Building a Rock Wall with an Excavator (in the rain)

Finished rock wall, puddles and all!

Luc's latest job, above, a long rock retaining wall that transitions the large hill above the resident's new house into a flat backyard.  The past few weeks have been very wet with lots of rainfall, which poses unique challenges for building a rock wall, especially one like this that retains a hillside next to a house.  Extra work was done to aid in drainage around and through the rock wall, including drain rock/gravel and a small culvert.  Below are some pictures of the process:

  above: the house is being built at the same time as the rock wall.

 

 Some of the rocks that will be used

  

Luc and his girls 

 

walking the line, on top the work-in-progress

 staking it out

 putting in the gravel

What do you have that will last hundreds of years?

Stella smiles high atop her daddy's rock wall project

Luc is currently making a very long rock wall that's about 4 feet tall. The wall frames the home owner's property line, then curves around to meet the driveway. Stella and I stopped by on a sunny weekday to record the progress. Luc is using his excavator to place the large rocks and shape the earth. It is an often times tedious process, but it is incredibly rewarding to see the wall in all of it's magnificence! It may stand for hundreds of years, who knows? It will likely last longer than the house itself. That is some kind of responsibility!

Visit Luc's landscaping blog at: http://www.livelylandscapes.blogspot.com

or for a free job estimate call: 360-914-6022

Volunteer Work for Island (the Kids') Coffeehouse in Langley

The "BEFORE" picture, above, with Luc's excavator parked and ready for work the next day . . .


Luc and his excavator (above) do the work of many people in just one day


Marina visits with dad at the work site


Above: this is how the landscaping looked after Luc removed some of the bushes on the west side of the coffeehouse

Above: paths are being put in and soil is being moved



Luc has been volunteering his time, excavator, and expertise to help the Island Coffeehouse and Book Store in downtown Langley renovate their landscaping.

Plans for the coffeehouse include expanding the building to include a second story, taking out the previous landscaping, and adding paths and plantings.

Island Coffeehouse's website describes the business as a "community-building showcase for collaborating with youth voices – in song, in art, and in poetry and prose. Through programs like Friday Night Live, Youth In Philanthropy and the sales of youth art, we give young people a space to contribute their artistic visions and their service to the South End of Whidbey Island."

The store is a non-profit business and is a program of the South Whidbey Community Engagement Center, and the South Whidbey Commons, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

For more information on the coffeehouse and book store visit their website at:
http://www.islandcoffeehouseandbooks.org/values.html

Clearing Loads of Blackberries to Reveal a Barn and Field

Before: Blackberries were taking over the field and had climbed all the way up to the barn's roof line.

Another view (to the right of the barn): massive amounts of blackberries


R: Before picture L: after some initial blackberry removal work was done via the excavator


Luc and excavator in action

More action pictures


Right: clearing the blackberries to reveal a very old stone building


L: Progress! R: some remaining blackberry branches in the barn windows


L: the girls watch and record Luc's progress R: Stella points to Daddy


L: Removing the blackberries reveals . . . the barn! R: Luc at work on a cold, wet day

Dealing with the blackberries: burning

The girls watch the fire with dad and warm their hands


Above: some of the massive piles of blackberries.

Raised Rock Planter makes a circular driveway

Placing rocks after dumping off many many yards of dirt (see below pics) to make a planter and a circular driveway.

BEFORE: with rock pile and dirt piles. A lot more dirt to go . . .

And more dirt . . .

AFTER: There it is with the dirt smoothed and rocks placed to make the planter.

Rock Wall frames an entryway in the Woods in Langley

This newly constructed home in the woods called out for a beautiful rock wall to frame the entryway and bring the elegant elements of nature from the surrounding woods in toward the home. Luc created this short rock wall, which will be the foundation for landscaping around the home. Above: the rock wall is under construction. Luc's hand tools are in the foreground.

The rock wall will act as a retaining wall for what might become a planting bed or a beautiful lush lawn. This time of the year there is a lot more water to work with both in the soil and raining down during work days. Above you will see some water that has puddled due to digging and earth moving that has taken place.

Above: measuring the length and width of the wall: a line marks the angle at which to build the back section of rock wall.

Completed rock wall!