Terracing

[550Doug]

I have a side of a hill that I want to terrace and I'd like to know what kind of walling or support others have used. I have a number of 50 ft white pine that are being cut down and I could use them to build some sort of retaining wall of horizontal pine, with stone/concrete posts maybe every 16 feet. Has anyone ever tried something like this? Would the pine last longer if the bark was stripped off first?

Thanks

 

[Janicholson]

Terracing with retaining walls is OK if the walls are permanent. If you (opinion) build a retaining wall from pine (unless pressure treated) the wall may last 8 to 10 years at best, then become a disaster for the next person (or yourself). I would use a slope between the flat areas that was 25% flatter than the angle that the soil will form if piled up with a loader. This "angle of repose" when reduced by 25% will allow cover grass or plantings of Mertle, or other ground cover, to stay poot naturally. It will reduce the flat area some, but be much less costly and reduce maintenance. JimN

 

[coflyboy1]

You are probably going to think I"m nuts but this is how I did it.
I live in the mountains and my property is on a steep slope. I needed a terrace 5"long and 60" feet long. I stacked old tires stuffed with dirt 4.5 feet high at about a 15 degree angle into the bank. I covered (fronted) the tires with rock with the top rock overlapping the top of the tires. I back filled with dirt covering all tire exposure. Did this 40 years ago and nothing has moved.

I took down a section of the wall about six months ago and saw that the tires were full of roots. It seems that water collects in the tires providing moisture for the plants duing dry times.

I"m building another one now 50 feet long.

Good luck. HTH.