Every place I've ever lived has been designed for that "average American family," with lots of bedrooms, living room, dining room, family room, etc. The problem was that I was a single person, not an average family. I needed space, but for hobbies, not people. And because I'm over 6'2", bending over to use sinks designed for children was a constant frustration. Over the years, I collected a list of things I would change if I could have my dream house. As I approached retirement, I realized time was running out for that house; it was now or never.


Dreams are not always perfect, however. I could never afford my dream house, a spacious Southern California home overlooking the Pacific Ocean. But I could afford a modest ranch house, with a 20-mile drive to the beach. It was a very long way from perfect, but it had potential.


This blog documents the process of turning that small average house into something that matches my lifestyle. It will be as close to my dream house as I can make it. I'm doing all the work myself to stretch my resources. By not hiring contractors, I can afford high quality materials, and I'll know the job is always done right. The remodeling will be my primary avocation for a few years, even as I try to fit in my writing and other hobbies.


It promises to be an interesting journey, and a challenging one!

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Building "The Wall"


One of the first problems I noted with the house was that the embankment separating my house from my neighbor's was eroding away.  I didn't know if the next winter's rains would undermine the wall and fence separating our houses, but the consequences of that happening would be dramatic enough that postponing action seemed too risky.  

So in November,  I ordered a couple of pallets of 16" retaining wall blocks (90 blocks), enough for a good start, but not nearly enough for the whole wall.  

The TV home shows stressed the importance of good drainage to prevent freeze/thaw upset: a gravel bed under the wall, gravel behind the wall, and a garden fabric behind the gravel to prevent soil blocking the gravel.  That said, it never goes below freezing here, and we only get ten inches of rain in a good year.  The dry, heavy clay soil was so hard that in places I could not dig with my mattock (much less a shovel), and had to bring out my electric demolition hammer, fitted with a 3" flat tip, to chisel out the embankment!  I decided to take my chances without having to arrange for a truckload of gravel.  

Slow work, putting in the base course of block—level front to back and side to side, even with the block next to it, and following the chosen line for the wall.  The blocks have a lip on the bottom (at the back of the block), that keeps the pressure of the soil from pushing it off the block underneath, and provides the proper set-back for each course going up.  After the first course is in place, it's just a matter of setting the blocks on top of the ones beneath.  Assuming the base course was level and even, every course above it will be the same.  Backfill as the wall goes up, compacting the soil (clay crumbles).

After going through my initial two pallets of block, I started to bring home between six and ten of the 54-pound blocks every time I went to Home Depot.  This way, I didn't have to build the whole thing in one go (thankfully!).  

I started on November 20, and finished Phase One of "The Wall" on April 7, 2014.  

Six courses, six-inch high blocks, with the base block buried half below ground level.  


Eventually I will extend the wall out in the back yard to form a planting bed for my blueberry bushes (which are now in big pots).  I'll have to get a truck-load of topsoil to fill that walled area, because the ground is too hard and doesn't drain there.  (I started digging holes for the blueberry bushes, and filled the holes with water to soften to soil for easier digging, but found the water still in the hole the next day!)

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