I wanted a nice straight wall, no problems, just stake a working line in the ground and start building. But my wife wanted nice flowing curves. Look who won that discussion! Here are the two Allan Block Europa curved walls we built in our backyard. WE decided that it would add a lot of character to the walls and backyard if they had gentle curves instead of simply two straight walls. In the end, they turned out fantastic and transformed our backyard from a space we didn’t spend much time in to a place we don’t want to leave. The walls are parallel and have symmetrical inside and outside curves from one end of the property to the other, about 90 ft (27.5 m) each. At the center of the yard the walls bow away from each other forming a larger “Eyebrow” that is the centerpiece of the landscaping.

• How do you start planning and estimating?
• How do you prepare your site for construction?
• Where do you store the product as you are building?
• How do you lay out the leveling pad and start the base course?
• How do I build a wall with a pattern?
• Do you have to cut the blocks to make the curves?
• How do you fit the caps in place?

Wow, there is a lot to consider when you are going to build a wall and this is just a short list. In the next few weeks I will take you through a very detailed, easy to read book that Allan Block has on their website called Landscape Walls by Allan Block. I will do so by telling you the story of my wall construction, starting with a good plan, a sound design and finally with a lot of help from my friends and family, to the building.

We will get down to business with my next blog called Planning and Estimating your Segmental Retaining Wall.

Rich

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