Project Description
This waterfront property came with a 20-foot elevation change and revised property lines to design around. The homeowners wanted the steep hillside turned into a tiered entrance with more parking and an easier, more welcoming way to reach the house. We used precise grading, engineered retaining walls, and new plantings to make the hillside usable. The new architectural block walls complement the existing retaining walls further down the slope, so the property feels connected from top to bottom.
The Challenge
The site had unstable rocky soil, overgrown junipers, and deteriorating retaining walls. Geotechnical engineering and permits came first. Our crew then removed more than 500 cubic yards of unsuitable material and brought in 360 tons of engineered structural fill to give the new walls a stable foundation.
The Final Product
The homeowners used to reach their front door through a narrow, four-foot-wide access and a steep, awkward stairway. Now 28 broad, curved custom steps lead from the upper garage to the house, with a larger parking area above. Over three months, our design and installation teams worked closely with the homeowners and our subcontractors to bring it all together. What started as a hard-to-use hillside is now an entrance the homeowners enjoy coming home to.
The Highlights
More than 200 textured charcoal blocks form the tiered retaining walls that terrace the hillside and support the new paved parking. Trees, shrubs, and ornamental grasses add colour and texture to the terraced beds, and trailing ivy along the top of both walls will gradually spill down over the block. Two sculptural topiary pines frame the upper entrance, perimeter fencing adds safety along the grade changes, and low-voltage lighting shows off the pathways and lake views after sunset.