[Everyone] Retaining wall failure

[R.C. Rodman]

We write to express our dismay over the manner in which the issue having to
do with the retaining wall for units 400, 402, 404, and 406 is being
handled.

The work Ron has undertaken was in fact begun several days ago. Only today
after Rosamond expressed concern about and a desire to access our
downstairs has communication about this matter been initiated.

We take issue not only with the way matter has been handled by Ron but also
with Dave’s response.

First, respect, courtesy, and neighborliness should have prompted Ron to
communicate with immediate neighbors and then also the whole of the HOA
about his observations and recommendations. There was no consultation, no
communication—at least not with us—about the matter. The time to consult is
at the beginning, not when one owner decides to proceed. If the Baggetts
wish to undertake this work limited to their own property, they should
communicate directly how it will affect the rest of us.

Second, the HOA—the collective--should make the decision about what should
be done and who should do it. Professionals—licensed and insured,
etc—should be consulted and hired by the HOA to do the work. The
possibility of problems arising from such work is high. We should make of
the job a contractual arrangement, with all the usual expectations in re:
due diligence, responsibilities, and liabilities.

It makes little sense to have matter like this be done by one unit. There
has been in our view too little collective planning at Chelsea Place. We
still seem to think allowing any owner to go his or her own way is smart.
It is not—not for an HOA. But if even CP can handle the challenge of
carpenter bees and a few other issues jointly we do not understand why a
matter like the retaining wall would not also be handled smartly and
collectively and with professionals who are liable to us.

We appreciate Ron’s notice of the problem. And we respect his taking
initiative to address the problem (at least as it presses upon his home).
But we find in this problem another instance of the failure of CP owners to
operate by procedure and policy and normal courtesies.

Rosamond & Vincent

On Sun, Mar 29, 2026 at 3:50 PM David Weiner via Everyone <
everyone at chelseaplacedecatur.com> wrote:

> Ron,
>
> Thanks for the run down.  Considering what you’ve said about the one wall,
> I’m surprised that it’s last this long.  I suspect that it dates from the
> original construction, which puts it a little over 40 years old.
>
> If you’re willing to do the work, would you put together an estimate of
> the cost of materials to rebuild/replace that retaining wall, and do it
> correctly?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dave
>
> > On Mar 29, 2026, at 15:44, Ronald Baggett via Everyone <
> everyone at chelseaplacedecatur.com> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Everyone,
> > As we discussed previously at the HOA meeting the wood timber retaining
> wall at the street facing corner of our building had started to fail.
> After the last heavy rains the top of the wall had shifted about 3 inches
> forward.
> > As our HVAC unit was in the path of the wall should it fall forward, I
> dug out behind the wall to see if it could be positioned back in place and
> reinforced.   What I found was the wall had no drainage system as it should
> have had to prevent water damage to the timbers.  There was also only one
> token dead head support instead of the 3 or 4 a wall that size should
> have.  The bottom two layers of the wall were water logged, rotted and not
> usable.
> > I have built many retaining walls and  expect it would take me 2-3 weeks
> to complete. Half of that time would be preparing the area and half
> building the wall.
> > A thin dry stack stone wall like Sara has beside her home would make the
> most sense.  The cost is similar to the treated timbers or tacky cement
> blocks the big box stores carry ( around $200 more). The big difference is
> the dry stack wall is much more labor intensive.  With a proper drainage
> and water mitigation system a dry stack wall will last indefinitely.
> > I think a more important issue is if the other timber retaining walls
> were installed the same way we can expect them to fail sooner than later.
> With a proper drainage system you can get 50 or more years out of treated
> timber retaining walls.  Without a drainage system you can see failure as
> soon as 5 years.  After taking a closer look at the other retaining  walls
> you can already see several areas where the walls have already failed and
> are getting shoved out of position.  I know there are companies that repair
> and restore timber retaining walls. I don’t know how the cost compares to
> replacement or if these retaining walls can be saved with the way they were
> originally installed.
> > One step we can take to relieve pressure on the walls is run drainage
> pipes from our downspouts over the top of the walls so that water has
> somewhere to go other than behind the walls.
> > Ron
> >
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > https://chelseaplacedecatur.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/everyone
>
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