Hillside Retaining Wall for a New Shop Site — Otis, Oregon

The Situation

The homeowner's driveway climbs a hillside with a steep cut bank running along one side. For years, that bank shed material onto the driveway. Loose slopes don't hold on their own, and every wet season put more of the hill where it didn't belong.

When the homeowner decided to build a shop on the uphill side of the driveway, the erosion stopped being a nuisance and became a problem they had to solve. A shop needs stable ground behind it and a driveway that stays clear in front of it. A retaining wall was the only real option.

The Design

This wall sits in plain view. The homeowner sees it every time they drive up, and so does anyone visiting the property. A plain gray block would have done the structural job, but the wall also needed to look like it belonged on the hillside.

MagnumStone was an easy choice. The realistic rock face blends into the natural surroundings, and the system is flexible enough to handle what the site required.

The Build

The homeowner brought PacWest in to handle the full scope: excavation, base preparation, and setting the wall block. Cutting into a steep bank takes the right equipment and a crew that knows how to work a slope safely, and PacWest showed up with both.

We got on the project in a timely manner, opened up the bank, built the base, and set 1,400 square feet of MagnumStone.

The Result

The bank is held. Material stays on the hill instead of on the driveway, and the uphill side of the property is ready for the homeowner's shop. The wall does the structural work and holds up visually from the driveway.