Architectural Landscape Design Blog

Posts Tagged ‘excavation and grading’

Excavating in Minneapolis is More Than Just Clearing the Land

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

When you are in the building and landscaping business like we are, you learn very quickly that excavating the property and securing the foundation is one of the most important jobs there is.  Excavation is way more than just clearing a lot and pushing dirt around until it looks good. Proper excavating will build an underground world that will allow the world above ground to function to your expectation, without any floods, cracks, or failures.

A good excavator will dig trenches and install materials that will allow water to be managed properly, so that all this hard work is not washed away 10-20 years down the road. It will also provide keenly placed conduits that will allow electricity to be placed above ground, even in remote parts of your property. Most importantly, good excavating will render a solid foundation so that your building will not settle and start to come apart way before its time. For this reason alone, it is worth the time and energy it takes to find and use a great excavating company.

When debris and water are on a lot, they need special attention to make sure the final lot is truly ready to build on. These 2 things in particular have very dynamic properties in that water will drain away, and debris will decompose, leaving sink holes on the property that weren’t there before the work began. Only companies that work with the before, during and after stages of development will truly appreciate all hard the work that needs to go into this part of the development. At Architectural Landscape Design, we deal with all the stages involved in producing a perfectly sound structure. One of the advantages is the work you do with us will be all our responsibility, so you can be sure it will be done right; right from the start.

If you would like to learn more, give us a call at. 952-292-7717, we are here for you.

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Retaining Walls Offer Solutions For The House on the Top of the Hill and the House At the Bottom of the Slope

Monday, June 20th, 2011

A hilltop house that is situated at the top of a hill can have a commanding vista: a gorgeous view of the surrounding properties, their landscape and gardens. But a potential downside due to the height and due to the exposure may be a lack of what many people want in a house…Privacy! A solution: Build retaining walls!

On the flip side of the coin, a house at the bottom of a slope, can share a similar problem with the lack of privacy. However, since water runs down hill there can be additional problems with surface drainage and a lack of light. A solution: Build retaining walls!

At Architectural Landscape design we will work with you to design the retaining walls that offer the best solution for your landscape and topography. We have experience with both types of landscapes and everything in between.

In the hilltop house we might create a flat, open space through excavating land, and constructing a retaining wall to hold back the soil and create flat sitting areas on a land platform. The probable outcome: The building of retaining walls creates a sizeable terrace with a flight of steps connecting it to the land below it.

In the house at the bottom of the slope we may design a series of retaining walls, which result in several shallow terraces rather than one high wall, so you won’t feel hemmed in. The probable outcome: The building of several retaining walls has helped open up the garden area, by shedding more light and making it feel welcoming.

Our Minnesota design team will do the design, the excavating and grading, and the installation of retaining walls. We are experienced and will help you design walls that meet your needs. Call us on 952-292-7717.

 

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Drainage Problems? Proper Grading and Excavation Offers Solutions

Monday, April 18th, 2011

A significant trend over the last decade is for bigger houses to be built. Also, there is an increase in people adding additional square feet to their house. The results are bigger house footprints that due to less green space or landscape can cause drainage problems or issues. So proper drainage planning has become essential in order to alleviate potential problems for your property and your neighbors.

An effect that we are seeing more and more of bigger house space and less landscape space is that often times the neighbor’s drainage and your property’s drainage becomes interrelated. In some suburban areas that also means the houses are now closer together, maybe even ten feet off the property lot lines.

Alternative Landscape Design provides a variety of drainage services. Some of the options plan and install to deal with drainage include catch basins with underground piping, French Drains, Dry Creek Beds, and Retaining Walls.

We can help in the planning on new home structure, additions to homes, and solutions for existing draining issues or problems. A fast growing segment of the business is looking at what effects a neighbor’s new home; addition, retaining wall, or even a new landscaping is going to have on your property.

Our Minneapolis Landscape design team is trained and continues to receive additional education on the latest in drainage solutions. We actually do all of the planning, the actual excavation and the grading to provide the solution to your specific problem or need.

We offer specific solutions to the suburban lots with close lot lines. A Dry Creek Bed may be the solution to direct the water to flow through the property. Our trained team actually knows how to determine what the natural flow of the water is and to use that to solve the problem, by excavating to the proper depth, using the right stone and underground stone structures. Plus our landscape expertise can make an aesthetically pleasing garden around the dry creek bed that is actually a visible problem solving hardscape. Or we might suggest installing some underground piping; give us a call today on 952-292-7717 to schedule a free on site visit.

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