My front yard curb appeal is killing me. The previous owner had these tiered garden beds and steps leading to the side of the house, but now they are just a breeding ground for spiders and twisted ankles.
I would like to rip this all out and replace it with stone, but I worry the complexity is too much for someone new to diy. I've done some research into retaining walls (we have a large one in the back yard that also needs to be replaced) but I'm not even sure where to begin with this front half.
Some of these railroad ties are set into the soil and anchored with rebar- how would I even dig them out? Also with this being a slope, I'm worried about causing more harm than good for the stability of the soil.
What are your thoughts? Is this something my partner and I could diy with a lot of time and effort or should we bite the bullet and save for a contractor? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Also sorry for the funky blurring in some spots, I removed some identifying vehicles.
by Tecnocat
4 Comments
No better way to learn.
Rent a small track machine (some folks call them Dingos) with forks. You’ll plunge underneath the timbers and pry them loose with hydraulics instead of your back. Utility locates first.
I taken out and replace railroad ties kind of like this along the side of a house. You see what will pry apart one log from another or pry the pin up and then the log some, you need some wedges. I also just saw something on here about making steps you start at bottom and do a helluva lot of tamping.
I don’t think ripping out the railroad ties will be that hard. But figuring out how to grade, lay stone/boulders and lay it out to look great is going to take some expertise I think. I’d spend a lot of time getting a plan together before doing anything.