The site in the Hollywood Hills is comprised of three adjoining parcels, on which a large single family house used to stand. The house was not well maintained and was eventually demolished. The current owner purchased all three parcels at the same time and designed & developed three new single family residences, one for each parcel. To save on costs, a single retaining wall was designed to reach across all three lots.
The first step is to demolish the existing wooden terrace decking and the existing masonry retaining walls to make way for the new walls. The grading contractor will build a new drill bench with a ramp so that the drill rig can get up to the correct elevation to drill for the 37′ deep caissons that will secure the new retaining walls in place.
As the existing retaining walls are removed, the slope beyond must be trimmed after the first 5 vertical feet to maintain a 1:1 ratio, as mandated by LADBS code.
The existing concrete retaining wall adjacent to the neighbor’s property is saw cut first, before eventually removed with the excavator. The wall will remain in place to help shore the drill bench until the caissons are poured and cured over a 7-10 day period. Once sufficiently cured to over 50% compressive strength, the drill bench will be removed so that the lower retaining wall can be shotcreted against the caissons.
