It was a simple enough question. How will excavation equipment get to the front of the house? That was the location of the intended project, but because of the side-hill terrain, it was a case of “you can’t get there from here.”

Armoring a piece of ground with riprap is not a venture taken on lightly. There are many approaches to yard improvement that are less intensive, but with limited area to work in and a lot of elevation to deal with, the wholesale distribution of heavy stones sometimes turns out to be the best way to go. The 45 degree angle of a dry stone revetment falls between that of a mild slope that can be simply graded and seeded, and a full-on, vertical retaining wall. 

In the case of this Woodstock, Vermont property, each stone was excavator-set with its longest axis running into the bank. Each course was staggered back atop the last one as the work grew up the hill. 

The broken faces of the blasted ledge stone look raw today, but over time the rugged, overall texture of the fortified slope will mellow and blend into its woodland setting.