Dos and Don’ts of Building Retaining Walls

1. DO pick a material for which you can easily work.

Using a range of materials, from poured concrete and wide timbers to natural stones, even bricks, retaining walls can be built. We can even opt for designed blocks that are specifically built to construct retaining walls for DIY purposes; a locking flange along the bottom edge provides a stable attachment between rows. These blocks (available in smooth or textured faces in grey and earthy tones, such as these at The Home Depot) can be sold at almost every home improvement store and several garden centers as well.

2. At a small backward slope, DO stack blocks

A wall which leans into the soil it retains is less likely than a plain-old vertical wall to be pushed outward by soil pressure. For each one-foot rise, design and construct your retaining wall to slope at a minimum rate of one inch. Fortunately, working with retaining wall blocks makes achieving this “step-back” construction extremely simple! The locking flange on each block’s bottom edge directs it to click slightly behind the lower block into place, preventing the top blocks from being forced outwards.

3. DO start on a good foundation

Your holding wall is only going to be as solid as its support structure. A trench filled with three inches of crushed rock will help prevent the wall from moving and settling for a stacked-block retaining wall that is not higher than four feet. The exact depths of the trench depend on the height of the wall proposed but you should always follow one rule i.e., whenever you dig a trench it should be eighth of the wall eight plus three inches.

4. DO backfill accurately

When the drainpipe is in place, either sand or pea gravel can backfill the rest of the space behind the blocks, allowing the water to filter through the drainpipe at the base of the wall. For best performance, after laying each course of blocks, backfill a few inches of the material and use a hand tamper to compact the material. You also need to ensure that it is packed tightly by tamping the backfill every six inches or so, which will provide additional help from the weight of the soil behind the wall.

5. If you can build several tiered walls, DON’T opt for a single tall wall.

Although professionals should build walls taller than four feet, by constructing two or more shorter “tiered” retaining walls as opposed to a single tall wall, you might be able to DIY a solution for a tall slope. Visual texture contributes to a series of short walls, and each individual wall can carry less soil weight, meaning that they are less likely to fall. Place the higher wall behind the lower wall twice as far as the height of the lower wall while constructing a series of retaining walls in Perth. It prevents the higher one from developing pressure on the lower one.

6. DON’T forget to make drainage space.

The most popular enemy of retaining walls is groundwater. The swell and place puts intense pressure on the backside of the wall as it soaks clay type soils. So when you are constructing the retaining wall in perth, it is best to make drainage arrangements. Incorporating the squashed stone space behind the blocks and then adding a flexible perforated drain pipe would help bring groundwater to the end of the wall where it can drain away harmlessly.

Therefore I hope if this do’s and don’ts are followed correctly then you will have a retaining wall that will withstand the time test.