So the good news is that the retaining wall is pretty much done, at least the hard part. The bad news is that the contractor(s), including the one that I didn’t hire, BOTH omitted the coping, which is highly recommended for our climate. We had to research the hell out of it, but basically, flat, square-backed rocks should go on top of the retaining wall for the best longevity and strength. The good news is no cement is involved, but some of them will have to be cut to size, which means renting a special saw. I can’t stand when I get upsold by contractors who know this is probably the only time in my life I’ll ever have to pay for a retaining wall, and of course this is out of my own pocket. The retaining wall was just starting to buckle in key places during the house renovation after the fire. So Shea is going to help me purchase the pieces, and we will methodically proceed iteratively at our leisure. Doing the labor ourselves will save me thousands of dollars. The wall’s completeness will not appear deficient in the meantime.

This is the progress on my ANTIFA Big Beautiful Wall that I paid for myself. This isn’t even something the insurance company is paying for due to the fire, even though I could argue that some of the collateral damage was due to the heavy reconstruction of the house.

Much more of the wall was built on Tuesday.

Retaining wall update with bricks that are more attractive than I expected, and a drainage system started with PBC pipe:

I started this retaining wall project while our crafty friend Hugh worked on the front gate fence that I cherish so much, because it’s a way to protect the dogs. Hugh also built a gate in our side yard that has been so helpful to keep the dogs safe in a portion of the backyard when we have to open the outside gate to bring the garbage cans in and out. So this video is demonstrative of the projects going on. My neighbor thought I was building a pool, but I neither have the room for one (on the flat part of my backyard) nor the interest in maintaining one.