Question
I recently bought a house with a cinder block retaining wall. The wall was starting to fall (no bars to hold in place), So I tore the bricks down. My question is, how do I just slope a 5 foot wall. I would like a roling hill, instead of a 5ft drop.

Answer
You need to make the slope less than 2:1 or two to one. So for example for ever foot of fall (in your case five feet) you need two feet of run. So you need to take ten feet to get from top to bottom. This typically meets code and is a safe stable slope as long as you cover it with landscaping or turf. Keep in mind you need 3:1 or less (fifteen feet)for a mowable slope.

Depending on the size and amount of soil you could do this by hand with some help from friends or hire some one. If its mores than 30 or 40 feet you may want to hire a grading contractor and pay him for half day of bobcat work.

Best of Luck
Sean J Murphy
Amenity Architects
Southeastern Engineering