Retaining Wall

   / Retaining Wall #1  
RobS

RobS

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Hoping rjp444us sees this...

I plan on putting a retaining wall in to step down from our concrete driveway to a level spot for our camper. It should be pretty straightforward, about 50 feet in length tapering from zero to about 2 feet of height. I will use concrete retaining wall blocks (the decorative ones).

The only difficulty I can foresee is that I want the top of the wall to end up right at the edge of the existing concrete with some sort of cap course level with, and adjacent to, the concrete. I can envision doing all the math and layout to make it happen but are there real world variations I need to take into account? Drainage concerns with rain water coming off the concrete going behind the wall? Am I making too big a deal out of this?

Thanks for any and all help /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
   / Retaining Wall #2  
For a differential height of only 2', this one should be a gimmie! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Good Luck,

Yooper Dave
 
   / Retaining Wall #3  
I am getting ready to start a similar project around my pool. Differences include length (~ 180 ft), shape (curved) and distance from concrete decking (4-5 ft). Everything I have read says to place a 4"-6" layer of crushed stone as a base and have the 1st course under grade. The blocks I've seen I think are about 6" high (not sure about the capstone). So, at your deepest point (2 ft) you would have 5 courses of block. The depth of the trench at this point as measured from the surface of the driveway - 24" + 6" (subgrade course of block) + ? " (thickness of the cap) + 4" or 6" (crushed stone) = 34" - 36" plus the thickness of the capstone. These decorative stone walls have some taper as you build them up so don't forget to take this into account as you excavate. I.E., the base course will be some distance away from the edge of the concrete driveway to allow the top course to abut against the concrete edge. There is literature available for the some block products that will help in this calculation. Finally, the literature does suggest perforated drain pipe covered with gravel. Don't know how you would work this into your design or if you will get enough water draining between the driveway and the wall to even need it.

I don't know if any of this is helpful or not. I'm just recounting my understanding of the process, not from experience. Would certainly like to hear from others who have actually done such a project and can make corrections where i've erred.

Good luck,

Bruce
 
   / Retaining Wall #4  
Firet thing is can you post a picture just so I know what you are working with. This does sound very stright forward. Couple things you might want to consider is is the drive way sloped tward the wall this is very important? If it is you are going to have to take this in account when doing drainage just some diffrent tricks. Second thing is the driveway sloped on a left to right axes I realy need to see a picture so I can lead you in the right direction thanks.
 
   / Retaining Wall #5  
I've been "Planting" the 30lb decorative retaining wall stone around my place in different areas since 1998.
1800 so far. These are the wedge shaped blocks, 4" high,8" deep,11 5/8" long. Comes in two colors- Tan & Grey.
They have Keys- Fingers on the back/ bottom edge to keep them from being pushed out from any "surge" from the back side of the wall. The keys provide the set-back needed.
The advantage of being "Motarless" was a selling point to me,and came in very handy when I was building the 1'st wall. Start at your lowest point and work out from there! Had to remove all that I had planted and start over.
Other than some creative placing, cutting or breaking by chipping some in half, the other 4 walls have worked out really well.
The water behind the wall seeps out through the block joints, so I had no need for a drain pipe behind the wall.
The block manufacturer literature claims a maximum of 8', but I have no need for any more than 4' 4".
HTH....Lloyd
 
   / Retaining Wall
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Thanks for the help everyone. I'll take a picture this weekend. I suspect this will be fairly straightforward but I'm always a little apprehensive when I start something I've never done before. The whole thing would probably be much easier if I just planned a narrow planting bed between the concrete and the wall, and that's not necessarily out of the question.

Thanks again /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
   / Retaining Wall #7  
We just did 2 retaining walls at our new house and had no clue what we were doing, whatsoever. We went 8 courses high (pretty much the max you can do with the smaller blocks) for about 18' on one wall and about 22' on the other one. It is very very very (did I say very?) important to get that first course level. Dig a couple of inches lower than you need to and fill in with paver sand - that makes leveling a LOT easier. If you make sure you have left to right and front to back levelness, not only within each stone but with its neighboring stones, the next courses are a piece of cake. Get a long level that you can run across 3 stones at a time, and get a little one for each individual stone. And I highly recommend the "mud gloves", the ones with the rubber coating on them for carting around these stones. They don't tear like leather and cloth will, and after 9,000 lb of stone that we moved we were sure grateful for them!
 
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