Anyone built a wall?

[ade]

LOL - this is a serious post.

I'm moving into a new house in a few weeks (cant wait - get a garage all for me! :D ) but the back gardens a bomb site.

Got a cool design but need to build a retaining wall to support a raised patio (which will run from the house back to about 12ft out).

Looking at about 2ft hi for the wall...

Any of you lot ever built a garden wall? If so what wall did you choose, did you do it dry or with mortar? and is there owt to look out for?

Recommend any places (tried Jewsons and B&Q - prices are ok)

Not bothered about grass yet - just the patio. I can lay paving slabs but aint sure about the wall - dont want it collapsing...

Serious posts please - been bugging me for ages and need to get some prices together...

Ade

[Evolution]

Its been a while since ive built a wall, when i was a kid i used to make dams across little rivers with the rocks and stones that were lying around - then i found out that doing that was illegal :roll:
i cant remember the mixing combination to get good mortar, but B&Q will sort you out. Talk an oldish guy who seems to know what hes on about, steer clear of the students trying to pay off their loan.

Remember to dig foundations, probably about 4 brick layers deep, and use string on sticks to give you a level wall, and a spirit level of course.

[Anton]

pm privatepie. he is a brickie

[privatepie]

here i am 8)
make shore u have got a gd solid foundation 2 build the wall on top of, put a few inches of concrete in (4 builders sand to 2 cement mix) then make shore its level, the use enginering bricks 2 build the first couple of layers( they r the bricks with the holes in the middle) is the wall going 2 touch any of the wall of the house? if so u mite need 2 put a DPM (damp prof membraine) in 2 stop damp rising up the wall in 2 the house thenu can use a decrative brick if ya wana do it ground forse style or just keep gusing the enginering bricks 2 lay the bricks use a 4 builders sand to 1 cement 2 lay the bricks and just make shore u stager the joints 2 give the wall more strenth
martin
anymore questions just ask m8 :wink:

[Tilly]

i used my frigin hands for the cement lol

[ade]

Martin -

Its a retaining wall so do I need to make it a certain thickness?

Also - as its got soil backing onto the inside of the wall, do I have to line it or stick drainage in?

Its only 2ft high and will be covered with a patio (the middle bit will be compacted with stone shippings and sharp sand).

Looking at engineered bricks (old mill bricks with 3 holes in).

Worked out I need about 500 bricks (the walls 28mtrs in total length when stretched out at 5 courses high).

It wont be touching the house but the patio will so need to drop it below the Damp proof layer and slope it away from the house.

ade

[privatepie]

Martin -

Its a retaining wall so do I need to make it a certain thickness?

Also - as its got soil backing onto the inside of the wall, do I have to line it or stick drainage in?

Its only 2ft high and will be covered with a patio (the middle bit will be compacted with stone shippings and sharp sand).

Looking at engineered bricks (old mill bricks with 3 holes in).

Worked out I need about 500 bricks (the walls 28mtrs in total length when stretched out at 5 courses high).

It wont be touching the house but the patio will so need to drop it below the Damp proof layer and slope it away from the house.

ade

a single layer wall should be ok
do u mean u r going 2 put soil up against the wall after it is built?
just make shore u r 150mm below 2 DPC or 2 brick courses
martin

[Dan]

Tbh if its 28m long then i would make the footing 150mm deep and atleast 18" wide, get some concreteing gravel and mix this 4-1 with cement, 2ft is quite alot of ground to retain. personally i would make it 9" brickwork and put a 100mm landdrain pipe behind otherwise water retention is twice as heavy again (ask any woman lmfao). Agree with 2 below damp but when u do the fall on the patio allow for 1/2" every mtr as this will be ample (slight turn of bubble on level). How you gonna lay slabs?? the quickest and best way is to screed sand/cement dry mix and just lay em straight down rather than wet cement spots and slapping em down, also before you put chippings/stone down for patio base put some geotextile (terram) down to stop any problems with weeds poking up through

To do a job properly and make it last its worth doing it right first time and allowing for any eventuality then it will last for yrs. costs more now but costs alot less than redoing a yr or so down the line if worst comes to worst. Probs gone to far into detail but like to cover some of the points, anything else you need to know give us a pm

[ade]

cheers guys!

Been to B&Q and Iam gonna use dense blocks - theyre like breeze blocks but denser (obviously). Thinking of stuccoing the front. Thyre 440mm x 210mm x 100mm

Basically need 4 courses (1 for the foundation) - gonna lay course chippings in a trench, then cement (about 1 1/2 times width of wall (100mm) - level it and let set. then build on top 4 courses (1 course underground).

Then in front of wall in the trench (up to level of grass) - gonna fill with gravel.

Then behind wall, (this bit I aint too sure about) gonna lay drainage tube close to bottom, then fill up about 100mm wide with chippings to just under top of wall.

Then (with slope away from house) lay course chippings, compact, then screed sharp sand/cement, then lay patio.

Its not 28m in one long wall, its gonna basically be 2 square sections that jut out then it goes in - the jutting out bits will have them stone circles with squaring off kits on the patio, the rest will be slabs of 600mmx600mm and smaller ones of 300x300 in a pattern. Half slabs of 300x600 to tidy up edges.

Luckily the ground at the back of the house has been compacted recently (is covered in gravel too) so just need to dig down to depth I need.

Heres a pic of the side profile of how I see it (and an above view of the patio outline)

http://www.novaload.net/forums/album_see.php?id=1392

Ade

[Dan]

you will NEED to compact the soil behing the wall in layers otherwise you will get settlement in time and your patio will sink and go to pot. Also you will need the terram stuff i was on about for 2 reasons...

1. when you lay the 'grit' before the sand/cement screed if you lay on top of this it will be alot easyier to compact and level as it will keep it seperate from the soil below,, if it is wet then the stone wont just sink into the soil and allow the wetter soil to mix with it and form soft spots. Also will stop any chance of weeds breaking up through.

2. It will allow water through to the chippings above the pipe which you have drawn correctly and also allow the chippings to remain clean to allow water to pass through rather than the soil to mix with them over time and just block everything up.(the chippings on the pipe must be clean chippings with no dust etc)

Below the initial wall concrete is the best option as will form a rigid raft for the wall to sit on, i cannot tell how wide your patio is going to be but would suggest that if the budget will allow a block laid flat is far more secure than one laid on edge as shown in your pic. This is how I have done mine on contracts for area's of reasonably large retainment (some of which were only 4" (100mm) that had pushed and gone outwards and needed reforming.

Below is your pic but with the terram and concrete

http://www2.novaload.net/files/Dan/ade.jpg

[ade]

Many thanks Dan,

(your pic didnt work)

So - bottom brick on its side, remaining courses upright? (or all courses on their sides - this will be expensive) The walls only 2ft (60cm) high.

Dig out all the soil where the patio will sit (its about 14ft from the house at its furthest point), put it back in and compact it in layers

Lay terram sheet between grit and sharp sand/cement layer then lay patio

lay teram between soil and clean grit (chippings) and over pipe to stop it clogging up.

Sorry for being thick - just wanna get it right - only me and a m8 doing it.

Ade

[wisewood]

check back for the pic ion a couple of days - its coz kevs server has died and he hasnt had chance to fix it yet. :D

[Dan]

yep all courses 'should' really be laid on flat imho but thats only how i do it as i make sure there are no comebacks on my work etc. it is abit more expensive but then would you fancy doing it again for the sake of a few extra quid.

If the soil has been there for years then natural compaction will of taken place, only dig out what u need to and then when backfilling behind the wall/cleanstone etc be sure to compact this as it will go down in time if not. Once you have dug out what u need to for the level before laying the patio it might pay just to run a wacker plate over the surface just to seal up the soil before laying the terram down etc.

[wisewood]

never thought dans trade would come in useful in muppet corner :lol:

[ade]

cheers guys - answered pretty much all my q's!

I'll prob give you a shout when I move in (5th September ish)

If anyone fancies coming up and giving me a hand...

:D

[Stuart]

i built a BBQ and me dad told me to use the spirit level to help, (it was old and fooked) so i used it to stir the mortar lmao

the sides were "rustic" or in real terms curvy as hell lol

[wisewood]

you give me a room for the night and i iwll be happy to come up and supervise your wall building ade :D