My retaining wall project.

[dodge man]

Under the “Tractors and Wood” thread I posted how I helped a buddy load some power poles that were cedar and he had them milled into lumber. He gave me a few boards and I used them to build a retaining wall. This area had a shed on it and was a pretty fancy kennel that had deteriorated over the years and I tore done the small building years ago. The block wall fell over a couple of years ago. I use the area as firewood storage now.

what it looked like when I started.

what it looked like after I got the old blocks dug out and some dirt layer back

The wall mostly built, I was able to anchor some brackets into the old concrete floor to hold the 4x4 posts.

The wall finished except I need some boards to finish the area to the right, I need three more 8 footers.

 

[Wakey]

I was trying to figure out what happened to the block wall. One row was leaning into the hill..

Are you trying to keep water off that slab as well?

 

[dodge man]

Actually the row you think is leaning into the hill is the bottom row and is leaning away, but I see what you mean, the pic does make it look like it’s leaning into the hill.

The block wall had mortar in the pockets but no rebar, it just tipped over. If you look past my new wall they have a poured retaining wall that is holding up well. Why they did this section in block I don’t know.

I would like to keep water off the slab but it’s not important. I realize my new wall will leak some water and maybe some dirt under it and the joints. This was just a cheap way for me to fix the problem.

 

[Citydude]

I tend to over analyze and then over build. With that, I would have put in screw in ground anchors and attached them to the posts.

 

[EddieWalker]

That's really nice looking dirt.

The reason retaining walls fail is the soil becomes saturated with water, then that water freezes and the frozen ground expands. It's very important to drain the water behind the wall with gravel and drain pipes. The wood also needs to be protected from moisture. Cedar has a natural resistance to rot, but it also loves to grow mold when it gets wet. Mold will eventually break down the wood if it is allowed to grow.

 

[dodge man]

I figure the wall may last 20 years or it may last 5. I could grade a lot of dirt out of the area and have no wall at all but then water woukd run across the pad. There did appear to be a washed river gravel along the base of the wall but it had silted in and mixed with dirt. The posts are anchored with brackets with concrete anchors and are pretty solid. At the highest point the dirt is about 18 inches high.

 

[Citydude]

I figure the wall may last 20 years or it may last 5. I could grade a lot of dirt out of the area and have no wall at all but then water woukd run across the pad. There did appear to be a washed river gravel along the base of the wall but it had silted in and mixed with dirt. The posts are anchored with brackets with concrete anchors and are pretty solid. At the highest point the dirt is about 18 inches high.

Oh, skip the anchors then. I thought the dirt looked higher.