Eastridge

Navigating the steep slope down to the waterfront forced us to get creative in bringing machinery and materials to the site. A perfectly good excuse to bring in the big guns.

We hired a barge and took 14 trips to remove debris and bring in larger supplies, including the wood framing and 1,000lb steel beams. The same barge later hosted a 40 ton crane, which held the beams in place while the welders worked their magic on the home’s structure. Later, concrete was pumped from the top of the cliff down to the bottom with a 400ft line into a boom pump, which was sitting on the barge.

And a unique excavator called the Spidex crawled up and down the hillside, removing stumps and clearing the land quickly and efficiently.

To carry smaller materials, we installed a funicular tramway down the slope. After securing its own special planning permission, the homeowners wanted to keep the tramway to transport guests and groceries to the house. A fun—and functional—addition to the property.

The garage sits at the top of the cliff, with a 27ft tall foundation wall. To secure the foundation to the hillside, we buried anchors five feet into the solid bedrock below. The foundation wall is 10″ thick, with a double grid of rebar to retain approximately 350 cubic units of fill.

Given how challenging it was to access the site, we opted to use styrofoam (EPS) backfill because it is lightweight, cost effective, and easy to maneuver.