TERRACES AND BANKSTERRACES AND BANKS It is undoubtedly a fact
that a break in grade adds interest to
what might otherwise be a monotonous space.
A terrace with a sloping bank or retaining
wall is often a great asset to the appearance
of the house. But such things must be used
with care. So often one sees a terrace
only a foot high run across the front of
a house. This is usually unsatisfactory
unless the house is set far back from the
street. The terrace must never be nearly
so wide as what remains of the lawn. Otherwise
it appears to divide the space in two,
making it look much smaller. Should it
be necessary to bring the grade up to the
foundation, and the distance from the house
to the sidewalk is less than 6o feet, a
smooth or slightly concave slope without
a marked break is best. If the distance
is greater, a definite terrace with a sharply
cut bank or a low retaining wall is permissible,
often desirable. A house should appear
as close to the ground as possible. The
accompanying sketches show several possible
solutions of this problem. In building
terraces, and in fact all sloping banks,
it is well to remember that a slope of
more than one foot rise to z feet run is
hard to maintain, and that a slope more
than 4 feet long is difficult to keep mowed.
Better plan to have it covered with shrubs
or vines; or use a wall when the height
is too great. Steep slopes cannot always
be avoided, however. They can be held in
place by riprap made of rocks or logs,
if they are not steeper than S feet rise
to one foot run, but this is expensive
and should not be done unless necessary. next
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