I really appreciate your input on yesterday’s post about how to get the look I want for the porch baseboard! My head is now teeming with ideas, and at this point I’m not entirely sure which direction to go. Luckily I have a little more time to think because it’s raining heavily at the moment. While I’m sad that I’ll be missing a day of outdoor work today, I’m also a little relieved that I won’t feel the pressure (the pressure I put on myself) to make a quick decision today.
I took some time yesterday to try out my idea of ​​using my hand sander to cut off the fronts of the retaining wall blocks. It didn’t go well. I made a mark around the block with a Sharpie marker and then used the hand sander to cut as deep as possible on all four sides. But even then, the cuts didn’t extend all the way to the entire block. Then I tried to break the front off completely using a pry bar and a hammer, but this only chipped off significant portions of the front that I wanted to keep.
It’s possible that it would have turned out better if I had a proper stone chisel, but since I want to cut such a thin slice off the face of each block, I would probably still lose some in the process. So this technique is not an option.
I have a wet tile saw that cuts through concrete very easily with the right blade. I used this to cut the pavers for the side steps of the studio. The problem with this is that the retaining wall blocks are too tall to fit under the blade of my saw.
I spent some time trying to find a way to fit the blocks under the blade and I believe there is a way. I wouldn’t be able to use the rolling table that the block in the picture above sits on. This table sits on wheels that roll on tracks, and these wheels ensure that the table stands quite a bit above the pool of water below. So if I could create a way to place the block lower, just above water level, I would probably be able to do it. But it would certainly be a lot of work to cut them all on this saw without the rolling table that makes the job so much easier.
I’ve read all the comments about other options for cutting – renting it out, buying a concrete blade for my circular saw, renting one of the big concrete saws, etc. But after thinking about it more, I think I’ll give up on the idea of ​​cutting the blocks altogether.
One idea several people had was to create a mold (or probably multiple molds) out of the retaining wall block and then cast my own concrete blocks (or front windows) from concrete. I really love this idea and think it would be a lot easier than cutting concrete blocks.
I’ve seen a lot of videos of people making their own molds for various projects, but I came across a video that seemed like the right way to go. This man makes silicone molds out of silicone paste and cornstarch! This creates a moldable silicone with the consistency of Play-Doh.
Even though I’m not using this idea for this project, I want to make silicone molds now. He adds food coloring to his molds, but I don’t see the need to do that for my purpose. All I would need is silicone caulk and cornstarch. That’s it. While this looks really fun, I’m not sure how long it would take. I think I would need at least five molds so that I don’t pour out one “brick” after another. This idea is definitely a candidate, but I need to think about it more. Regardless of whether I use this idea for this project or not, you can be sure that I will be making silicone molds in the future. This looks too fun and useful to pass up.
The other idea I really like is to simply paint the baseboard onto the concrete porch and then build a real retaining wall planting bed around the porch. I really like this idea. The challenge I face is knowing where this retaining wall should start and where it should end.
Here’s another look at the landscaping plan for the front of the house.
So if I just paint the baseboard of the porch and then create an actual planting area for the retaining wall, I guess I would just follow the line of the walkway shown in the plan above, right? Because there isn’t really enough space around the porch to create a raised area with a retaining wall and a lower planting area between the retaining wall and the planned walkway. And then I would probably continue the retaining wall on the other side of the house, so in the area in front of our bedroom door. So basically the side of the walkway that is closest to the house and runs around the front of the house would be a retaining wall. It wouldn’t have to be high. It would be maybe two blocks high, three at most, considering the first row would be partially below the current ground level.
I’m not sure if that makes sense, but I think I can imagine it and I think it would look great. But then I would have to figure out how to connect the steps outside our bedroom to the retaining wall and walkway.
Or maybe I’m overthinking it. What I do know is that there is not enough room between the porch and the proposed walkway for a retaining wall planting bed and a lower planting bed in front of it, unless the retaining wall planting bed is only about a foot between the porch and the retaining wall.
*Sigh* I have no idea what I’m doing. Can you tell that landscaping just isn’t my thing? I know. It’s obvious. I enjoy thinking about the options, but it also stresses me out. I will be a little relieved when I can get back to my indoor projects where I feel much safer and more confident. But I really enjoy thinking through the ideas and seeing if I can imagine what it could look like.
If it’s not pouring rain, I would get some spray paint and try to mark these ideas on the ground so I can visualize them better. Maybe we’ll have better weather this weekend so I can do that. I need to mark the walkway on both sides of the house and then see how much space I have available for the planting beds. But overall, I like the idea of ​​using the retaining wall blocks to build actual planting beds! And that would make the porch project a lot easier if I could just paint the base area and move on.
So these are the ideas that really caught my attention and got me thinking, planning and dreaming. What do you think?
UPDATE: We had a break in the rain so I went outside and took some measurements. Y’all, I was completely wrong. There’s plenty of room for a raised bed with a retaining wall and a lower planting area in front! I don’t know what I was thinking. There is a full nine feet of space between the porch and the proposed walkway.
So that brings me to this question. If I make the planting bed with a raised retaining wall, would it wrap around the side of the porch like this?
Or would I just place it in front of the porch?
And if I do one on the side of the front steps, I guess I have to continue it on the other side of the stairs too, right? You all know my obsessive need for symmetry, and that makes sense to me.
