from the picture. That's not necessarily a bad thing if you can commit yourself to combinations of walkways and steps to get from point 'A' (front door), to point 'B' (anywhere in the front or side yards). It can and has been done before. But is that the 'look' you want? Or, a series of short (height) retaining walls can be constructed to 'step' the grade up to the house. The distance from face of foundation to toe of slope (bottom of the outermost wall) could be kept quite a bit shorter than the distance achieved with fill. I would suggest a number of shorter walls as between the existing grade slope and the height of any new filling/wall combination, one wall would look pretty much like the exposed foundation does with the exception of any 'texture' achieved by your choice of wall materials. Myself, I prefer the look of dry-set stone, but pretty much anywhere in this country that can get quite pricey and the available talent pool for successful dry-set stone walls isn't what it once was. The newer products on the market, modular concrete block walls, dry-set, pinned, fabric reinforced earth behind, might be a better choice by cost of material and installation. But choice of material would be key. When these modular products first arrived in the marketplace, most had the appearance of stacked marshmallows upon completion, and color choice was...well...concrete. The marshmallow look and plain concrete color can still be had, but the choices are more plentiful today, and flat or irregular surfaces of many colors can be obtained. Straight lines and curves can be fairly easily accomplished with the block. Another advantage to the modular blocks is the ease with which steps, using either block products provided by the manufacturer or granite slabs, can be inserted into the design. You may want to consult a pro (landscape architect or landscape designer) in your area, as the design of the walls would be best done in concert with key pieces of plant material and access (walks and steps). Good luck. |
RE: Suggestions for very high foundation
| | |
| Well we met with our excavator yesterday and he said a retaining wall would be our best bet- we would not be buying any stone. We already have some very nice stones on the property that we are going to utilize. He said he would only charge $500 for the wall. We will be bringing in fill, but I'm sure that when we're all said & done we can do some nice planting and it will end up looking pretty. |
RE: Suggestions for very high foundation
| | |
| Looks like you have some of the same issues we did. We started our new home in April. Our lot is not quite as steep as yours, but close. You can view our progress by going to my page and then to my home page and viewing the picture album named Sunset Hills. We had a block foundation added to do the concrete patio out front, cost around $3000. At 14'W X 72'L X 3'H this works out to $30 / LF. Looks like you will need to go higher. As for the rest of the "yard" I have been using the existing dirt and rocks to terrace so we don't lose all the topsoil as the hurricanes continue through. Later, (probably spring) I plan to do some retaining walls with the no mortar stacked concrete blocks from Lowes. They run around $2.00 a linear foot for one layer. This sounds expensive, but we can do the work ourselves so it will save the labor and concrete costs. I've estimated $6 - $10 per LF as compared to the $30 for the block. I will post pics when I learn how........ |
RE: Suggestions for very high foundation
| | |
| We have seen similar things in our area using a tiered wooden deck which expands usability of the property as well as creating potential for uses of containers. That is what I see when I view your photo. We put in a rock retaining wall surrounding a high foundation and put in fill soil for a garden space but we also had room for a sidewalk around the base of the retaining wall. I really enjoy it. EP |
RE: Suggestions for very high foundation/basement
| | |
| Since your high foundation appears to be the top of a basement you wouldn't want to encourage anything that might cause water leakage into your basement. I vote for a deck. EP |
RE: Suggestions for very high foundation
| | |
| Hi, It sounds like a retaining wall might prevent future damages. Remember that it also depends on your area's soil, though if you have a steep slope, I would go with it. Here's a website that may help: http://www.fixr.com/fountain-installation |
Here is a link that might be useful: Fixr
|
|
|
|
