A Beautiful Property Held Back by an Unworkable Slope.

The front yard had a drop of approximately four feet from the house level to the street level. The slope had been planted with coarse grass that was almost impossible to mow safely on the steeper sections, and the visual effect was of a property that sat disconnected from the street.

The homeowners had considered levelling the entire yard, but that would have required significant earth moving and a loss of the mature oak trees along the boundary. A tiered solution preserved the trees and worked with the existing grade.

The key engineering challenge was drainage. A retaining wall on a clay-heavy site that does not manage water correctly will fail within a few years. We designed with weep courses and a gravel drainage layer behind the wall to ensure water moves through rather than building up pressure.

The stone selection took time. We wanted a material that matched the existing house stone closely enough to look like it belonged there, while still reading as a distinct designed element rather than a patch repair. The warm Georgetown limestone was the right answer.

What We Changed:

• Excavated the full length of the slope and prepared the foundation for the retaining wall

• Constructed a 35-foot dry-stack limestone retaining wall at the mid-point of the slope

• Built a set of four wide stone steps centered in the wall connecting both levels

• Installed gravel drainage layer and weep courses throughout the wall construction

• Levelled and turfed the upper tier with Bermuda grass to create a usable lawn area

• Planted the lower terrace with Mexican sage autumn sage and ornamental grasses with fresh mulch

Two Levels That Work as One Property.

The finished wall looks like it has always been there. The warm limestone reads as a natural companion to the house stone, and the proportions of the two tiers give the property a sense of design that it never had before.

The upper lawn is now mowed on a weekly schedule without difficulty. The lower terrace has established well in the months since planting and the Mexican sage came into full bloom in its first autumn, covering the terrace in purple that is visible from the street.

The stone steps in the center of the wall have become a feature in their own right. They are wide enough to sit on and wide enough to feel generous rather than merely functional.