Just a question: From the pictures you posted it's on the back of the house and you can't see it, so what's with all of the decretive work? I can see a decretive capstone but why the face?
do take a look at codes as to height. Above a certain height, a rail is needed. That is also why some people break walls up into multiple ones of lower height. One reason that walls move, is that there is not enough footing, so be sure to have good footings poured, or excavated depending on wall type.
I’m guessing you are starting to think the grass slope isn’t so bad now and from the pics it really does look ok.
One of our friends just wanted to level and gravel her 25x20 parking area close to her back door and she got a bid for $14,000 so guessing your bid was maybe double that? Or maybe triple??
Having a concrete guy or company install an 80 foot footing and having a few guys stack 150+- 90 pound blocks with fiberglass pins and backfilling would be what I might do. Also the fill would not be inexpensive and it would be more labor for the guys even if it was dropped close or on the spot to spread it.
Just ballparking costs of material I’m guessing 6-8 grand but maybe your part of the world is less expensive than mine.
Here’s a 4 foot wall I built 35 years ago and another a couple years ago when I built a garden area next to our deck. I’m not sure how many more of these heavy labor intensive projects I have left at 70 but it is damn good exercise.
Then again if your time is worth more than it costs to pay someone AND you decide you really want it the money can be made again.
Good luck.
How much distance does the slope run out horizontally? Have you thought of terracing the area?We live East of Dallas, TX and have need of a retaining wall, which I’m guessing will need to be about 4’ tall. The yard on one side of our house is very steep which is causing quite a bit of erosion. It seems that over the last few years, it is getting steeper. There is grass, but it does not grow very well due to the rate at which the water runs off. I will need to hire someone to do the work as I will not have the time nor the help to get it done myself. When I have contractors come out to give quotes and explain how they will build it, what should I look for? Is there a specific block that must be used? What are the best ways for the wall to maintain the best structural integrity? I’m terrified of this entire process as we have had very bad luck with contractors over the last 5+ years. I just don’t want to get ripped off and end up with a crappy wall that is going to fail in 10+ years or less. We live outside the city limits, so no permits are required. Should I hire a structural engineer to design the wall, or is that something the contractor will/should do?
As far as the rainwater part of the problem goes, it looks like you’ve got that covered. Fifty grand for a wall is a big financial commitment for most of us. Depend on property values in your neighborhood, that might be an expense that will pay off on a higher sales price when you end up selling the place. Maybe and maybe not.We will just have a liner and more rock placed down the full length the wall to continue the feature. All of that water runs into a culvert under their driveway and into a pond in their yard. All of the water flows down the hill and into the trench already, so we are not adding any water.
excellent suggestionGabion Retaining Wall
https://gabionsupply.com/retaining-walls/
You might want to consider Split Face CMU instead of architectural stone. That will save you some money.It appears that the first guy wants to build a CMU wall (about 85 linear feet) with filled block cores and vertical and horizontal rebar. All on a concrete footing with piers every 18” or so. Perf drain pipe at the bottom with drainage gravel wrapped in filter fabric. The wall would then be faced with architectural stone and a decorative cap. This seems like a solid plan. Of course there will be drains on the front. We will also be running the house gutter downspout pipes through the wall as well.
If you really don’t have the time to do this yourself and you’d like it done more reasonable maybe call a couple concrete guys to install a level 18-24 inch wide footing (or a foot minimum) 80 feet long where you can have big blocks delivered and hire labor guys to stack them and throw dirt behind it 3/4 foot tall or two terraces 2-3 foot tall.
I’m not sure you mentioned why you need a level area other than being easier to mow? If you might be wanting to build a shop there then maybe you can work the roof drainage around your little walks later or big blocks usually have a few small gaps to keep pressure from getting too bad.