If you have a new home in Vancouver WA. or Portland OR. you probably are considering or have gotten a retaining wall installed. Most new homes seem to be built on hill sides. The level lots were sold many moons ago. Instead of slip sliding down the hill, take the staircase between the retaining walls.
It is some what discouraging to go outside and see that in fact you are now a cliff dweller. A retaining wall can help you get that desired level spot for entertaining, BBQ’s and just being able to go outside and not feel like you should of been born a bird.
Over the years I have seen more and more lots that are on hill sides and some of them very steep. Most of these homes need retaining walls. How else will your land not end up your neighbors or the street for that matter. The next photo shows how a hill side can be tamed to give you a secret garden. In this case the wall is a brick wall.
There are many types of retaining walls. The most common are segmented retaining walls. These are usually concrete units that fit into each other and most often interlock.
Most come in various colors, styles and textures.
The next photo is a cultured stone faced wall. It’s very hard to tell the difference from real stone once installed.
Please don’t build any retaining wall over 4′ tall unless it’s enginerred and permitted.
At Woody’s Custom Landscaping we have two thirds of our employees that are certified installers of retaining walls with NCMA a national organization.
A retaining wall installed properly will last a very long time.
We all have our typical New Years resolutions. Quit smoking. Exercise more. Eat healthier foods. The list can go on and on. If I may, I would like to suggest another resolution. Many of us are now watching our money more diligently than we ever have. Don’t spend without a good reason. Landscaping is a good reason and a solid New Years resolution.
Home owners are not moving as frequently and staying in their homes longer. If fact we have even come up with a new term this last year, “staycation”. Instead of going away on vacation people just stayed nearer to home or at home. I wrote a couple of blogs in 2009 about increasing back yard living space, so in fact home owners could have a staycation with family and friends. More than just having a nice landscaping to retreat to, it also does add value to your home. That’s also a great reason to consider adding a paver patio, outdoor kitchen or even a front or back yard landscape renovation to your New Years resolution.
Imagine this. No mud. Clean areas of fresh sod, Beautiful plantings. A new patio that is more than a 8by8 square. A retaining wall so you can get a little more level space to actually have a back yard to enjoy. Most of all some sense and balance to your back or front yard.
At Woody’s Custom Landscaping, Inc. we strive to ensure that your wishes become a reality. With our team of certified and award winning technicians you can rest assured that we will construct a quality landscaping.
Vancouver Washington
Before hiring a landscape contractor to install your concrete paver project, be sure to ask the following questions:
1. How long have they been installing pavers?
2. Have they been trained by a manufacturer or by the ICPI? Do they have a certificate of completion? Search for ICPI Level I Concrete Paver Installers
3. What percentage of their total business consists of installing concrete pavers?
4. Can they provide references and can you contact them and inspect their projects?
5. Do they have a current liability insurance certificate? Proof that Worker Compensation Insurance covers all employees on the job?
6. Do they install the job per ICPI guidelines? ICPI Concrete Paver Consumer Guide and Checklist
7. Do they provide a written, itemized proposal outlining the scope of work? Do they guarantee their work?
8. Are they members of the ICPI or other industry associations?
ICPI Level I Concrete Paver Installer Certification imparts the requisite knowledge, experience and industry guidelines required to build pavements using interlocking concrete pavers.
We have 90% of our current employees that are nationally certified ICPI and 70% NCMA which is national certification for retaining walls.
Our paver patios and retaining walls are all done by our certified, award winning landscapers.
Vancouver Washington
For a quality residential landscape contractor look no further.
Here it is December, and in South West Washington it has been a long cold spell. We are going on something like 10 days now of teen and twenty something temperature. It got me to stop and think of spring. How every thing pops out of the ground and puts forth a display of texture and color. Maybe the plants are saying, “I made it”. Any way, I am very glad that I can positively say, “This cold and starkness will go away.” It is the way of our earth.
In this blog, I thought I would show some spring and summer landscaping photographs of plantings. Ground covers, summer perennials, and basic planting jobs. It will at least help me get my mind off the thought of nature taking a rest. I like nature when it is busy. I like our company when it is busy also.
Below is a early summer shot of a back flagstone patio area.
The photo below is in the late spring with lush green sod, Spireas, birch trees and many other shrubs.
The next photo is of a water feature and stream area after 5 years of good maintenance after we installed it. I love when the ground covers start working their way into the stream and water falls. It makes the stream appear more natural.
The next photo is of a portion of a back yard that is from one end to the other in ground cover and plantings.
The video is of a job we installed. The plantings are after one year. We did also install the paver path and all the landscaping.
Give me a break. The elemental break down of CO2 is one carbon and two oxygen. I understand that it is a by product of car exhaust and a lot of industries power sources. It seems to me that the cost to fix CO2 emissions at this stage of our world economic climate, is beyond understanding. The EPA has put the price tage at 60 billion dollars and they say the estimated benefit would be 250 billion dollars. Show me the math please. I don’t believe it. What I see is economic burdens on manufacturers, costing jobs and driving up energy prices. Can we really afford to fix Carbon Dioxide emissions, with every thing else our governments attempting to control all at the same time? We should take on one problem at a time. How about jobs for our people. Fix that and then go to a new project. Something is very wrong with the finding from EPA coming out just moments before our president heads to Denmark for the international conference on climate change. Some say it shows our resolve on the issue. I think that is true. At the same time the EPA can now dictate to the people what we should do about the poisonous gas without getting the congress involved. Are we represented?
Say I have a great idea. Pay landscape companies to install trees and shrubs in all areas of the US. Plants take in CO2. That is how their system works. Do you know what their by product is? Pure clean oxygen. Landscapers should get paid a stipend for every tree and shrub they plant. The government could pay in their stimulus checks and kill two birds with one stone. Clean air and stimulating the landscape industry. That’s a program I can use.
Landscaping | woodys December 31, 2009 | 
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