Four days ago, I pointed out that not every architect is up to the job, given that this slope eroding into mud just weeks after being “completed.”

I gave you a closeup, too, and wondered when things were going to get worse.

Well, they got worse! Note how the muck is covered with stones now.

Here, a close-up will help:

And if you’re wondering where all this stuff is coming from, well, it seems to be coming from under the house!

How all the water that could do this got under the deck, I don’t know, but this can hardly be good. It’s not just these guys. Look at this million+ dollar duplex a few hundred metres downhill and across the road:

Pretty nice, huh! Well, yes, but maybe you want to take the unit on the left, not the one on the right. Have a look at the foundation here:

We’re talking about a new build here, with new concrete, a new slab, new walls: the works. The works, however, as you can see, includes under-floor seepage, and a crack in the basement floor! Nice touch. Not to be outdone, the guys on the next street down have their own take on building on a slope. Again, take a peek:

See that? The rocks that are supposed to stabilize this fragile slope are at the top of it, instead of at the bottom, where they might have helped to anchor it. But, don’t worry. They’ll be down there soon. The neighbours, you know the ones, could say a thing or two about that, I bet:

But, we shouldn’t be too hard on these guys. The most expensive new house on this stretch shows the same understanding of water and gravity. Have a look-see:

See that? They start with a big rock wall to hold up the front gravel “lawn”, then lay some more gravel on top of the slope below, then hold all that gravel against gravity, forever, with a strip of plastic lawn edging, so they can grow squash in some soil they had brought in, way down there, with a few thousand dollars of stairway to access the plantation! How long do you think that gravel is going to stay there? I mean, especially, when we have a gander just to the right and see what the deer have been up to while we’ve been admiring the view.

They’ve been doing what deer do! Tilling up that slope to get at those tasty cedars. The cedars are dead now, and the slope is ripe for a washout. It is amazing what money can buy. I think there should be a course for all people who wish to move to the Okanagan and build a palace. All might not pass. But that shouldn’t be a surprise. All don’t.