6 Ways To Protect Your Home From Flood And Soil Erosion

With thousands of homes being victim to wildfires in San Diego County, it is sometimes hard to see the effects of a deadly fire past the impending flames. In the fire’s aftermath, the threat of floods and erosion increases and can be disastrous for your home and property. The plants and vegetation whose roots help stabilize soil can become damaged or completely destroyed, leaving loose soil vulnerable to erosion and runoff. Erosion can destroy your landscaping and gardens, and can promote polluted runoff into storm drains and surrounding property. Fortunately, there are many ways to protect your home from post-fire hazards.

Ideally, you would want to prevent the effects of erosion by immediately re-planting the areas that have been destroyed. Also, by incorporating a well-planned landscape design that utilizes drainage systems, stone retaining walls and stone rip rap. KRC Rock has all the materials you need to permanently address any flood and erosion issues. However, if you’re looking for a temporary solution, San Diego County has provided some tips that can help protect your home:

Hydraulic Mulching: Hydraulic mulching consists of applying a mixture of shredded wood fiber to a hydraulic matrix. Mulching temporarily protects exposed soil from erosion by raindrop impact or wind.

Fiber Roll: Fiber rolls consist of straw, flax, or other similar materials bound into a tight tubular roll. When placed at the toe and on the face of slopes, these devices intercept runoff, reduce its flow velocity and provide removal of sediment from runoff. Fiber rolls are only effective when trenched.

Silt Fences: Silt fences are made of a filter fabric that has been entrenched, attached to supporting poles, and sometimes backed by a plastic or wire mesh for support. These fences are good for perimeter control, detaining sediment-laden water and promoting sedimentation behind the fence.

Straw Matting: Straw matting is used to cover the soil surface to reduce erosion from rainfall impact,          hold in place, and absorb and hold moisture near the soil surface. Matting is commonly applied to short steep slopes where erosion hazard is high and vegetation will be slow to establish.

Straw or Wood Chip Mulching: Straw or wood chips can be used to hold soil in place.

Sand and Gravel Bags: Properly filled sandbags are useful for redirecting storm water and debris away from home and property. They are effective when stacked in a pyramid formation to act as a temporary wall. Gravel bags are similar to sand bags except they are made of burlap and filled with small rocks. Gravel bags are useful for erosion preventions when placed on the face of a slope, as the storm water will pass through the bag while trapping the sediment behind it.

KRC Rock is pleased to be a resource to the residents of San Diego County for all natural stone solutions for protection against fire and post-fire hazards. For more information visit the County of San Diego website for specific zoning requirements and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more tips and do-it-yourself solutions.

FYI: KRC Rock has D.I.Y. Dry Stack Retaining Walls

Natural stone walls and barriers date back hundreds of years, and have been used to defend against everything from enemy invasions and floods and fires to wild animals and neighbors. Although you may not need to defend your landscaping from an enemy hoard, you may need to defend it against dangerous floods and erosion. KRC Rock is prepared to help you build your own dry stack stone retaining wall to reduce soil erosion, stop polluted runoff, and create a beautifully primal stone accent to your garden landscape. Dry stack retaining walls are mortar-less, easy to build and allow for natural, slow drainage. If your house is built near or on a slope, a stone retaining wall can help defend against flooding and precious soil erosion.

Use these steps to build your own dry stack stone wall:

1. Check local codes before you begin digging (you may need a permit), although often you will not be bothered if you keep the retaining wall 3’ high or less.

2. The benefit of stone retaining walls is that they are mortar-less and that your “drainage system” comes built-in: water will usually seep through the cracks between the stones. Another advantage in building dry stack walls is that you do not have to sink a “footing” as you do when using concrete or stone and mortar.

3. Select stones that have at least two sides that are flat. The heavier the stones, the more stability you’ll have.

4. Plot out where the retaining wall will sit at the bottom of the slope, using stakes and string for a straight terrace, a garden hose for a curved one.

5. Dig a trench about 8”-10” deep, so that the first course of stone is fully or mostly submerged.

6. To calculate the necessary width of the trench, just remember the base of the retaining wall should be half the wall’s height. Angle the trench so that it inclines back slightly into the slope (2” for every 1’ of terrace height) – this will provide greater stability.

7. When you’ve almost penetrated down to the required depth, use a skimming motion to remove the remaining soil.

8. Terraces of natural stone are laid in “courses,” i.e., a horizontal row at a time. The first course of stones will consist of your largest, widest, longest, flattest stones (but save some for the final course, the “capstones”). Take the time to fit them as closely together as possible.

9. In terms of the height of the first course of stones and the following courses, you have two choices. If you’re aiming for a look of uniform rows, choose stones of the same height when laying a particular course. The other option is a more random look, in which you play each course by ear, using filler stones wherever necessary to make up for a difference in heights.

10. Check to ensure that the stones run level left to right. But because you’ve built a slight backwards slope into the trench’s base, your stones will slope down slightly from front to back. After completing this first course backfill with some of your excavated soil and any stones too small to use for building the retaining wall, and tamp it down.

11. In laying the next course of stones and those that follow, avoid lining up the joints over the joints of the course underneath. Again, backfill and tamp down after completing the course. As you place each stone, check that there’s as little wobble as possible. To counteract any wobbling, you may have to use small, flat rocks as “shims.” Use a mason's hammer to knick off stone fragments so as to achieve a better fit where possible.

13. Continue in the same manner with the third course and succeeding courses. By the time your terrace is half its planned height, you should start incorporating what are known as “deadmen.” The term refers to long stones laid perpendicularly across the wall, rather than parallel to all the other stones. Deadmen stones tie the retaining wall into the slope.

14. A hole is first dug into the slope to incorporate a deadman. Then one end of the deadman is set on the terrace, and the other end placed into the hole you’ve just created in the slope. A good rule of thumb is to provide at least one deadman per 16 square feet of exposed wall face.

15. When you’ve almost reached the desired height for your terrace, it’s time to place the capstones on top. Capstones serve both to help hold the stones under them in place and to provide a finished look to the retaining wall.

For more D.I.Y tips be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter or visit us online at www.KRCRock.com !

KRC Rock Presents…

 “Romancing the Stone”

Featuring: Bitterroot Stone

At KRC Rock we are passionate about our products and believe that each of our stones have a unique story to tell. Utilizing natural stone forged from the earth itself adds a primal beauty to your home and landscape that can be as unique as a fingerprint. Knowing the type of rock, its origin and the process by which it has entered your landscaping or countertops is an amazing story that goes beyond the name on the label. 

This month KRC Rock presents…Bitterroot Stone from Montana 

Hailing from the great North-West United States, Bitterroot is a hard, natural stone that has proven suitable for a variety of applications. Each individual piece of Bitterroot stone carries unique characteristics along is surface that if they could speak, would whisper about a history long ago. With base grays infused gold, tan, or light green splashes, this stone works well with many different color schemes. Fern-like dendrites elegantly sprawl across the surface of the Bitterroot stone giving it a warm, rustic look–perfect for both interior and exterior veneer applications.

KRC Rock's Rock Star of the Month

KRC Rock is proud of all our employees that work hard to make us the industry leader in customer service and product support. Each month, we will highlight one of our “Rock Stars” via our social communities to give you a glimpse into our KRC Rock family.

October Rock Star- Noe Lugo

Noe is our full-time cashier and customer service representative at KRC Rock San Marcos. Mastering the KRC Rock product line, Noe is a knowledgeable natural stone expert who continues to learn more about his trade. His large customer base continually relies on his exceptional customer service and product knowledge. As the face and front line of KRC Rock, Noe’s genuine enthusiasm about the natural stone industry shows on his big smile and positive outlook while on the job. KRC Rock is truly lucky to have such a stellar “Rock Star.”

KRC Rock is D-Fence against Soil Erosion!

Decorative, protective and sustainable…retaining walls are an important landscaping feature that usually is upstaged by the beautiful plants and flowers for which they help provide growing areas.

This month KRC Rock is bringing retaining walls and the importance of erosion prevention into the limelight with a crusade to help homeowners do-it-themselves through natural stone solutions.

From building simple garden planters to safeguarding your home from floods and mudslides, a retaining wall can be a decorative and practical addition to your landscaping. Large or small, stone or block, KRC Rock is prepared with the materials to help you defend against precious soil erosion and landscape destruction.

Learn how KRC Rock’s building products are not only beautiful but also sustainable. To preserve your natural soil and surrounding environments call 1-800-KRCRock or visit www.KRCRock.com.

Be sure to follow our blog and also our Facebook and Twitter pages for all the latest on KRC Rock.