Project Description: 

This client engaged Maas Verde to construct a retaining wall to raise and level his Central Austin front yard. The existing yard sloped severely downhill and left very little useable flat space. With its commanding view of downtown, the house is often the scene of community fundraising parties, yet the slope limited the usability. In keeping with the 1930s character of the neighborhood, we constructed about 90 linear feet of “bric-a-brac” wall using a combination of natural and reclaimed stone, and found objects, including oyster shells and native fossils.  We included a prominent set of stone steps. Hidden in the construction are steel deadmen and stakes to hold the wall in place, as well as a French drain to prevent water build up.

After all the masonry was completed, we leveled the yard with high-quality landscape soil and laid 2 pallets of Zoysia sod. We also rebuild a small screening fence at the property’s edge. An unusual challenge was the presence of an outflow pipe connecting to the basement sump-pump of the house. At fairly regular intervals, the pump would empty the sump into the area of our project. We rerouted the outflow (and French drain) to pop out unobtrusively near the street side stone landing.