Retaining wall and leveling project:

[LD1]

Retaining wall blocks really arent that expensive and work very well as long as you follow the guidelines. Like the fabric every other layer, and only go as high as they reccomend. But...(it could be decieving)...it dont look like you need much height. Maybe 2' or so at the most.

The cheap brick I like to use are about $1 per block with tax. And they are 3.5" x 12". So a 5 block high wall, 40' long would only require about $200 worth of block, and a few bucks for fabric.

If you go the premade block route, just be sure to pay extra special attention to bedding and making the first row perfectally level. After that, its just stacking block up.

 

[Tollster]

Premade: try to get all the black at the same time as there are subtle differences in batch colors that don't look well next to one another. If you get all at the same time, you can mix them all in the wall as you build.

 

[jonnyc1999]

I have a professionally built dry stack retaining wall behind my house, and have been working on building a similar wall on the opposite side of my driveway. It is very simple to do with the dry stack blocks, which for the anchor diamond pro ( professional) run around $6 each for 8"x16". I think the homeowner blocks are ~$5 each but are only 6" tall.

With most of the dry stack blocks, drainage and the first layer is important, but creates an awesome finished product. First, a trench roughly a foot is dug down, and filled halfway with compacted base. then the first layer is laid down and perfectly leveled. If going higher than 4 blocks or if cars are going to be parked next to the wall, geofabric is laid down every two layers. After that, its basically stacking and filling with more base material.

 

[kco]

I think you should not build with wood since it will need to be replaced in 20 or 30 years (even if it is treated). I replaced one (very poorly built) wood wall at our first house in the mid 70's with a properly designed 4' to 5' reinforced concrete wall.

Our present house had a treated timber wall ranging from 1' to 7' high. It was built in 1981 and it had "deadmen" to make it as sturdy as possible. In 2009 we shored it up with rocks taken from a new driveway we built to reduce the grade of the old one. In the spring of 2010 it was obvious that was not going to work so we removed those rocks and built a proper wall with rocks we harvested from the property. In the spring of 2011 we finished the remaining wall that varies from about 4.5' to 1' as it was also starting to collapse. I have one more section of 1.5' wall bordering the driveway(in the foreground of the last photo) by the garage which needs to replaced. I'll likely use blocks for that.

We are in an area of old moraines and glacial till and it is quite easy to find large rocks.

Here are some photos showing the old, temporarily shored-up wall, gathering rocks, and the finished walls:

 

[patrick_g]

I have built some retaining walls and second the warning to get first course level. More is needed than just level though. You need to dig out more than you think necessary and put in gravel, tamping/compacting in lifts to not exceed 3-4 inches. Level this and lay your first course so half a block is below original grade (dirt height, not grass. This is more expense and work but... it will greatly reduce the odds of differential settling over time which will make the job look much worse than "rustic."

I also have cast concrete with rebar retaining walls that are 12 inches thick and have perforated drain lines at the mid level and bottoms to alleviate hydrostatic pressure problems. The drains run downhill and drain to daylight just above a backyard pond. These retaining walls have developed cracks but the cracks are cosmetic and not spreading due to considerable rebar. Wall height is over 12 ft and slopes to about 6 ft.

One way to get a better look is to line the forms with rock (I favor a little glue to hold the rocks to the forms (just a tiny dot of glue) and then when you pour the wall and remove the forms it looks like you have a natural rock wall.


Pat

 

[radioman]

first - very nice location!
second - what do you have available in your area? what can you move it with? timeline? 1 month? 3 years?
third- do you want to incorporate a walk out dock into your plans?

If it was my place therre- I'd source out a large amount of large boulders on my land or rocks from local stone quarry. If the stones were about half size of a car or larger, I'd hire out a excavator to place the rocks for you. Normally I would do it myself, but its right next to the water and if anything happens, its not on me if it tips into the water. I'd start placing rocks/stones right in the water edge and dry stack them up till its at your desired height. This would maximize your space. In my opinion using the largest stones/rocks you can get will allow you to just place it where you want it without much prep and it won't move since its so heavy. After the wall is done, I'd would take my time to bring in dirt/clay what have you locally cheap and start filling in after putting fabric inside the walls to stop dirt from leeching out.

If you insist on doing all the work yourself, then use smaller rocks a tractor can move and get a good base at least a couple foot down at the water edge , not in water.

 

[patrick_g]

Rocks may settle some due to their weight. To avoid that put down small gravel and "bed" the bolders in it to get more contact between bolder and soil (small gravel fills the "interstices."

Pat

 

[Tollster]

I have built some retaining walls and second the warning to get first course level. More is needed than just level though. You need to dig out more than you think necessary and put in gravel, tamping/compacting in lifts to not exceed 3-4 inches. Level this and lay your first course so half a block is below original grade (dirt height, not grass. This is more expense and work but... it will greatly reduce the odds of differential settling over time which will make the job look much worse than "rustic."

I also have cast concrete with rebar retaining walls that are 12 inches thick and have perforated drain lines at the mid level and bottoms to alleviate hydrostatic pressure problems. The drains run downhill and drain to daylight just above a backyard pond. These retaining walls have developed cracks but the cracks are cosmetic and not spreading due to considerable rebar. Wall height is over 12 ft and slopes to about 6 ft.

One way to get a better look is to line the forms with rock (I favor a little glue to hold the rocks to the forms (just a tiny dot of glue) and then when you pour the wall and remove the forms it looks like you have a natural rock wall.


Pat

You glue them to the inside of the forms prior to pouring? Are they large flats or boulders that stretch the width of the form? Sounds interesting, my BIL has a few schwing pumpers and has a lot of forms for his business.

 

[lstinthot]

I built a wall that was about 100' long and up to 4' high above grade. I ended up burying the first course under ground. Like said here, you want to dig down enough to have a base of 57 rocks (rock put under concrete). I then put some crush and run/tamped and level. Then set first course. I put perforated pipe behind the wall and back filled with a few feet of 57 stones to help drain to the pipe. The pipe was sloped all the way out to the woods. We got a lot of rain run off from the neighbors house so I wanted to be sure the wall held. I never had an issue with it while I lived there. I can try to find some pics of the progress. I did use the blocks that stack on top of each other and step back an inch or so each course. Each block weighed about 80lbs a piece. I was a bit sore after that project.

 

[Kodthree]

Thanks for the compliments on the place...we are BEYOND blessed. How cool is it to be sitting with your feet up in your recliner, hot toddy in hand, book in the other, and a moose walks past the windows...basically eye to eye with you? Happened many times, and its fun. Anyway, thanks for the awesome pictures of your builds. Keep them coming!