I need (want) to build a retaining wall to expand my yard a little bit and to protect from erosion. Here’s the tricky part. The hill is fairly steep, 45 degrees. It also has big variations over the course of where the wall will go, making establishing a level starting point very, very difficult. The soil is very soft and sandy. To top it all off, the topology and steep slope make getting equipment to the site a veritable impossibility. Oh yeah, one more thing. I’d iek to make the wall a semi-circle. At it’s highest point the wall will be about 4′ in the middle and drop to 2′ toward the ends. The length of the semi-circle will be about 60′ overall. Any ideas?
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Ideas?
Money will solve all your problems
- with the wall anyway
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are." --Marcus Aurelius
First of all, discuss it with your neighbors. Retaining wall work has the potential to affect their property, and they're less likely to be on your side if that happens as a surprise. Likewise, they may want to do something that would affect you, and doing it as a joint project could be advantageous to both.
-- J.S.
Not enough info. How far will this wall extend? Will the ground be level/ almost? Is the difficulty of estblishing a level wall line because of the uneven footing terrain or the terrain from where the extension begins? Why is the wall height tappering? Upper or lower terrain motivated?
Sounds to me like the success will be determined by how much you fight or embrace what you have. The terrain slopes - Great! That means all the heavy stuff you need to carry down to the site will roll themselves. Only the empty mortar bags and off cuts of lumber will have to be carried up.
Do a search on what type of tie backs/ anchors you want/ are appropriate to use. Concider using an undulating curve (Kudos to Thomas Jefferson) for the wall. Lots more structural stability.
4 ft max height?
look at the modular concrete blocks, can't remember names, usually locally produced. they interlock, no morter
if memory serves, (CRS), can go 4 ft high w/o emgineering.
footing is "easy".
there are many sizes, need to pick the right one.
http://www.pavestone.com/commercial/walls.html
bobl Volo Non Voleo Joe's cheat sheet
Edited 11/5/2002 8:47:28 AM ET by bobl
Edited 11/5/2002 8:51:50 AM ET by bobl
>look at the modular concrete blocks
Agree that this should be on your list to research. I've used Mesa blocks. It was carried by a local material supplier, not a box store, though the box's have their own brand. They have ways of connecting to the earth being retained, of shedding water, and of taking curves. And though the blocks can be heavy--mine were 75#; others are half that--you can at least carry them by hand if you have to.
What type of material were you thinking of using?
I prefer natural stone, but there are a lot of nice materials out there that are good looking, durable and easy for less experienced wall builders to use, including timber, which is a pretty simple material for retaining walls. (well, maybe not if it curves)
Here is an idea:
When you excavate for the wall, you are going to have a lot of left over material. Why not increase the height of the wall, throw the extra soils up above, and mellow out that steep grade. Maybe you could add come compost (or better material than the sand that is there now anyway) and turn the otherwise unusable area into a garden of some sort.
It sounds like a fun project.
Good Luck.