Neighbors have a job too: excavating a road, spreading dirt, and making a 1st class RV perch

Luc was working on the neighbor's terrace (see December 16th post) and the neighbors hired him and sometimes partner Doug Roraback to haul dirt to their site to create a parking spot for their RV on a steep embankment. The job consisted of filling in a large "dip" in the hillside with dirt and creating a road to the site. Once filled in, the area will serve as a parking spot for the home owners RV. The proposed parking site will also have a magnificent view of the water.

Doug hauled more than 25 large dump truck loads of dirt from Greenbank & Coupeville to the site in Clinton. Luc used his excavator to move the dirt, shape the land, fill in the dip, and lie gravel on the newly formed road. Here is where the road meets the new road Luc made

Filling in the "dip" and the view of the water.

Just beginning the filling in process. Look for this stump in the following pictures to get an idea of how the job progressed.

Part of the road to the RV site

RV site-to-be

Moving the dirt in to the site

Stump is pictured on the left. Excavator perched precariously.

Now this is perched precariously!

Road to the RV site with Doug's dump truck (blue) dumping a load at the future RV site.

the road to RV site
Above: the final finished platform

Terracing a steep hillside to create planting beds in Clinton: excavator, land remodling, dump truck work

The owners of this property wanted to make their steep hillside into planting beds. Luc used his excavator to sculpt the land into 5 even terraces. This meant moving and bringing in a lot of dirt, including a nice layer of compost for the top (notice how dark the soil is!). The end result is a beautiful wave that undulates down the hillside. Next: planting!

Above: terraces with natural weed-reducing newspaper layer and on top of that compost


Above: terraces as viewed from hilltop

dump truck and excavator at work...

Terraces before adding newspaper and compost layers

Luc with his Lively Landscape Mobile competes in Langley's Soup Box Derby

The prize! Luc with daughter Marina at the finish line

Marina watching the race from the curb, ready with umbrella for a possible down pour.

Above & Below: Luc and his friend Luke (yeah, same name different spelling) competed in the Soup Box Derby in Langley on Sept. 20th. Luc made the bicycle-inspired 3 wheeled vehicle and adorned it with fresh flowers and lawn chair. It was quite rainy, but lots of fun for all of us!

The Two Luc/Lukes in their costumes to match the flower mobile: bee and daisy. Aren't they brave?

Luc riding down the hill in his derby vehicle

Working in the Garden in October

Clearing Trees & Brush in Greenbank

ABOVE: Before clearing


ABOVE: After clearing. There are many more views not included of the lot, but this picture gives you an idea of the site.


ABOVE: (left) Luc's dump truck full of debris (right) the excavator bucket, repaired by Luc after he lost an excavator tooth.


ABOVE: clearing a home site and making a driveway for a couple who are going to build their home in Greenbank. They wanted to leave many of the trees and to clear out the brush and small trees. Luc did topple some large trees on this lot, taking good care to avoid the neighboring homes and a close-by fence! He hauled the debris away in his dump truck and accomplished all of the clearing with his excavator.


ABOVE: some of the trees (with stumps) that were removed from the lot.

Bulkhead in Sandy Hook

Luc worked for Doug R. to create a bulkhead in Sandy Hook for a home on the water. The bulkhead is replacing an old bulkhead. Each block weighs 4,000 pounds, and they are called ecology blocks. The blocks were lifted and placed by the 28,000 pound excavator during low tide. Doug welded 3"x3/4" metal plates to the blocks to hold them into place. The men worked around water and electrical lines that ran out to the pier. The bulkhead is tied to the bluff by steel channel.

Blackberry and Land Clearing for Real Estate Sale

ABOVE: Here is a "before" picture. Luc cleared a 1/2 acre area for the homeowners so that they could sell the lot for a better price. The excavator did the work of 3 men (one week +) in just 2 days and increased the value of the land. Now the potential buyers can really see what they are buying.

ABOVE: this picture shows how clean the excavator/Luc can leave the ground.

ABOVE & BELOW: More views of the clean ground from the excavator

Rock Walls with a View (Spring 2005)

Luc began this job in the spring of 2005 and finished it early that summer. It consisted of 2 rock walls one above the other, separated by a steep slope. The Lower Wall is situated at the base of a steep slope and served to increase the parking space and aesthetic appeal of the driveway. Before the wall, the homeowners had some trouble turning in their cramped driveway. The property is located on the east side of the island and their home is on a bluff that drops off into the water. The Upper Rock Wall is located at the top of the property and was made by dumping and compacting a large amount of soil to make the slope at the top level enough to increase the usability of the land. All in all the job consisted of:
-building of 2 large rock retaining walls with an excavator
-one rock stairway (upper rock wall)
-delivery of rocks and soil to property
-moving of soil from delivery zone through a 5 foot wide path to the Upper Rock Wall with a loader

(Above) A picture of the finished lower rock wall, with Luc in front of it. Luc worked very hard to make sure that the Kinnickinnic bush (with red berries above his head) was left undamaged. It is such a beautiful plant and at the time there were bees all over it!

Above: the Upper Rock wall. This wall serves as a retaining wall for a (now) flat grassy area. This location was originally a sloped grassy area that turns into a vertical drop (right after where the photographer is standing). At the bottom of the vertical drop is the Lower Rock Wall (pictured first on this post), then the homeowner's parking and after that their home. While Luc was working on this wall, he had to be especially careful with how he placed the rocks as to not let one go rolling down hill into their home! All went well and the Upper Rock Wall now raises the slope so that there is a flat, grassy outdoor space that the homeowners can use for entertaining and for enjoying the beautiful sea view.

ABOVE: working on the Lower Rock Wall. Placing the base level rocks and sifting through the rock pile to piece the puzzle together (BELOW).
BELOW: Luc with baby daughter Marina in the loader that he used to move dirt to make the Upper Rock Wall and flat grassy area.

BELOW: A lot of dirt to move!

Honeymoon Lake Rock Wall and Stairs

"After" picture of the rock wall (above), only a partial picture of the wall. There is also a staircase in the middle of the wall to the left of this picture.

BEFORE the rock wall & stairs (above)

Luc transported his excavator, trailer and dump truck to the site. Luc used the excavator to prep the ground for the rocks that eventually made the wall. The excavator was also used to move and place rocks. (ABOVE) finished wall, stairs, and garden beds.
The rock wall makes a nice clean line and gives an organized, natural feel . The stairs provide easy access to the grassy field above.

The sandy mud (above) and the placing of cottage stone for the staircase.

The staircase turns to the left to keep the slope of it gentle enough to easily walk down and to end where it does. Because the staircase was build on a steep lot it needed to turn to the left to slow the downward momentum.

ABOVE: Luc's excavator and the wall-in-progress (unfinished). You can get an idea of the length of the wall in this picture, even though some of it is not included to the left.