Cement Bag Retaining Wall

quicksandfarmer · Sep 3, 2017

When it rains, most of the water doesn't sink into the ground, it flows over the ground until it hits a body of water, or it pools and sinks in slowly and evaporates. So if the area that is pooling is the lowest spot of your yard, water that is falling on your yard is flowing there. Setting aside the considerable challenges of building a waterproof wall, even if you were to do so it wouldn't solve your problem, water from your yard would still pool on your side of the wall. To prevent that, you need to either give the water somewhere else to go or keep it from pooling in the first place.

Plumber35 · Sep 3, 2017

That is exactly what happened on my neighbor's side. The hollow in my neighbor's yard was the lowest point in both yards - that is where the water used to accumulate during heavy rains, not at the property line. Since the hollow was filled with soil and is now higher than the area along the property line, water is flowing to the lowest point which is towards my neighbor's property line. Once his area accumulates a lot of water, the water then moves into my yard. My only solution if I wish to do so appears to make my area higher than his area so the water remains on his side.

Rara Avis · Sep 4, 2017

Plumber35 said:
That is exactly what happened on my neighbor's side. The hollow in my neighbor's yard was the lowest point in both yards - that is where the water used to accumulate during heavy rains, not at the property line. Since the hollow was filled with soil and is now higher than the area along the property line, water is flowing to the lowest point which is towards my neighbor's property line. Once his area accumulates a lot of water, the water then moves into my yard. My only solution if I wish to do so appears to make my area higher than his area so the water remains on his side.

You could help your neighbor dig a dry well on his property with french drain...

Plumber35 · Sep 4, 2017

Actually that is somewhat what he previously had; a large hollow that collected and retained the water in the middle of his yard. The solution at that time, and suggested by a contractor, would have to simply enlarge the hollow and have a pond - he did not want the standing water in his yard. So the hollow was filled and accumulated water now simply moves to the lowest point.

EddieWalker · Sep 5, 2017

Cement bag retaining walls are a cheap way to hold up dirt on a small area. They will crack and stuff will grow in the spaces between the bags. They last forever, but they will not keep water out or look pretty.

Mauser12 · Sep 12, 2017

How well do you know you neighbor? Property line issues can bring the worst out in people. Before you do anything, contact you neighbor and work out a solution. I had an uncle that was killed for picking an apple from a tree that actually was on his own property. I realize that is the extreme situation but I have found that people are easier to deal with if they are in the loop and not caught by surprise. Good luck with your project.

s219 · Sep 12, 2017

What is the soil like? If you can dig down to a sandy base layer, you should be able to help the water percolate down quicker and avoid standing water and puddles. I know of a couple folks that have done that in low spots on their property. One guy dug it all by hand and went through 6' of clay before he got to the sand (I don't have the fortitude to dig that deep in clay and would have rented a backhoe).

On my property, we have 2-4' of clay and then it is really nice sand below that percs very well. If I had a low spot somewhere that was collecting water, I would wait until the area was dry enough to get a backhoe in, then dig a hole down to sand, line with septic paper, refill with #57 gravel, and then cover that with septic paper and replace the sod layer.