Hillside Redesign

The walls range from 30 to 76 feet long each. The contractor trucked in more than 3,000 square feet of recycled concrete blocks from a local landfill to construct the terraces and staircase. Workers used a Bobcat to haul dirt from the top of the driveway for use in the lower terraces. The blocks were hauled up and down the steep driveway by hand.

La Loma Development set out to replace a collapsing block wall in this Pasadena, California project. By the end, they fixed the property's erosion problem, planted ivy, and replaced an asphalt driveway and poorly designed stairs with dry stacked urbanite.

 

To create an old-world look, the company planted Carex tenuiculmism, Carex flagellifer, Carex dipsacea 'Dark Horse', Carex flacca 'Blue Zinger', Carex comans 'Red', Carex buchananii, Stipa tenuissima, Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue', Sedum praealtum, and Agave attenuate in spaces between the wall layers.

Before La Loma Development began, the Pasadena project was a mess. The driveway was a mass of cracking asphalt with an antiquated poured concrete stairway, and a block wall falling over with invasive ivy was dominating the hillside.

To begin, the contractor used Vectorworks Landmark software to design the project. They created the design, and then generated permit drawings. After the local municipality approved the design, the company removed the old and replace it with the new.

The bottom of the driveway runs 22 feet below grade from the main residence, with a steep 3:1 ratio slope. To construct the 59-foot long staircase, they layed in rebar reinforcement in 12-inch grids. Workers poured Portland Cement concrete base, then chiseled, cleaned, and installed the recycled blocks. The stairs and the walls drain water to the adjacent planter along the driveway.

Demolition
The first step was the demolition of asphalt driveway, block wall, poured steps, and the ivy-covered hillside. The demolition of the site took two weeks to complete. Workers used a Bobcat, dump truck, jackhammer, chisels, and other tools to demo the area.

They planted succulents, grasses, and edibles that are exposed to full sun on the hillside. They also added Senecio mandraliscae, Sedum angelina, Helichrysum petiolare 'Limelight', Stipa tenuissima, Lavandula sp., and citrus trees.

Construction
The front yard features eight terraces, with an additional six terraces at the top of the driveway. Overall, the company installed more than 7,500 square feet of recycled concrete paving, two large boulders, base aggregate and 2,600 square feet of filter fabric and more than 200 linear feet of 4-inch diameter drainage pipe.

This 6-tier, 14-step structure is located at the top of the driveway, to the left of the residence. The crew chiseled, cleaned, and leveled each individual concrete piece by hand.

Along with their in-house workforce, the company employed outside specialists for the project, including masons, welders, and an irrigation specialist. They constructed the terraces from recycled broken concrete (urbanite), recycled concrete aggregate (gravel), mortar for the driveway, a few boulders, and gravity wall pieces (deadmen).

The contractor added water saving plants, including this Echeveria runyonii ''Topsy Turvy''.

The driveway was constructed using urbanite, which was set in reinforced mortar. The 59-foot staircase was also built with urbanite steps. A railing specialist then welded the rolled-metal railing that runs up the driveway length. The steep slope was re-graded and the existing asphalt driveway was widened and replaced with recycled concrete paving.

The steel handrail was sculpted by Ray Cirino. Cirino hammered the square steel tubing to create a striated edge, and then the rail was bent and welded on site. The concrete paving was drilled to anchor the rail post, and set with epoxy.

The recycled dry-stacked concrete walls retain the hillside while allowing water to drain through the weep holes between the concrete pieces. Excess water is drained in the 4-inch diameter perforated pipes behind the walls to the planters.

Using a Bobcat, jackhammer and hand tools, it took the demolition crew two weeks to remove the ivy, poured-in-place concrete stairs, block walls and driveway asphalt.

Landscape
To soften the rock look, and as for erosion control, the contractor planted native grasses, sages, yuccas, yarrow, as well as succulents such as dudleya and sedums, and edibles such as artichoke, oregano, rosemary, citrus, blueberries, asparagus, other vegetables and herbs. Before planting, the company laid down more than 40 cubic yards of mulch and 20 cubic yards of compost as well. Over all, they used 200 1-gallon plants, 75 5-gallon ones, 30 15-gallon plants and flats of ground cover. The irrigation is controlled by a smart weather irrigation controller. The company filled out the landscape with a mix of different plant material, including edibles that are exposed to full sun on a hillside. They also added Senecio mandraliscae, Sedum angelina, Helichrysum petiolare 'Limelight', Stipa tenuissima, Lavandula sp., and citrus trees. Finished in Six Months Taking 12 workers six months to complete, the project features more than 7,500 square feet of recycled concrete paving, base aggregate, 2,600 square feet of Filter fabric and 200 linear feet of 4-inch diameter drainage pipe.