A steep hillside limits the accessible area in a lawn. Terracing which hillside can turn unusable space into a garden, water feature, seating area or alternative landscape element. Among the safest ways to produce the terrace is to utilize the cut-and-fill process and retain the dirt with landscape timbers. Landscape timbers are 8 feet long, which makes building fast. Though they are heavy, landscape timbers can be lifted and moved by 2 individuals.
Dig a 6-inch-deep trench at the base of the slope. Make the trench a multiple of 8 feet if possible. Level the base of the trench, and streamlined it with a hand tamper. Drill holes at the middle and about a foot from the end of each timber, and put timbers from the trench. Check and level the timbers. Drive 18-inch-long rebar through the holes and into the ground.
Dig a trench at each end of their first trench for the surfaces of the deck. Make the underside of these trenches level with the initial trench. Stop digging when the thickness of the trenches is just 1 inch deeper than the finished height of your planned terrace. Cut timbers to match into the side trenches. Drill holes through the ends of each timber, and place them in the trenches. Pound rebar to the holes to hold the timbers in place.
Cut a landscape timber in half. Start with this half-length timber, and lay the next row of timbers on top of the first course. Line that the timbers up, and fasten them to the decrease row with spikes. Move dirt from the rear of the deck to the front until the soil is level. Fill with additional dirt if necessary. Rake the soil smooth.
Put another class of timbers at the top, offsetting joints and spiking them to the lower course. Level the dirt in the deck. Repeat until the terrace wall is 18 to 24 inches high.
Repeat the steps to add another terrace above the first. Continuous terraces can be constructed up the whole hill, beginning each one at the rear of the terrace below.