Transformation Tuesday 07/27/2021

Our client was tired of how the railroad ties looked and functioned in this backyard. The client enjoyed going down to the wooden deck during the summer months, but access was limited. One had to choose between walking over the grass or taking a big step up in order to access the wooden deck.

The first step was to remove the small amounts of gravel between the railroad tie steps and then removing the railroad ties. Next, we trenched the area where the retaining wall would go and brought in the landscape block. The blocks were leveled, cut, and stacked, to create the retaining wall around the aspen.

We wanted to give the client easier access. It is hard to see in the before picture but you focus right next to the brown wooden beam you can see the steps were created using 3 railroad ties. To make access easier, we replaced those steps with 6 flagstone steps.

The previous railroad tie steps were somewhat awkward to use. The first five steps were super close to each other, followed by 4 very spaced-out steps. We decided it would be best to keep every step equally spaced out. This is not only aesthetically pleasing but more functional as well. It was also purposely designed so that the fourth step from the bottom was flush with the wooden deck.

Since all the steps were completely covered with flagstone, the client could easily access any part of their yard from multiple directions without having to stop once in the dirt. The client was happy with both the functionality and the look of the new landscape!