Showing posts with label retaining wall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label retaining wall. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Hideous monstrosity
Monsters are supposed to be hideous but the title of this post simply states in a superlative degree that it's very, very ugly and repulsive. To be blatant and direct, I really hate it.
The retaining wall is one urgent project that must be completed before the wet season begins. After funding the first part of this three part project the work began but curiously I was not informed of any developments. Then after leaving me in the dark, finally I received a text message saying that the first and second parts of the project are finished.
What?
Before we started this project I made it clear to my father that I want the wall to follow the curvature of the road. If one follows this logic then it is clear that there will be no straight lines and no corners except where the upper and lower walls meet.
So imagine my anger and dismay when I received pictures of the project and looking at these straight and solid walls arrogantly staring at me with an 'in your face' look. Where is the soft and subtle curved wall that I was eagerly expecting to see?
I let a day silently pass by without uttering a word because knowing myself I might spit expletives all over the place.
On my second day of silence I received a text message from my mother asking me how I felt about the outcome of the project. She then mentioned that she didn't like it and my niece who was there on vacation finds it an eye sore. With that single text message, mother unwittingly opened Pandora's box.
A long-distance phone call is once again made. Suffice to say that words not meant to be said were spoken with a raised voice loud enough to pierce an eardrum.
I am yet to blindly accept this structure but until now I'm still repulsed by it. The only option I have in mind is to tear it down and rebuild. But with a very tight budget it will be a waste of resource. But then if I keep it, it will be a constant thorn in my side.
Labels:
construction update,
long distance,
retaining wall
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Hold your ground
"Summer" is officially here. It's when the north-easterly winds cease to bring cool air from the north. And "summer" ends around late May when the wet season officially begins.
While the succeeding days are still dry there is one project that must be completed before the arrival of the rainy season. There's an area along the dirt road that needs a retaining wall to hold the ground on one side and keep it from eroding into the road.
My original plan was to use stones for the retaining wall. But as I found out while on a visit to the farm last February, it's impractical to use stones as they turn out to be very expensive. In our place, how stones are sold depend on the size. The big ones are sold by piece, smaller ones are sold in bulk and priced per square meter. Unfortunately, the stones we need do not fit in the "small" category so they are sold by piece and the price per piece is not cheap.
Budget, the number one factor in any of our projects, prompted me to think of other options. Thus I decided to choose reinforced hollow (cinder) blocks instead. It may not be as good looking as natural stones but the price difference is very significant. Stone veneer could be used later on to cover the surface of the wall.
Since part of the area that needs a wall is over seven feet tall, Dad said that it would be better and safer to build a two-tiered wall, in a terraced-like form. This will stabilize the soil better and reduce the pressure exerted by the ground on the wall, minimizing any possibility of damage.
A two-tiered retaining wall will also create a planting area between the walls. And I already know which plants to put there. This will be a two part project, the lower and upper walls. The lower wall project has already been funded so now it's a go.
tropical garden Tropical Garden tropical garden
While the succeeding days are still dry there is one project that must be completed before the arrival of the rainy season. There's an area along the dirt road that needs a retaining wall to hold the ground on one side and keep it from eroding into the road.
My original plan was to use stones for the retaining wall. But as I found out while on a visit to the farm last February, it's impractical to use stones as they turn out to be very expensive. In our place, how stones are sold depend on the size. The big ones are sold by piece, smaller ones are sold in bulk and priced per square meter. Unfortunately, the stones we need do not fit in the "small" category so they are sold by piece and the price per piece is not cheap.
Budget, the number one factor in any of our projects, prompted me to think of other options. Thus I decided to choose reinforced hollow (cinder) blocks instead. It may not be as good looking as natural stones but the price difference is very significant. Stone veneer could be used later on to cover the surface of the wall.
For height comparison, our garden helper working near the edge of the area that needs a retaining wall.
Since part of the area that needs a wall is over seven feet tall, Dad said that it would be better and safer to build a two-tiered wall, in a terraced-like form. This will stabilize the soil better and reduce the pressure exerted by the ground on the wall, minimizing any possibility of damage.
A two-tiered retaining wall will also create a planting area between the walls. And I already know which plants to put there. This will be a two part project, the lower and upper walls. The lower wall project has already been funded so now it's a go.
tropical garden Tropical Garden tropical garden
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