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So, is there anyone reading this..?

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RockMyAmadeus

1,950 views

...just curious.

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26 Comments


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5 hours ago, jsilverjanet said:

I'm disappointed. I was expecting a wall of text

:baiting:

That's odd. I was expecting text of walls.

hm

Oh, wait...here's some!

When you contemplate how to build a retaining wall, you may imagine how firm and solid it’ll appear from the front, or how great the new garden will look above it. But unless you give serious thought to what goes on behind and below the wall, the retaining wall design may not look good for long. A poor retaining wall design wall can lean, separate, even topple—and it’s out there in plain sight where all your neighbors can point and snicker. You don’t want that!

Lots of people think a retaining wall needs to hold back all 6 gazillion tons of soil in the yard behind it. It doesn’t. It only needs to retain a wedge of soil, or elongated wedge of soil, similar to that shown in Fig. A. In simple terms (our apologies to all you soil engineers out there): Undisturbed soil—soil that has lain untouched and naturally compacted for thousands of years—has a maximum slope beyond which it won’t ‘hang together’ on its own. This slope is called the failure plane. If left alone, the soil behind the failure plane will stay put on its own. But the soil in front of the failure plane—the natural soil or the fill you’re going to add—wants to slide down the failure plane.

Gravity, along with the slope, directs most of the weight and pressure of the fill toward the lower part of the retaining wall. Since soil weighs a beefy 100-plus lbs. per cu. ft., you need some pretty heavy material—large retaining wall blocks, boulders, timbers or poured concrete—to counteract the pressure. Just as important, it needs to be installed the right way. Here are three key principles in building any solid retaining wall:

  • Bury the bottom course, or courses, of the retaining wall one tenth the height of the wall to prevent the soil behind from pushing the bottom out (Fig. B).
  • Step back the blocks, rocks or timbers to get gravity working in your favor (Fig. B). This lets the walls lean and push against the fill. Walls built perfectly vertical (Fig. C) get gravity working against them the second they start leaning outward even just a bit. Most concrete retaining wall block systems have some kind of built-in lip (Fig. D) or pin system (Fig. F) that automatically creates the step back as you build.
  • Install a base of solidly compacted material (Fig. B) so your wall stays flat. A level wall provides modular blocks, stone and timbers with more surface contact with the courses above and below them. They fit together more tightly. The more contact, the more friction and the stronger the wall. Apply these three rules, and you’ll create a strong wall. But even a well built wall won’t survive unless you take care of two troublemakers: water and uncompacted soil.
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Just now, RockMyAmadeus said:

A poor retaining wall design wall can lean, separate, even topple—and it’s out there in plain sight where all your neighbors can point and snicker. You don’t want that!

That is my favorite text.

Pointing and snickering neighbors are the WORST.

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Where are the figure diagrams?  I need to do some retaining wall work and there are no angles or measurements for the text wall....

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On 8/31/2018 at 7:26 AM, BlowUpTheMoon said:

This format is silly.

The only thing I like about it is that you can moderate your own journal. I've already deleted a comment, and it was refreshing. Not having to deal with the firestarters is a super plus.

 

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2 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

The only thing I like about it is that you can moderate your own journal. I've already deleted a comment, and it was refreshing. Not having to deal with the firestarters is a super plus.

 

Was it someone who criticized your retaining wall instructions?  

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3 hours ago, steveinthecity said:
5 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

The only thing I like about it is that you can moderate your own journal. I've already deleted a comment, and it was refreshing. Not having to deal with the firestarters is a super plus.

 

Was it someone who criticized your retaining wall instructions?  

Possibly. Although, credit where credit is due, I copied and pasted them. :)

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On 8/31/2018 at 10:27 AM, BlowUpTheMoon said:

Its' one of those "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" situations.

I'm sure they think it's an improvement. Too bad they won't listen to the actual users. 

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