Case Studies

Cowboy Heaven, Big Sky, MT

In the summer of 2006 the phone rang at Recon Wall Systems with the architectural firm of Oswald & Murray Co. inquiring about the capabilities of the Recon System. O&M was in the middle of a large scale residential project in the Moonlight Basin Resort Community in Big Sky, MT. The building foundation was in and the walls were going up. On the downhill side of the property, and just 20 feet off the side of the new home was a 30 foot drop off down to a road below. The slope needed to be stabilized for the ski trail that was to run alongside of the home. In addition, covenants in the development precluded the use of “non-natural” building materials visible on the exterior.

Recon went to work, forging a two prong strategy. First, meetings on site were scheduled with the owner, the owner’s interior design consultant, the landscape architect and the developer. Samples of the Recon block were presented, along with staining samples, to demonstrate both the natural stone texture and rich stone colors that are a part of the Recon product. The team approved the choice of Recon and waived the covenant restriction.

Second, Recon brought in Womack & Associates to collaborate on a design. Given the height of the wall (25+ feet), geogrid reinforcement was a necessity. However, the length of the grids would require excavation dangerously close to the bottom of the existing foundation of the home.

To avoid excavation near the base of the foundation, the design ultimately called for a series of H Piles that extended to about half the final height of the main wall. The Recon block was attached to the H Piles with a pipe and a geogrid wrap. As the wall reached an elevation above the H Piles, traditional geogrids were used stretching back to the house, but at a grade that was well above the foundation. Problems solved! Happy skiing for the home owner!