Wow!
Homeowner-ship sure is a headache sometimes! It can feel like you are being swallowed whole by the upkeep and financial burden of maintaining your home.
When the old retaining wall lining the sidewalk crumbled at our client's home in one of the older neighborhoods in Atlanta they needed an affordable and solid fix. One day the wall was there; the next, cinder blocks rolled into the street and the front lawn was ready to slide into traffic.
When faced with an unexpected, but necessary, home improvement you want to investigate all your options. And certainly, when it comes to retaining walls there several options-- with applicable price points, of course. However, in this particular instance, the home owner's overall design choices were limited because it was a repair: the new wall needed to be in compliance with the previous wall's style.
With the new wall installment we were able to not only repair the driveway we were also able to widened it; allowing for more parking space. Those old Atlanta driveways are a tight squeeze so this was a very welcomed improvement.
Some aesthetic improvements were made too:
We removed old ivy beds and replaced them with new sod. Annual flower beds that flank the wall were installed and can be changed out with seasonal color. And a flag stone pathway leading up to the house was created.
One last significant aesthetic and functional change was the addition of stone flanked steps that with the old wall were not previously there. This now allows easier walk-up access to the house for guests when parking on street but also it enhances the "curb appeal" of the property.
While the new wall was a necessary repair-- rather than a planned home improvement-- the newly designed and enhanced wall and the redesigned landscaping has not only improved the look of the property but ultimately and most importantly, added value to the home.
