Okay, so, “keel dancing sleeper timber” – sounds like a weird yoga pose, right? It’s actually about building a small retaining wall in my backyard. I’ve got this annoying slope that keeps eroding, and I wanted to terrace it a bit to make it more usable, and frankly, to stop my topsoil from washing away every time it rains.

First, I grabbed my shovel and started digging. The plan was to create a level base for the timbers. I’m not gonna lie, this part was a workout. I hit a few rocks, cursed a little (okay, a lot), and kept digging until I had a reasonably flat trench, about 6 inches deep and wide enough for the timbers.

Next, I went to the local hardware store and picked up some landscape timbers. I opted for the pressure-treated kind, hoping they’ll last longer against the elements. I also got some landscape fabric and gravel – these are super important for drainage, otherwise, the whole thing can get waterlogged and rot.

• Unrolled the landscape fabric along the bottom of the trench. This is to stop weeds from growing up through the timbers and to help with drainage.
• Poured a layer of gravel on top of the fabric. Maybe 3-4 inches deep. This gives the water somewhere to go.
• Placed the first timber on top of the gravel. This is the “sleeper” – it’s the base of the whole thing. I used a level to make sure it was, well, level. This is super important, or the whole wall will be wonky.

Now the “keel dancing” part – kinda. It did not literally mean to dance. I had to adjust the first timber, wiggling it back and forth, adding or removing gravel underneath until it was perfectly level. It felt a bit like I was doing some weird dance to get it just * was about setting a strong foundation.

After I got the first timber in place, I started on the second layer. I staggered the joints, like bricklaying, for extra strength. And I secured each timber to the one below it with some long landscaping spikes. I hammered those in at an angle, so they wouldn’t pull out easily.

I repeated this process, laying timber, checking for level, driving in spikes, until I had a wall that was about three timbers high. That seemed like enough for my little slope.

Finally,I do backfilling work,I backfilled behind the wall with more gravel and then soil. The gravel helps with drainage, and the soil, well, that’s where I’ll plant stuff.

The Finished Product

It’s not perfect, but it’s sturdy, and it looks a heck of a lot better than the eroding slope I had before. Plus, I did it myself, which is always satisfying. My plants now can live on the setting wall. It’s a pretty good feeling, taking a pile of wood and turning it into something useful… and keeping my yard from sliding away!