Landscape Newsletter Issue 11
Print Document
Print/Download

A Curb Appeal Transformation
Homeowners Pete and Krista Coleton wanted to give the outside of their home a complete makeover and knew they needed some help. The house sits atop a hill in historic Arlington, VA, with a front yard sloping down to the street. "The slope was impossible to mow and a waste of space; we didn't use the front yard at all. When HGTV chose our home for their Curb Appeal show, they got a real challenge”, described the homeowners.

Terraced walls with Abbey Blend
Front yard screaming for help

Retaining walls were the best fix for the hill

 The Coletons looked at several retaining wall products, then found Allan Block on the HGTV website. They chose Allan Block for its unique ability to combine the AB Europa CollectionTM retaining walls and the AB Courtyard CollectionTM pillars.

The contractor installing the project was accustomed to building with boulders, Chilton stone and flagstone, but had never worked with Allan Block before. He really liked the natural look of the AB Europa Collection and understood that this engineered system would be more reliable and could be built taller than a flagstone wall. Everyone agreed that Allan Block was the right choice for the project.

The design included curved walls, terraced planters, accent pillars and flagstone to cap off the wall. The 24 in. square (610 mm) columns were built with the AB Courtyard Collection and topped with accent lighting to create a dramatic entrance.

Allan Block representative Patrick Ford helped the install crew get started. He had one person stage the blocks by setting up the patterns and a second person stack up the blocks.

The project went smoothly. While installing a product for the first time always requires some initial learning, the crew quickly got up to speed and installed over 26 pallets of blocks in just over 2 weeks. “Allan Block is a great product to work with, I now have an alternative to natural stone that I am confident in”, stated the contractor.

Today, the Coletons are proud owners of a true landscape makeover and they are happy to talk about it. "It's a traffic stopper, people love it. The four shapes of marbled-colored blocks installed in a random pattern tie in beautifully with the flagstone caps and walkways. The change was so dramatic, some friends who had not been over in a while drove past the house without recognizing it. Now, there is no missing it”.		 Allan Block retaining wall construction progress

Building Curved Walls With Allan Block
Following is an excerpt from the new AB Landscape Walls Guide and the How To Install DVD.

Building Curves

Curved and serpentine walls are simple to build. AB's patented design allows for easy installation of both inside and outside curves. Most curves can be built without cutting blocks.
  • Try to maintain an offset of the vertical seams by at least ¼ of the block length, or 3 in. (76 mm) whichever is less, from the courses below. Cutting a block in half or using the AB Jumbo Junior or the AB Palermo will help create a proper offset.
  • Before constructing your wall, layout the design using a garden hose or paint. Measure the radius of each curve and refer to the radius chart. Select blocks that will fit your design or adjust your design to fit the blocks you have selected. As a rule, gentle sweeping curves produce more aesthetically pleasing walls.
 AB Landscape Walls Guide

Inside Curves

  • To build a flowing inside curve, keep the front of the blocks tight together and fan out the blocks keeping the space consistent between the backs of the blocks.

Outside Curves

  • To build smooth outside curves, remove one or both of the "wings" from the back of the blocks and tighten the radius of the curve. To obtain a clean break, hit the back of the wing with a hammer.
Inside and outside curves

Determining the Radius

  • The tightest or smallest radius at the top of any AB wall using the full size block is 4 ft. (1.2 m), and 2.5 ft. (0.8 m) using the half width blocks (AB Jumbo Junior and AB Palermo).
  • Curved walls have a greater setback which causes a coning effect to occur which in turn creates the need for a larger radius at the base course. The final height of the wall will determine what the minimum radius at the base course must be. Use the Radius Chart to determine what the radius of the base course of the wall needs to be, so the top course of the wall will not be less than 4 ft. (1.2 m) the design.
 Base course radius
AB Radius Chart

For a tighter, smooth curve, use the AB Jumbo Junior or the AB Palermo blocks to help build the curve. 		How to start a curve

Curved Allan Block Wall with stairs
How to make a tighter curve

Building Tighter Curves

  • Use the AB Jumbo Junior or the AB Palermo whenever possible to build tighter curves within the wall.
  • When using full size blocks, it may be necessary to remove parts of the bottom notch to fit the blocks closer together.