Switching gears..... retaining walls

Time to switch to the big house, hiding under all that jasmine is a sandbag retaining wall.

We try to judge how long it was left without pruning.  The vines intermingled with the screening and framing, making it impossible to cut back.  The 4 x 4's which are structural were mostly in good condition, except for three that were replaced.  The doors were so rotted, that they fell off.

No, I'm not even going to try to do this one on my own.  The retaining wall was previously made with sandbags under landscape cloth, and held by iron bars.  It was failing, there were no gutters on the house and it's a long roof line, so we need to have this addressed before hurricane season starts.  I tried to pick up a sandbag but they weigh more than the 50 lb mortar bags. The prep work for the retaining wall was started but the contractors will be finishing it for us.  The screens, framing, and doors were removed.  The outdoor carpet was also removed, and worse, the jasmine was removed, but it's starting to grow back quickly.

There was an area where the support was sinking, which is now reinforced with concrete.

Next week, is the prep of the retaining wall.... so fun, now we get to watch other people work for a little.