geotech report · 132003.220660.5

4.3.3 Vegetation
The yard areas within the site contained numerous trees (maximum height about 20m). A neighbouring tree
covered slope to the west of the site extended down from the road above to the existing house within the
site. Tree covered yard areas and bushland extend beyond the eastern and northern site boundaries. The
neighbouring trees were typically a maximum of about 20m height.

Trees with curved bases were noted on the steeper hillsides within and neighbouring the site to the north
and east (see Plate 4).




        Plate 4: Curved tree bases over steeper section of slope (north-eastern corner of the site)



4.3.4 Buildings and Other Structures
The site was occupied by a two and three level rendered concrete block house that has been constructed on
building platforms cut into the hillside and suspended over the slope. The house walls on the upslope
(western) side of the house appeared to support the cut faces.

In the yard areas, the cut areas are supported by timber log and stacked boulder retaining walls (0.2m to
0.5m height). A rendered retaining wall (maximum height about 2.8m) extended south from the
south-western corner of the house (the garage area) and the yard area above slopes down to the south at
25o. Rendered retaining walls (0.9m to 2.2m height) supported the cuts on northern and western sides of the
yard area to the north of the house and supported a short section of the eastern end of this yard area. There
were no obvious signs of retaining wall instability such as cracking, leaning sections, bulging wall faces etc of
the rendered retaining walls or stacked boulder walls. The landscape timber log retaining walls were in



32032URrpt                                          7