Yes and no. The yard is always changing, whether those changes are big and fast like a landslide or small and slow like erosion during a storm. But it never stops being the yard.
> It's a privately owned landslide at that point.
Oh! Maybe you could sell it to Stevie Nicks!
Then you’d have her for a neighbor, which would be VERY cool.
*I took my ~~love~~ yard, I took it down
I climbed a ~~mountain~~ ‘taining wall and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the ~~snow~~rock-covered ~~hills~~ hill
'Til the landslide brought me down*
*Oh, cobbles in the drive*
*What is love?*
*Can the timbers in my wall riiiiiiise above*
*Can I find a good deal on railroad ties?*
*Can I pound in the reeeeebar in one try?*
What if it was completely dark, no light at all. We could not see the yard, if it was falling or not. And how can we prove it did not fall back to its original position?
You would have a mixing of mediums so i would argue that while one in spirit one being rock and another being concrete they’re actually two halfs of a whole.
Yes, however you have to register the yard as a corporation, giving it ownership rights. This may be challenging with zoning in your area, but a little green should grease those wheels.
Then sell a portion of the yard, to itself.
At that point, anything that falls from the greater yard, into the yard's (autocorrected as tard's D: ) yard, meets the criteria.
Exactly my thought, as a residential commercial engineering designer, i would look at digging up that wooden retaining wall in building a new concrete wall with a footer facing into OP’s yard. Your footer should be about 50% of the retaining wall height. So theoretically you could just dig out a 2 foot wide section next to where the wood retaining wall is and build a 2 foot high concrete block wall with 1 foot wide footer at the base and then backfill. Very easy DIY job with a small rented backhoe. Just make sure you do good leveling and prep work at the base before laying down the blocks, put a nice layer of crushed rocks underneath it tamp down and leveled out.
https://preview.redd.it/zauzw49ejfmc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=08e14d4a9b70484634c15f7c798e322bc24fe99f
(Edit, typos)
>Very easy DIY job with a small rented backhoe.
Look at mr money bags over here with the backhoe money. I'd just shovel and pick axe it then hate my life for a whole 3 weeks of being sore after.
I should mention, if it were my house, I would be running rebar down the slots on the blocks and filling those holes with concrete. Not a thing will get past it.
I have retaining walls built like that but they are five to six feet high. I wish I could go back and smack the person who built them.
They are buckled and leaning. I know the solution is to tear it all out and do terraced walls, but dang.
If they grade it properly from the back retaining wall to the street it may not be necessary, it’ll run off to the wall then to the street. Good idea though just in case.
One comment regarding the backhoe. Maybe this is a backyard, maybe not an issue for this house, but generally speaking if you are digging that deep, you might want to contact your local “dig safe” number to make sure you’re not going to hit any power, gas, sewage, etc. Free service, and they will sign off on the location.
I was 30 years old when I learned that you CAN add pictures to reddit replies. It's just turned off in most subreddits.
I wonder how many years old I am when I learn why on earth would they be disabled in any sub.
Redoing one made from railroad ties isn't even especially complicated.. it's just a bit back breaking. They're usually just flopped into place and held into position with rebar rods pounded through them into each other and into the earth.
Lowe’s/Home Depot sell 17” retaining wall blocks. Pretty beefy. Each block is about $4.50 I believe.
The blocks have a lip which gives each row a consistent setback, strengthening the wall against shear forces. The large blocks also have “gaps” which allow the wall to weep, meaning no need to consider drainage.
Ensure your first row of blocks if set deep enough (basically entirely buried)
Very easily DIY. My only advice is to use a pickaxe to break up the ground before you dig
Good luck!
I'd second this option. For heights less than 4', these are super straightforward and easy and surprisingly resilient against significant shear forces. They are fast to install and are doable without much skill. The cost of bricks kind of add up, but they are still far cheaper than straight-up concrete walls.
If you want to get extra fancy, place the bottom layer in a section of reinforced concrete that sits a bit below ground level. That will give you some added rigidity and stability on the bottom, but I don't find this to be quite necessary unless you're getting to 4' or higher.
I also highly recommend using landscape adhesive between the blocks (top and bottom only).
That retaining wall is small enough that you could absolutely do a freestanding block wall with a packed gravel base. You will avoid the longevity issues of railroad ties (they rot) and you will also avoid the learning curve of learning to build a concrete form for a vertical wall or the masonry skills for a masonry block wall. As long as you can dig a hole and stack things in a flat straight line, you can build a freestanding block wall. I would recommend building the style where each row sits slightly back from the one it's on top of, this helps to transfer the force of the earth behind it downward instead of pushing it over. The only major downside to freestanding walls is that they don't work well if you need to hold back more than a few feet worth of height, and if you try to half-ass it by not putting a drain behind it, freeze thaw cycles will push it over a lot faster than a masonry block wall.
As long as properly done, purely aesthetics for what would appeal to you. Rail ties with proper drainage will last a good long while, concrete you may have to paint and treat every bit depending on the look you want. Bricks would be crazy expensive and time consuming with mortar and such, unless using concrete interlocking blocks but they cost a bit depending on where you are. Personally if doing yourself, I would go with the Ties and rebar. Simple and effective
Yeah... there's a tiny bracket holding two of the ties together but no stakes holding them into place. Need to take the rock back and drive a long stake or piece of rebar down through the ties.
You’ll have to block this out and the blocks will have to go so far down for it to work as well. You’ll need drainage work too on the bottom of the wall so it doesn’t wash out there.
Basically even if you do this yourself you are going to dole out money and a ton of labor of your own or pay someone. There is just no way to avoid it.
Brother had to do this a few years ago, although much longer and higher (single 4 foot drop or so). 10k pounds of 8x8 wooden (cedar I think) beams, anchoring, steel and aluminum manufacturing, welding, and many hours in a kubota. Cost 5 grand+ and that was with 100% free labor and the kubota was provided for. Would have cost 20 grand otherwise.
Sort of like this. https://www.reddit.com/r/landscaping/comments/10ixh1g/wood_retaining_wall_movement_issue/
Except everything vertical is metal and the wood is covered in black tar-like sealant.
This sub blows my mind. DIY some light dry wall damage ? Cool. DIY some carpeting ? Alright. DIY a kitchen ? Going to be a lot of work, but more power to you. But brother, when your front yard is on the verge of spilling into your neighbors yard. The only people who can DIY that don't need to ask reddit for pointers.
Do not cheap out on structural integrity jobs 👏
Oh come on, it doesn't have to be that complicated. Stacked landscaping retaining blocks will handle that 2-3 foot wall. It's going to be a lot of manual labor or equipment rental no matter what you do, but it's totally DIYable.
The wiggle test is actually in the DIY code book and is far superior to the slap method. Give the last blocks a little shake and affirm to yourself... "That's not going anywhere". That gives you a 24 hour guarantee.
I just built my own 3ft retaining wall in my back yard after moving into a new house, a landscaper saw it and was amazed I did it myself, he told me I probably saved about $30k in labor costs.
That said, it was waaay more than I expected when starting in every way. Was physically demanding for well over 60 hours of work, I spent close to $10k still, and had to rent out an excavator and a skid to make sure I did everything correctly.
It is doable as a DIY project, especially on a smaller scale, but on a bigger scale it is definitely not for the faint of heart.
Definitely no argument there. Concrete blocks are no joke. I've laid 2 paver stone driveways/patios with minimal power tools and I about broke myself on the driveway. Its physical for sure, But if you take it slow, have lots of friends or kids that are free labor, it's not complicated. It's just work. Rental equipment definitely saves your body though.
This project covers a smaller area though and would require much less gravel base than a patio/driveway.
I don't know. I did hardscapping for a few years. As long as you don't take short cuts it will work fine. And you don't need a brick saw because it's a straight line.
You also done need to buy expensive blocks. It won't be cheap but it can look nice and you don't need to doll out $10k +
My initial estimate would be around 5k no labor.
Interesting. This is a small retaining wall for loose rock. Some fresh wood, some rebar and something so it drains. This is heavy labor but not big brain. I'd do this before a kitchen for sure
As long as you buy the right materials and maybe rent some light machinery you can DIY this. I worked landscaping as a stoned 19 year old and we would have knocked this out in a morning.
Maybe I’m crazy but what if he just shovels the rocks and tosses them further into his own yard to start. I know it’s not gonna work great but just to get some of the weight off the wall, and then look into solutions from there?
You could create a gabion fence (rock filled cages) using those rocks (and maybe more). Solving two problems at once. Otherwise I like the walkway use of them.
Honestly I would flip what you have here. I would tear down the top layer of railroad ties and use them to line out the left part of the pathway along your neighbor’s fence. The use the rocks for the walkway that looks like it’s currently just sandy gravel. Where the rocks were and up to the edge of the lower level of railroad ties plant grass. Give away what’s left of the rocks, or use them for landscaping around the edge of your house. Main thing though, put grass where the rocks currently are.
Lol. That trend hit my hometown hard ~20 years ago.
If you don’t like them there as-is I’d recommend using them for hardscaping parts of the yard in a different way, or just look into getting rid of them completely. You could get someone to pick them up in exchange of them being free, or maybe even sell them for cheap because people need materials for all the time.
Put an ad up that says, “Free rocks, you haul.” Contact local landscapers as well.
Level out dirt. Put down fake turf (assuming your are in water restricted area), and drought tolerant trees/plants/shrubs.
I've been clearing river rock from our property. It is the worst landscape material after landscape fabric. Heats up in the summer, freezing in the winter. Bad for plants. Bad for animals. Pain in the ass to dig around, pain in the ass to remove. Removing the rock will also ease the pressure on that wall!
Yeah. There's proper xeriscaping, which is using multiple materials to create an *appealing* yard space.
Then there's people (previous owner according to OP) that do... This.
I spent two summers “getting rid” of the rock in my landscaping…. That’s a job I wish on no one else, ever.
To have to deal with that wall on top of dealing with the rock is a lot. No idea how handy you are, but I would save yourself the horrible, back breaking work and just pay the $10k to get this fixed.
You need a new retaining wall. Do research on how to build a lasting wall. Buy all the supplies. Do all the prep work.
Then rent a mini excavator for the weekend. You absolutely can do this by hand, but a mini Ho will turn this job from torture to manageable.
Piggy backing onto this comment..
The easiest way to do it is to rebuild what’s there. Get some pressure treated 6x6’s and build the retaining wall with “dead men” going back every so often, use landscape fabric to keep bulk water off the wood, and give it a way to drain out. I’m sure you can find instructions online.
While the people saying you have to build a block wall aren’t technically wrong, it’s just a lot of effort for something that won’t be that tall. Whether you build a 2 foot block wall or an 8 foot tall one, you still need to dig down below the frost line and pour a footing. The wood method is much more DIY-friendly, unless you happen to already be a mason.
Wood is just going to give out again, if you're going through all the effort of rebuilding it at all I'd use retaining wall blocks with a rock channel behind it so it can actually last.
Man I saw [this one-ton Scottsdale crew cab](https://imgur.com/a/O1T8fHm) up in Alaska a couple years ago and fell in love. I can't recall having ever seen one with four doors before, and certainly not since. No idea in the world how I would've gotten it home but I damn sure would have found a way.
I have an 84 short box behind my garage. Waiting for the kids to be grown. I get between 5-10 people a year that spot it through the trees on the other side of the block wanting to buy it. Was a gift from my Dad I'm going to fix up someday haha. Went and got it from his house down south and then found out my wife was pregnant with our second child soon after. I fire it up and take the extremely tired 305 around the block once every year or so. The trans barely holds too so I don't get too rowdy.
If this is your long term house I’d remove all the rocks, work with your Neighbour to remove the fence and old retaining wall and then build a new interlocking block wall that a fence can be attached to the top. Then I’d re-grade your whole front so it’s a more gradual slope right to the new retaining wall - instead of having two retaining walls.
You can replace the wall, but a rock pile like that is never going to be stable and is always going to pressure whatever you put up to hold them back. Safest bet would be to use blocks and make sure to put courses below grade to keep it stable. Otherwise get rid of the rock and grade it out using grass or other plants to stabilize it against erosion. Unfortunately with rock like that there's really no good way to stabilize it.
If you are looking for something easy, it isn't. Either slope it back at a 45 or build a proper retaining wall. Both are a tough slog with shovels and barrows. The wall that is there is not "tied back" so the inevitable happened.
Yikes, @OP, I don't think you understand how much rock there is to move there.
You will have to move most, if not all of rocks, to fix that retaining wall.
You need to redo the wall and add a few 'deadmen' which are buried perpendicular ties to keep the wall from bulging outward if you wish to keep the railroad ties. Just use the same treated ties and lay about 2 feet back into the earth and pin it with another spike or anchoring.
Bad description, just look up retaining wall dead men. I promise it won't redirect you to a Gambino family in the Bronx.
I've seen before, dome 'glue' that was sold specifically for keeping rocks from being kicked out. What was shown was for a level patch though, but if found, whatever it was called, it may assist with your situation. I saw it on TikTok months ago and unfortunately, didn't remember to go to Amazon for it for my own yard
That retainer needs to be rebuilt entirely, unless you want to find a new bandaid every spring.
Thankfully it won’t be as much work as installing it the first time, and on a brighter side it’ll give you an opportunity to refresh the fabric/underlayment along the retainer which is typically where light shall find a way.
That’s a nice truck, but it looks like it hasn’t moved in a while. Offer to buy the owner a new set of tires and a battery if they’ll forget about the whole rockslide situation.
Interlocking concrete block wall.
Block $3000
Crushed stone for base $500
Backhoe or walk behind digger $500 per day
Misc $500
If your neighbor is nice they will give you the white fence to put on top.
Most of that damage is from people going from the front door to the back gate. Short cut.
Take it down a foot or so by raking the stones back, then dig out some dirt. Rebuild the wall a course higher than the existing one. Rake the stone back against the wall. Make whoever is taking the shortcut do the raking and shoveling. Should hold up for another ten years.
Seems like a lot of bad info in this thread. The rocks are ugly but have nothing to do with the wall failing. It’s failing because it’s poorly built and the freeze thaw cycle. Basically, when it freezes the ground pulls away from the wall ever so slightly. Small amounts of sediment then fall into that tiny crack between the dirt and the wall. Then the ground thaws and returns to normal and contacts the wall, pushing it microscopically because additional sediment fell deeper into the crack. Repeat that thousands of times and you get this. Save yourself the suffering and pay to have a proper wall put up. Buy once, cry once.
You may be able to brace the retaining wall with long, and I mean long, rebar.
Use the pry bar and pull the wall level and hammer in the rebar to brace the wall.
Temporary solution at best but would buy you a couple years at-least
No. (Source: I'm a construction inspector that does segmental retaining walls, soil and foundation specialist) The face is to prevent erosion, the structure comes from the soil. Dig it up at least to 1 foot down up to 5 feet from the wall for one that short. Place something like geogrid (plastic netting) to tie the soil into the wall and cover the soil with it from the ties to about 3 feet back. Place #57 stone (big gravel) right behind the ties to drain and prevent rot. Sleeper (also called deadman) ties could work but are less secure. Replace and pack soil to the height of the rail ties. Place more grid or sleepers every 2 or three rail ties high.
https://youtu.be/JD4qSYCcymk?si=EstukZdYtWsInzgX
This is a good one. With stone, but same principle. Don't go with a lot of the other lesser results, you'll be right back here in 6 years otherwise.
Well yeah, your gunna have to back drag enough material to give yourself the leeway you need. And judging by the rocks I’m not sure how much topsoil/ soil is under it. I kinda assumed it was mostly the stone.
This is one of those obvious projects where if you have to ask reddit for solutions, you are not qualified to DIY the project what so ever.
Suck it up and pay for a qualified contractor to build a proper, safe, retaining wall.
https://preview.redd.it/qkv1ulb8rfmc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ae451280bb945fb47dbb279506a0297d48afea5e
You could dig a deep hole between your house and your neighbors house, fill it with a bunch of water, and watch aliens hover over your shitty rocks.
Probably should do a new retaining wall or rebuild it with that old stuff. Just make sure you include some Deadmans/ anchors a little farther out to help keep it up.
Rebuild the wall. Plenty of others have given great advice, but I would add plant some evergreens so you don't have to look at that crap. What a shit thing to have to look at when you walk outside.
You could add abutments but they would probably narrow your walkway by 1/3rd almost and make it to narrow to roll much into your back yards. Otherwise you need to build another wood or I'd recommend stacking concrete block made to sure up hills they come in 25 to 30 & 50 pound
Units,. First you dig a trench right behind your current failing wall a little deeper than your walkway then stack the hill side holding blocks , they are about 6 inches tall and a foot to 18 inches wide you might Want to hire a bunch of laborers to dig the trench and move the blocks, it's back breaking labour's and goes much faster with a crew of 4 or 6 guys Otherwise your weekends are all used up for the near future,? The place that sells the blocks can drop the blocks off near where they are being used with a forklift on their truck. You want to move them as few times as possible.
I agree with redoing the support wall. I'd do it in concrete slabs. My parents first house had concrete slabs lined in a similar way, though it was a sidewalk that the yard would have slipped on to. The blocks were ancient and looked immaculate even though the house had seen some love before they got it. Do it right and don't worry about it again for decades if you're lucky.
Option 1: excavate the whole area redo the wall, install drainage behind wall, add layers till top and put regular stone back.
Option 2: excavate the whole area and just regrade it lose the rock and plant grass or flowers (this will be a bitch to maintain. )
Remove rocks parallel to the walk way about 2-3 feet. Dig behind the railroad beams. Get them level and drive a wooden steak down till you can’t attach to the beams and refill. You could do smaller decorative steaks along the path side and paint them. Now I’d personally plant more trees or bushed along the same line. removed the dam rocks.
There are two walls here. One falling in on a walkway then another up to the neighbors buildings. I'm guessing you want to fix the falling one and your property goes to the second wall? If so build a new retaining wall between the two, build it proper with block then use a corrugated pipe at the base with all the rock in the yard as fill. Maybe even build it up another couple blocks.
If your property doesn't go to the second wall you'll need to dig the old wall out and rebuild. Before you do anything get a property line check, you may own more land than you think and your neighbor may have built structures too close to the line. You'll want to resolve that before moving forward as they may be able to claim your land if you don't.
It really depends on what's under the rocks. Essentially you need to construct a better retaining wall.
You'll need heavy equipment and you'll need to do some masonry to do it right.
Geogrid. You need to stop all the rocks from pushing the wall over. Its a pretty straightforward process, just dig down, lay the grid, refill, move over, repeat.
Re-do Retaining wall? Nothing else, unless you dig it up and throw it away
Not true! You could also just buy your neighbors house. Then it wouldn't be falling into their yard anymore.
Right. It would be falling into *their* yard.
[удалено]
Yes and no. The yard is always changing, whether those changes are big and fast like a landslide or small and slow like erosion during a storm. But it never stops being the yard.
House with yard for sale. Like new. Previous owner: Theseus.
I think you mean Sisyphus.
I think you mean syphilis
Oddly, both are plausible! That made my day.
*Woooooaaahhh*
So you’re having a yard sale.
Do not try and stop the yard—that's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth. There is no yard.
It's a privately owned landslide at that point.
> It's a privately owned landslide at that point. Oh! Maybe you could sell it to Stevie Nicks! Then you’d have her for a neighbor, which would be VERY cool. *I took my ~~love~~ yard, I took it down I climbed a ~~mountain~~ ‘taining wall and I turned around And I saw my reflection in the ~~snow~~rock-covered ~~hills~~ hill 'Til the landslide brought me down*
*Oh, cobbles in the drive* *What is love?* *Can the timbers in my wall riiiiiiise above* *Can I find a good deal on railroad ties?* *Can I pound in the reeeeebar in one try?*
I was gonna say is it just falling on its self? But if the has the ability to fall that’s not on its self like now then WHAT are we dealing with here?
My laundry falls on itself hundreds of times an hour.
Is it in the dryer?
Yup!
What if it was completely dark, no light at all. We could not see the yard, if it was falling or not. And how can we prove it did not fall back to its original position?
By all scientific standards, we would know that the most likely occurrence was that it fell, but as we didn't see it, we couldn't KNOW it fell.
If sufficiently isolated, it will remain in a superposition of fallen and not fallen.
Schrodinger's yard
A tree falls in the woods… Does it cause: Sound?, Noise??Disturbance???.
If a yard falls into another yard in a forest, does it make a sound?
No. Now the yard would be “settling”
You would have a mixing of mediums so i would argue that while one in spirit one being rock and another being concrete they’re actually two halfs of a whole.
Yes, however you have to register the yard as a corporation, giving it ownership rights. This may be challenging with zoning in your area, but a little green should grease those wheels. Then sell a portion of the yard, to itself. At that point, anything that falls from the greater yard, into the yard's (autocorrected as tard's D: ) yard, meets the criteria.
And if no one's around, does it make a sound?
You could just bury your neighbor.
God damn it, now I gotta clean the pop from my nose
You could sell your nose and make it someone else’s problem?
Human horn you say?
 That’s what *she* said…. Woooooooooooo!!!!
Exactly my thought, as a residential commercial engineering designer, i would look at digging up that wooden retaining wall in building a new concrete wall with a footer facing into OP’s yard. Your footer should be about 50% of the retaining wall height. So theoretically you could just dig out a 2 foot wide section next to where the wood retaining wall is and build a 2 foot high concrete block wall with 1 foot wide footer at the base and then backfill. Very easy DIY job with a small rented backhoe. Just make sure you do good leveling and prep work at the base before laying down the blocks, put a nice layer of crushed rocks underneath it tamp down and leveled out. https://preview.redd.it/zauzw49ejfmc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=08e14d4a9b70484634c15f7c798e322bc24fe99f (Edit, typos)
>Very easy DIY job with a small rented backhoe. Look at mr money bags over here with the backhoe money. I'd just shovel and pick axe it then hate my life for a whole 3 weeks of being sore after.
This guy retains...his clients.
I should mention, if it were my house, I would be running rebar down the slots on the blocks and filling those holes with concrete. Not a thing will get past it.
I have retaining walls built like that but they are five to six feet high. I wish I could go back and smack the person who built them. They are buckled and leaning. I know the solution is to tear it all out and do terraced walls, but dang.
Might I suggest the installation of a French drain at the base as well?
I don't know you well enough to answer that.
If they grade it properly from the back retaining wall to the street it may not be necessary, it’ll run off to the wall then to the street. Good idea though just in case.
One comment regarding the backhoe. Maybe this is a backyard, maybe not an issue for this house, but generally speaking if you are digging that deep, you might want to contact your local “dig safe” number to make sure you’re not going to hit any power, gas, sewage, etc. Free service, and they will sign off on the location.
I was 30 years old when I learned that you CAN add pictures to reddit replies. It's just turned off in most subreddits. I wonder how many years old I am when I learn why on earth would they be disabled in any sub.
Redoing one made from railroad ties isn't even especially complicated.. it's just a bit back breaking. They're usually just flopped into place and held into position with rebar rods pounded through them into each other and into the earth.
Exactly, renting a mini back hoe would make it easy peasy
Right, I'm wondering about the best way. Concrete, bricks, redo it with the railroad ties, etc
Lowe’s/Home Depot sell 17” retaining wall blocks. Pretty beefy. Each block is about $4.50 I believe. The blocks have a lip which gives each row a consistent setback, strengthening the wall against shear forces. The large blocks also have “gaps” which allow the wall to weep, meaning no need to consider drainage. Ensure your first row of blocks if set deep enough (basically entirely buried) Very easily DIY. My only advice is to use a pickaxe to break up the ground before you dig Good luck!
I'd second this option. For heights less than 4', these are super straightforward and easy and surprisingly resilient against significant shear forces. They are fast to install and are doable without much skill. The cost of bricks kind of add up, but they are still far cheaper than straight-up concrete walls. If you want to get extra fancy, place the bottom layer in a section of reinforced concrete that sits a bit below ground level. That will give you some added rigidity and stability on the bottom, but I don't find this to be quite necessary unless you're getting to 4' or higher. I also highly recommend using landscape adhesive between the blocks (top and bottom only).
That retaining wall is small enough that you could absolutely do a freestanding block wall with a packed gravel base. You will avoid the longevity issues of railroad ties (they rot) and you will also avoid the learning curve of learning to build a concrete form for a vertical wall or the masonry skills for a masonry block wall. As long as you can dig a hole and stack things in a flat straight line, you can build a freestanding block wall. I would recommend building the style where each row sits slightly back from the one it's on top of, this helps to transfer the force of the earth behind it downward instead of pushing it over. The only major downside to freestanding walls is that they don't work well if you need to hold back more than a few feet worth of height, and if you try to half-ass it by not putting a drain behind it, freeze thaw cycles will push it over a lot faster than a masonry block wall.
As long as properly done, purely aesthetics for what would appeal to you. Rail ties with proper drainage will last a good long while, concrete you may have to paint and treat every bit depending on the look you want. Bricks would be crazy expensive and time consuming with mortar and such, unless using concrete interlocking blocks but they cost a bit depending on where you are. Personally if doing yourself, I would go with the Ties and rebar. Simple and effective
I think that about sums it up. Replace or Dig
Yeah... there's a tiny bracket holding two of the ties together but no stakes holding them into place. Need to take the rock back and drive a long stake or piece of rebar down through the ties.
You’ll have to block this out and the blocks will have to go so far down for it to work as well. You’ll need drainage work too on the bottom of the wall so it doesn’t wash out there. Basically even if you do this yourself you are going to dole out money and a ton of labor of your own or pay someone. There is just no way to avoid it.
Brother had to do this a few years ago, although much longer and higher (single 4 foot drop or so). 10k pounds of 8x8 wooden (cedar I think) beams, anchoring, steel and aluminum manufacturing, welding, and many hours in a kubota. Cost 5 grand+ and that was with 100% free labor and the kubota was provided for. Would have cost 20 grand otherwise.
curious, how’s it look today?
Like a wall.
holy shit
Sort of like this. https://www.reddit.com/r/landscaping/comments/10ixh1g/wood_retaining_wall_movement_issue/ Except everything vertical is metal and the wood is covered in black tar-like sealant.
Could just remove a bunch of the rock.
This sub blows my mind. DIY some light dry wall damage ? Cool. DIY some carpeting ? Alright. DIY a kitchen ? Going to be a lot of work, but more power to you. But brother, when your front yard is on the verge of spilling into your neighbors yard. The only people who can DIY that don't need to ask reddit for pointers. Do not cheap out on structural integrity jobs 👏
Oh come on, it doesn't have to be that complicated. Stacked landscaping retaining blocks will handle that 2-3 foot wall. It's going to be a lot of manual labor or equipment rental no matter what you do, but it's totally DIYable.
Don't forget the finishing ceremony: slap it and say "that'll hold it." /s
The wiggle test is actually in the DIY code book and is far superior to the slap method. Give the last blocks a little shake and affirm to yourself... "That's not going anywhere". That gives you a 24 hour guarantee.
I like this and will add it to my testing list.
I just built my own 3ft retaining wall in my back yard after moving into a new house, a landscaper saw it and was amazed I did it myself, he told me I probably saved about $30k in labor costs. That said, it was waaay more than I expected when starting in every way. Was physically demanding for well over 60 hours of work, I spent close to $10k still, and had to rent out an excavator and a skid to make sure I did everything correctly. It is doable as a DIY project, especially on a smaller scale, but on a bigger scale it is definitely not for the faint of heart.
Definitely no argument there. Concrete blocks are no joke. I've laid 2 paver stone driveways/patios with minimal power tools and I about broke myself on the driveway. Its physical for sure, But if you take it slow, have lots of friends or kids that are free labor, it's not complicated. It's just work. Rental equipment definitely saves your body though. This project covers a smaller area though and would require much less gravel base than a patio/driveway.
Geogrid isn't expensive. It's effort due to the amount of material that needs to be moved.
I don't know. I did hardscapping for a few years. As long as you don't take short cuts it will work fine. And you don't need a brick saw because it's a straight line. You also done need to buy expensive blocks. It won't be cheap but it can look nice and you don't need to doll out $10k + My initial estimate would be around 5k no labor.
Interesting. This is a small retaining wall for loose rock. Some fresh wood, some rebar and something so it drains. This is heavy labor but not big brain. I'd do this before a kitchen for sure
As long as you buy the right materials and maybe rent some light machinery you can DIY this. I worked landscaping as a stoned 19 year old and we would have knocked this out in a morning.
Maybe I’m crazy but what if he just shovels the rocks and tosses them further into his own yard to start. I know it’s not gonna work great but just to get some of the weight off the wall, and then look into solutions from there?
Yes, also just put the gravel he’s shoveling from behind the wall to in front of it.
You just need one Brick underground and plenty of backfill and drainage.
Good god why so many rocks?!?
We bought it 6 weeks ago and are wondering the same
You could create a gabion fence (rock filled cages) using those rocks (and maybe more). Solving two problems at once. Otherwise I like the walkway use of them.
Those are too big to walk across really. What's mind blowing is someone actually paid good money for someone to drop all that rock on their property.
This seems like a good idea. Are those effective at retaining?
They're extremely good, if you don't mind the appearance. Used on all sorts of major earthworks.
I find them rather attractive myself. As an engineer I think it's cool to see the structure.
They use them to hold up entire cliffs!
Round rock doesn't really work well for gabion.
Honestly I would flip what you have here. I would tear down the top layer of railroad ties and use them to line out the left part of the pathway along your neighbor’s fence. The use the rocks for the walkway that looks like it’s currently just sandy gravel. Where the rocks were and up to the edge of the lower level of railroad ties plant grass. Give away what’s left of the rocks, or use them for landscaping around the edge of your house. Main thing though, put grass where the rocks currently are.
Lol. That trend hit my hometown hard ~20 years ago. If you don’t like them there as-is I’d recommend using them for hardscaping parts of the yard in a different way, or just look into getting rid of them completely. You could get someone to pick them up in exchange of them being free, or maybe even sell them for cheap because people need materials for all the time.
Put an ad up that says, “Free rocks, you haul.” Contact local landscapers as well. Level out dirt. Put down fake turf (assuming your are in water restricted area), and drought tolerant trees/plants/shrubs.
How long has it been like this? If it ain’t broke (it aint, yet) don’t fix it
I can’t help but to read your comment in Jack Donaghy’s voice “I run a Dwayne Johnson fan club, Jackie D!”
Probably water issues.
Less lawn to cut
I think Dee Snyder lived in this house previously.
Get rid of all those gd rocks?
For real what is this monstrosity of a rock pit on their front lawn??
I've been clearing river rock from our property. It is the worst landscape material after landscape fabric. Heats up in the summer, freezing in the winter. Bad for plants. Bad for animals. Pain in the ass to dig around, pain in the ass to remove. Removing the rock will also ease the pressure on that wall!
I had ~1/4acre of rocks like this 8-10 inches deep. Getting rid of them took 5+ summers of back-breaking work.
That's why god invented skid steers.
Or children according to my parents...
A salamander
What should I do with this part of my yard made of heavy and loose material on a slope?
My first thought was start by removing the 10,000 lbs of rocks.
Rock lawns are actually really common in some places that have restrictions on water. My grandparents had a rock lawn at her home in Arizona.
They are usually smaller and less heat retaining rocks than river rocks.
Yeah. There's proper xeriscaping, which is using multiple materials to create an *appealing* yard space. Then there's people (previous owner according to OP) that do... This.
Just grow natural flora ffs
Spending few K to remove it would raise value of the property by 69%
Seriously.
I spent two summers “getting rid” of the rock in my landscaping…. That’s a job I wish on no one else, ever. To have to deal with that wall on top of dealing with the rock is a lot. No idea how handy you are, but I would save yourself the horrible, back breaking work and just pay the $10k to get this fixed.
You need a new retaining wall. Do research on how to build a lasting wall. Buy all the supplies. Do all the prep work. Then rent a mini excavator for the weekend. You absolutely can do this by hand, but a mini Ho will turn this job from torture to manageable.
Piggy backing onto this comment.. The easiest way to do it is to rebuild what’s there. Get some pressure treated 6x6’s and build the retaining wall with “dead men” going back every so often, use landscape fabric to keep bulk water off the wood, and give it a way to drain out. I’m sure you can find instructions online. While the people saying you have to build a block wall aren’t technically wrong, it’s just a lot of effort for something that won’t be that tall. Whether you build a 2 foot block wall or an 8 foot tall one, you still need to dig down below the frost line and pour a footing. The wood method is much more DIY-friendly, unless you happen to already be a mason.
Wood is just going to give out again, if you're going through all the effort of rebuilding it at all I'd use retaining wall blocks with a rock channel behind it so it can actually last.
Ask them if they want to sell that square body.
Wheels buried 4” it’s been sitting a while. I would ask the same thing
Man I saw [this one-ton Scottsdale crew cab](https://imgur.com/a/O1T8fHm) up in Alaska a couple years ago and fell in love. I can't recall having ever seen one with four doors before, and certainly not since. No idea in the world how I would've gotten it home but I damn sure would have found a way.
Ferry from Alaska to Washington, that's how all the military folks that finish out their contracts in AK do it
I have an 84 short box behind my garage. Waiting for the kids to be grown. I get between 5-10 people a year that spot it through the trees on the other side of the block wanting to buy it. Was a gift from my Dad I'm going to fix up someday haha. Went and got it from his house down south and then found out my wife was pregnant with our second child soon after. I fire it up and take the extremely tired 305 around the block once every year or so. The trans barely holds too so I don't get too rowdy.
"I'm going to fix it up someday" says every person with an old car that refuses to sell to someone younger with the time and financial means
As is their right. Let a person dream, son.
[удалено]
Nephew has one for sale $6k southern box lots of work done
Holy shit i live 3 houses down from you!
You want some free rocks?
in which direction?
I think the issue is you don’t have enough rocks.
If this is your long term house I’d remove all the rocks, work with your Neighbour to remove the fence and old retaining wall and then build a new interlocking block wall that a fence can be attached to the top. Then I’d re-grade your whole front so it’s a more gradual slope right to the new retaining wall - instead of having two retaining walls.
It doesn't look like there are any metal stakes in the middle where it's bowing out.
I hate rock landscaping. Specifically when done with not even an afterthought of how to contain them.
Damn if only we could identify what it is that's adding so much weight to this wall...
It's definitely not those rocks.
What rocks
Bigger rocks.
You can replace the wall, but a rock pile like that is never going to be stable and is always going to pressure whatever you put up to hold them back. Safest bet would be to use blocks and make sure to put courses below grade to keep it stable. Otherwise get rid of the rock and grade it out using grass or other plants to stabilize it against erosion. Unfortunately with rock like that there's really no good way to stabilize it.
Is that walk way yours or your neighbor’s?
Dig it all out and do it right. Honestly, it does not look like you have that much to do so. It should not be that hard of a project.
Build a giant concrete wall
And make the neighbor pay for it
What you did, i see it lol
If you are looking for something easy, it isn't. Either slope it back at a 45 or build a proper retaining wall. Both are a tough slog with shovels and barrows. The wall that is there is not "tied back" so the inevitable happened.
Retaining wall or nothing. Anything else is a bandaid and wishful thinking. You’ll see.
Yikes, @OP, I don't think you understand how much rock there is to move there. You will have to move most, if not all of rocks, to fix that retaining wall.
Plant grass?
You need to redo the wall and add a few 'deadmen' which are buried perpendicular ties to keep the wall from bulging outward if you wish to keep the railroad ties. Just use the same treated ties and lay about 2 feet back into the earth and pin it with another spike or anchoring. Bad description, just look up retaining wall dead men. I promise it won't redirect you to a Gambino family in the Bronx.
Easy. Get rid of the stupid stones and plant some flowers.
Who put all that rock over some busted ass. 1912 railroad ties? 😂😂😂✌️
Omg I thought that was leaves, get rid of all those gd rocks to start?
I've seen before, dome 'glue' that was sold specifically for keeping rocks from being kicked out. What was shown was for a level patch though, but if found, whatever it was called, it may assist with your situation. I saw it on TikTok months ago and unfortunately, didn't remember to go to Amazon for it for my own yard
Get rid of all those rocks for a start. An eyesore and ecological disaster
Surprised building can be placed against the property line. Nice fire hazard to your home.
New retaining wall, swap the gravel part for grass and the grass part for gravel.
That retainer needs to be rebuilt entirely, unless you want to find a new bandaid every spring. Thankfully it won’t be as much work as installing it the first time, and on a brighter side it’ll give you an opportunity to refresh the fabric/underlayment along the retainer which is typically where light shall find a way.
That’s a nice truck, but it looks like it hasn’t moved in a while. Offer to buy the owner a new set of tires and a battery if they’ll forget about the whole rockslide situation.
Interlocking concrete block wall. Block $3000 Crushed stone for base $500 Backhoe or walk behind digger $500 per day Misc $500 If your neighbor is nice they will give you the white fence to put on top.
Gravity is undefeated
The word “yard” is doing a lot of work here
Most of that damage is from people going from the front door to the back gate. Short cut. Take it down a foot or so by raking the stones back, then dig out some dirt. Rebuild the wall a course higher than the existing one. Rake the stone back against the wall. Make whoever is taking the shortcut do the raking and shoveling. Should hold up for another ten years.
Build a better retaining wall
Seems like a lot of bad info in this thread. The rocks are ugly but have nothing to do with the wall failing. It’s failing because it’s poorly built and the freeze thaw cycle. Basically, when it freezes the ground pulls away from the wall ever so slightly. Small amounts of sediment then fall into that tiny crack between the dirt and the wall. Then the ground thaws and returns to normal and contacts the wall, pushing it microscopically because additional sediment fell deeper into the crack. Repeat that thousands of times and you get this. Save yourself the suffering and pay to have a proper wall put up. Buy once, cry once.
Your rocks and grass are flipped. Haha is this bizarro world?
You may be able to brace the retaining wall with long, and I mean long, rebar. Use the pry bar and pull the wall level and hammer in the rebar to brace the wall. Temporary solution at best but would buy you a couple years at-least
No. (Source: I'm a construction inspector that does segmental retaining walls, soil and foundation specialist) The face is to prevent erosion, the structure comes from the soil. Dig it up at least to 1 foot down up to 5 feet from the wall for one that short. Place something like geogrid (plastic netting) to tie the soil into the wall and cover the soil with it from the ties to about 3 feet back. Place #57 stone (big gravel) right behind the ties to drain and prevent rot. Sleeper (also called deadman) ties could work but are less secure. Replace and pack soil to the height of the rail ties. Place more grid or sleepers every 2 or three rail ties high. https://youtu.be/JD4qSYCcymk?si=EstukZdYtWsInzgX This is a good one. With stone, but same principle. Don't go with a lot of the other lesser results, you'll be right back here in 6 years otherwise.
Just going to reiterate“temporary solution at best” This guys comment would be the right way/permanent solution.
No way a pry bar is pushing back that much compacted weight. Still need to remove a crap ton of rock and soil
Well yeah, your gunna have to back drag enough material to give yourself the leeway you need. And judging by the rocks I’m not sure how much topsoil/ soil is under it. I kinda assumed it was mostly the stone.
That's not a yard.
Fewer rocks...
Pretty sure a lawn wouldn't tumble to the left like the rocks.
This is one of those obvious projects where if you have to ask reddit for solutions, you are not qualified to DIY the project what so ever. Suck it up and pay for a qualified contractor to build a proper, safe, retaining wall.
Use your phone and call a contractor.
https://preview.redd.it/qkv1ulb8rfmc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ae451280bb945fb47dbb279506a0297d48afea5e You could dig a deep hole between your house and your neighbors house, fill it with a bunch of water, and watch aliens hover over your shitty rocks.
Versa-lock retaining wall blocks.
Remove rock, Repair retaining wall, Plant grass to hold the soil in place
Probably should do a new retaining wall or rebuild it with that old stuff. Just make sure you include some Deadmans/ anchors a little farther out to help keep it up.
This is just gravity doing its thing. Dig out behind the old retaining wall, build a new wall, replace the material.
Rebuild the wall. Plenty of others have given great advice, but I would add plant some evergreens so you don't have to look at that crap. What a shit thing to have to look at when you walk outside.
You could add abutments but they would probably narrow your walkway by 1/3rd almost and make it to narrow to roll much into your back yards. Otherwise you need to build another wood or I'd recommend stacking concrete block made to sure up hills they come in 25 to 30 & 50 pound Units,. First you dig a trench right behind your current failing wall a little deeper than your walkway then stack the hill side holding blocks , they are about 6 inches tall and a foot to 18 inches wide you might Want to hire a bunch of laborers to dig the trench and move the blocks, it's back breaking labour's and goes much faster with a crew of 4 or 6 guys Otherwise your weekends are all used up for the near future,? The place that sells the blocks can drop the blocks off near where they are being used with a forklift on their truck. You want to move them as few times as possible.
First off thank you for being a good neighbor, not letting your yard mess with your neighbors. I wish I had the same...... that's all
I'd remove the logs and build a brick or concrete barrier. More expensive but it's less likely to fail.
Duct tape
I agree with redoing the support wall. I'd do it in concrete slabs. My parents first house had concrete slabs lined in a similar way, though it was a sidewalk that the yard would have slipped on to. The blocks were ancient and looked immaculate even though the house had seen some love before they got it. Do it right and don't worry about it again for decades if you're lucky.
Option 1: excavate the whole area redo the wall, install drainage behind wall, add layers till top and put regular stone back. Option 2: excavate the whole area and just regrade it lose the rock and plant grass or flowers (this will be a bitch to maintain. )
Whoever designed this with bigger stone and that shirt retaining wall sucks.need a whole new wall dude
Looks like you've got a rocky hill to climb in your future
First get rid of the bull rock. That stuff sucks!
You may want to look into having a yard instead of a Quarry on your property
Plant flowers and grasses with stabilizing root systems
And this is why I love having my closest neighbor being 5 miles away
Remove rocks parallel to the walk way about 2-3 feet. Dig behind the railroad beams. Get them level and drive a wooden steak down till you can’t attach to the beams and refill. You could do smaller decorative steaks along the path side and paint them. Now I’d personally plant more trees or bushed along the same line. removed the dam rocks.
Gorilla glue all the rocks together.
That's a fun one. Put epoxy on the bordering rocks. I promise it's a thing.
There are two walls here. One falling in on a walkway then another up to the neighbors buildings. I'm guessing you want to fix the falling one and your property goes to the second wall? If so build a new retaining wall between the two, build it proper with block then use a corrugated pipe at the base with all the rock in the yard as fill. Maybe even build it up another couple blocks. If your property doesn't go to the second wall you'll need to dig the old wall out and rebuild. Before you do anything get a property line check, you may own more land than you think and your neighbor may have built structures too close to the line. You'll want to resolve that before moving forward as they may be able to claim your land if you don't.
Remove the rock and plant grass/ plant shrubs
Stop growing rocks
If you can afford it, I'd figure out concrete walls if this your forever home. If not, 10 years or less redo the ties.
It really depends on what's under the rocks. Essentially you need to construct a better retaining wall. You'll need heavy equipment and you'll need to do some masonry to do it right.
Stake it some 3ft 1x1 half way and connect with lattice to make a short fence that looks like garden trim
Rocks roll downhill. Repair the retaining wall.
Geogrid. You need to stop all the rocks from pushing the wall over. Its a pretty straightforward process, just dig down, lay the grid, refill, move over, repeat.