If you've been following our progress, you know that Sunset Green Home was required to elevate the project's sanitary system to where its base would be three feet above groundwater. Because of the property's high water table, doing so required creating an elevated septic field bounded by a sizable retaining wall.
Sunset Green Home's retaining wall and footings during construction.
The wall runs the length of the driveway and along the street. We'll be installing native plantings at the base of the wall, and Sunset Green Home's lawn at the top.
We had many choices for finishing the wall - stucco, natural stone, and architectural manufactured stone - to name a few. We selected Eldorado Stone's manufactured lightweight concrete Nantucket Stacked Stone for its sustainable properties, natural stone look and ease of installation.
Because Sunset Green Home is seeking LEED Platinum certification at completion, our team is very concerned about the sustainable characteristics of the materials that are used in the project. The Nantucket Stacked Stone panels we used were manufactured in Pennsylvania - well within the 500 mile radius that the LEED green building program targets for "regional" materials. Eldorado Stone weighs roughly half the weight of natural stone, which means fewer resources were expended in transporting it to the site. The lighter weight also translates to faster, more cost-effective installation. Made of concrete, Eldorado Stone is completely recyclable at the end of its life (but with a 50-year warranty, we're not expecting to retire the stone wall anytime soon).
Installation of the wall began on a rainy day, so the team used tarps to keep the work moving along! Photo courtesy of Chris Mensch, Coastal Management.
In fact, the Nantucket Stacked Stone was so quick to install, Sunset Green Home's concrete retaining wall went from bare to finished in two short weeks! Now that the wall is complete, let the planting begin!
Two weeks later, the wall is finished and capped, and the area around it is ready for planting! Photo courtesy of Chris Mensch, Coastal Management.