Would a tie retaining wall keep you from buying the property?

Question

I can't afford stone, but the landscape needs to be leveled.

I'm building a retaining wall to level ground that slopes away from my property and will generate a lot more useable space.

My best estimate shows the wall at 120 linear feet and averages 3 feet high.

Answer 1

Well..... How much can you afford? Figure how much you would need and then go pricing the block. Believe it or not, doing the block work yourself is totally not that hard to do.

But in short, the answer is No. If the house is exactly what you wanted, on plenty of land, in a nice neighborhood and has no real problems, but a retaining wall was the only thing wrong, that wouldnt keep me from buying it. If anything, I would see it as an opportunity to do alot of GOOD hard work.

Unfortunately the stuff that leeches into the ground from the ties is not good for the soil, but, that can easily be amended. But before you do go and try to level it all out, plan out your grading, drainage, etc... You dont want the water that comes of there to just stream right on into your house.

Answer 2

If I really liked the property otherwise, no, it wouldn't keep me from buying it, assuming the house is OK, etc. If you're not afraid of hard work, you can level it yourself.

When we bought our house, there had been an in-ground pool in the backyard which had been removed and the ground had sunk. Our neighbors happened to be digging a pool at the time and we were able to take their dirt to fill our hole. Then we basically leveled the rest of it by hand using shovels, wheelbarrows, etc. We have about a quarter acre. It was dirty hot work but we had no money, so we did it with some help from friends. You can also check around your area to locate some clean fill.

If you want a stone wall instead of ties, buy a load of stones if you can afford it and then do it yourself. Or rent a little front loader to level the area.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Boulders is probably the better way to go. You can get ones that are approx 3' high even higher. Some charge by the dump truck full. Where I live it is $250. for a dump truck full, so it depends on how big they are as to how many will fill the dump truck. It was cheaper for us to do this than it was for tie retaining wall. Plus boulders will last forever. Ties will eventually rot and need to be replaced. A yard can also be leveled inexpensively. Usually it just would be graded. Maybe not even half a days work if the person knows what they are doing. Hope this helps a bit.

Answer 4

Nope! I bought property that used railroad ties to hold back soil from entering the driveway. This was in the country where such things are more acceptable maybe, but I didn't give it a second thought.
Railroad are getting a bad rep though because the creosote is not good for plants. You'll seldom see attractive plant growth adjacent to railroad ties. Just a thought.

Answer 5

Find some rocks and start filling.