I am an architect and we have a client that is planning to do some major landscaping to his yard. He would like to consider shotcrete to create stone-type walls and outcroppings. Can you advise us on this? Would this be an appropriate application? Should he also just consider having a landscape company install boulders in lieu of a shotcrete-type landscape?

Shotcrete placement for a concrete wall gives the owner the advantages of concrete durability and the appearance of rock. Shotcrete has been used extensively for cre­­ating false rock faces for zoos, water parks, highways, and retaining walls. However, because shotcrete placement and carving to look like natural rock requires quite a bit of labor, the costs to do so may be more extensive than simply placing boulders.