Build a Wall!
May 14, 2013 -- Bay Head, N.J.
As long as kids have gone to the
beach they've built sand castles, and I suspect they always will. And for every
sand castle built most eventually end up with a wall of sand in front of them.
The tide always rises and every kid, seeing his prized creation threatened by
the oncoming waves, thinks the same thing: "Build a wall!"
In Bay Head, N.J. that simple
childhood instinct is alive and well, post-superstorm Sandy. A group of about
20 beachfront homeowners are, on their own nickel, building a "revetment wall."
It will sit on the beach between the ocean and their homes, a big bit of
industry that starts with digging down about 20 feet, then filling the hole
with 6,000 pound stones trucked in from nearby quarries. Those massive stones
are then covered with more sand. The idea is to break the wave action kicked up
by a storm and provide a last line of defense with a barrier that, the
homeowners hope, won't wash away.
(Picture: A drawing of a typical beach revetment wall, showing the large rocks below and above grade, the top-covering of sand, and the slope of the wall, which is designed to break the wave energy.)
There's pretty good evidence this
system can work. Bay Head built another revetment wall about 50 years ago and
even though it was covered in sand, invisible and mostly forgotten by local
residents when Sandy hit the homes standing behind this wall were mostly spared
during the storm. Hence the desire by those living just south of the old wall
to build a new one.
(Picture:
Once the revetment wall is built homeowners lose most of their water
views. But as one homeowner said "I prefer the view of my house still
being here after a storm.")
But the idea is not without
controversy. Twenty-foot rock walls buried beneath the sand are not natural
elements on a beach. And the wall won't stretch the length of the beach.
Someone's home will always be adjacent to where the wall ends, and therefore
subject to what the engineers call "end action" - an ominous term no matter how
you parse it. Oh, and those nickels the homeowners are spending themselves,
well, there will be plenty of them. This little wall is reported to cost $2.2
million, and there are only so many kids with buckets that big.
(Picture: Revetment walls are alot of work and money. This wall is reported to cost over $2 million.)
When I walk the beach in the early
morning I rarely see yesterday's sand castles still standing; it seems the
waves always win out. But for my money (and, of course, it's not my money) I say
let them build the walls. And let them try other ideas like beach
replenishment, planting dune grass, raising houses and whatever else they can
think of. The houses and people along the Jersey shore aren't leaving, so it
might be time for a few more walls.
Posted by Kevin O'Connor |
Categories: Jersey Shore Rebuilds 2013 |
Permalink |
Comments (0)
http://oldhousemyhouse.thisoldhouse.com/2013/07/build-a-wall.html
May 14, 2013 -- Bay Head, N.J.
As long as kids have gone to the
beach they've built sand castles, and I suspect they always will. And for every
sand castle built most eventually end up with a wall of sand in front of them.
The tide always rises and every kid, seeing his prized creation threatened by
the oncoming waves, thinks the same thing: "Build a wall!"
In Bay Head, N.J. that simple
childhood instinct is alive and well, post-superstorm Sandy. A group of about
20 beachfront homeowners are, on their own nickel, building a "revetment wall."
It will sit on the beach between the ocean and their homes, a big bit of
industry that starts with digging down about 20 feet, then filling the hole
with 6,000 pound stones trucked in from nearby quarries. Those massive stones
are then covered with more sand. The idea is to break the wave action kicked up
by a storm and provide a last line of defense with a barrier that, the
homeowners hope, won't wash away.
(Picture: A drawing of a typical beach revetment wall, showing the large rocks below and above grade, the top-covering of sand, and the slope of the wall, which is designed to break the wave energy.)
There's pretty good evidence this
system can work. Bay Head built another revetment wall about 50 years ago and
even though it was covered in sand, invisible and mostly forgotten by local
residents when Sandy hit the homes standing behind this wall were mostly spared
during the storm. Hence the desire by those living just south of the old wall
to build a new one.
(Picture:
Once the revetment wall is built homeowners lose most of their water
views. But as one homeowner said "I prefer the view of my house still
being here after a storm.")
But the idea is not without
controversy. Twenty-foot rock walls buried beneath the sand are not natural
elements on a beach. And the wall won't stretch the length of the beach.
Someone's home will always be adjacent to where the wall ends, and therefore
subject to what the engineers call "end action" - an ominous term no matter how
you parse it. Oh, and those nickels the homeowners are spending themselves,
well, there will be plenty of them. This little wall is reported to cost $2.2
million, and there are only so many kids with buckets that big.
(Picture: Revetment walls are alot of work and money. This wall is reported to cost over $2 million.)
When I walk the beach in the early
morning I rarely see yesterday's sand castles still standing; it seems the
waves always win out. But for my money (and, of course, it's not my money) I say
let them build the walls. And let them try other ideas like beach
replenishment, planting dune grass, raising houses and whatever else they can
think of. The houses and people along the Jersey shore aren't leaving, so it
might be time for a few more walls.
Posted by Kevin O'Connor |
Categories: Jersey Shore Rebuilds 2013 |
Permalink |
Comments (0)
http://oldhousemyhouse.thisoldhouse.com/2013/07/build-a-wall.html