Construct retaining wall / slope stabilization cost-effectively

If it is to be a wall, I would probably prefer the smaller wall plus a reinforced slope. This makes the property visually fade out more harmoniously and also offers the possibility of planting insect-friendly, which certainly also looks better visually. Whether this can be achieved with these dimensions so that you lose only a little property, I do not know. 80cm is still quite a bit, especially if it is to be fairly steep.

So, I think the decision is made. I will build the wall half high and then catch the difference with a planted slope. Now I only have the following question regarding the concrete formwork blocks.

Do I take the 17.5 cm concrete formwork blocks and reinforce them up to a height of 1.35 meters, or do I go for the 36.5 cm blocks and build them up to 1.30 meters without reinforcement? The 17.5 cm block will cost me about 22 euros per m², the 36.5 cm about 36 euros per m². The base would be 40 m² of wall, so about 880 euros for the 17.5 cm and 1,440 euros for the 36.5 cm. So there would be a difference of around 440 euros.

EDIT: The concrete fill volume for the 17.5 cm is about 0.11 m³ per block and for the 36.5 cm about 0.24 m³.

Now the question is how it works out mathematically with reinforcement and the required amount of concrete. Here I just don’t know where I would stand price-wise.

What do you think is the better option, also considering the labor involved in applying the reinforcement as well as the workload due to heavier blocks and the greater amount of concrete needed.

Keep in mind that the instructions probably assume that you have free working space on at least the non-backfilled side.

How much concrete you need will be calculated by your building material supplier. Steel would be thrown in there by a few bars each. I would have pulled them up. So that you can pull the surface.

Keep in mind that the instructions probably assume that you have free working space at least on the non-backfilled side.

That should not be an issue that the adjacent property may be used as a work area.

Your building materials dealer will calculate how much concrete you need. For steel, you’d just throw in a few rods. I would have raised them up. To create a level surface.

So you mean basically that you can fill up at ground level without having a slope?

I’m just uncertain about the topic. I just talked independently with two other people and both said if I don’t build a wall and have a slope with a 60-degree angle taking up only 60 cm of the property, I should consider whether it’s worth it since I want to plant a privacy hedge anyway and I would have to set it back a bit from the boundary so I can still easily trim it from behind.

But I would definitely have to renew the existing fence and replace it with something solid, and if I Google, for example, a welded-wire fence, I would be at the same cost as with a wall. The cheapest would be privacy panels made of wood to simply create a boundary.

Regardless of everything that has been written so far...
How would you decide if it were your property and you had to make the decision? The only thing that definitely has to be done is to level the property and remove the fir trees.

I’m somehow at a loss :-(

Well, how would I decide. If I still had 500 sqm of land, I wouldn't care about the slope... and it would be stress-free. But if you only have 150 sqm of lawn left, every bit of extra space is welcome! That's how it was for us! Everything properly mixed! And also better for mowing