After: limestone rip rap covering the slope, with a strip of reused pea gravel along the driveway

Project · Cedar Creek · Far Northwest San Antonio

Failed Railroad-Tie Wall to Limestone Rip Rap Erosion Control

A railroad-tie wall that had given out, replaced with a budget-friendly limestone rip rap slope that stops the erosion and keeps soil off the driveway.

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At a glance

Area: Cedar Creek, Far Northwest San Antonio
Services: erosion control, slope cleanup
Time on site: 2 days
Materials: limestone rip rap (about 4–8 inches), landscape fabric, the homeowner’s existing pea gravel (reused), the existing limestone border (readjusted)

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The goal

Another landscaper had built a railroad-tie retaining wall on this sloped area, but it was installed improperly and had no drainage behind it. Over a year or two, the ties gave out and failed.

The homeowner needed a solution but didn’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a repair, since he had already spent a lot on the original wall. Mainly, he wanted the slope to stop eroding and washing dirt onto the driveway.

The game plan

We went over and put a game plan together. The damage was done, so the options were to completely redo the wall, or a much more budget-friendly option.

We designed a simple erosion-prevention plan using large limestone rip rap, and repurposed some of his existing pea gravel into the design. The customer was amazed.

Design concept shown to the customer: rock on the slope beside the driveway (a mockup, not a photo of the finished work) — Design concept we showed the customer (a mockup, not the finished result)

What is limestone rip rap? Coarse, angular, fractured stone used to build heavy-duty, erosion-resistant barriers and to stabilize slopes. The stone on this job was about 4 to 8 inches.

More about rip rap and pea gravel →

Before & after

The same slope beside the driveway.

Before: the eroding slope beside the driveway — Before: the eroding slope by the driveway

After: the slope covered in limestone rip rap beside the driveway — After: limestone rip rap on the slope

Before: failed railroad-tie wall with torn plastic and pea gravel spread across the slope — Before: the failed railroad-tie wall

Before: soil and pea gravel washing down the slope toward the driveway — Before: soil and gravel washing toward the driveway

What we installed

Removal of the failed railroad ties
Landscape fabric to prevent weeds, worked around his existing plants
Limestone rip rap, about 4 to 8 inches, to cover and stabilize the slope
Reused pea gravel from the old setup, worked into the design
His existing limestone border, readjusted

How we built it

Remove the ties: we removed the failed railroad ties.
Clean up and prep: we cleaned up and prepped the area.
Fabric: we installed landscape fabric to prevent weeds, working around his plants.
Rip rap: we installed the limestone rip rap.
Border: we readjusted the limestone border he already had in place.