| By :
Nick Messe
The view from our new house on the hill is just what we always wanted. Unfortunately, the steep driveway and lack of landscaping is creating a lot of anxiety and unnecessary stress. If this sounds familiar, the key to a better night's sleep is to sit down with a professional contractor and design a plan that will eliminate the risk and be aesthetically pleasing at the same time. Often, the builder will not bother with a driveway or put one in as an afterthought, and simply be interested in the cheapest way to the garage from the street. When the house is on an elevated lot, the dynamics of landscaping and safety need to be taken into consideration, especially in light of the winter season. A professional excavating and landscaping contractor will spend the time to analyze the geography and the topography in order to design a safe and lasting solution. An excavating contractor can perform any necessary demolition, grading and contouring to the lot to allow for a more gradual ascent of the driveway and, if appropriate, a less direct route up to the house. In accommodating such a redesign, it may be required or desired, to build retaining walls. In addition to lessening the slope on the driveway, retaining walls can become beautiful landscape features while creating usable terraces. Retaining walls should be designed, engineered and stamped by a licensed civil engineer. Professionals will want the permits and stamped plans as an assurance that the design is structurally sound and safe. When working with soils, slopes and retaining walls, it is important to have the education and experience to know what works and what doesn't work. It is vital that the contractor thoroughly understand varying soil conditions and geo-grid reinforcement requirements That still leaves a lot of room for creativity in design, and working with seasoned pros means drawing on years of experience, plus exposure to hundreds of ideas and designs. They can take the customers vision and create something that incorporates their wants and needs, while often exceeding their expectations for beauty and utility. When it comes retaining walls and deck surfaces, a landscaping contractor should suggest several options and should have a wide variety of brick, stone and stamped concrete patterns from which to choose. Part of the process should be a good color selection that can complement the existing structure. Part of the design process with a professional excavating and landscaping company will address the layout of the greenery and color items providing a cohesive scheme that is pleasing to the eye and uses the latest conservation methods. Choose the right excavating and landscaping contractor when tackling that steep slope to the house, and it will all be down hill from there.
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