Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Apr 23, 2011 6:54 pm Hi All, We have had a recommendation from our builder that we should build a ''dead mans retaining wall' at the rear boundary to make our land level. For those that don't know - this is a retaining wall that is basically as close to the rear boundary fence as is possible and i guess it is a dead man's retaining wall as it can't be used for anything except for a dead body if you happen to fall in .. We are planning are planning for the ''trench"to be about 1m deep by 1 metre (to retaining wall) x 15 metres (all along fenceline) Does anyone have one? Are they dangerous for young kids? Have you been able to grow plants in there? How would you weed it? Project History Deposit - 20/4/2010 Land Settled - 20/8/2010 Council - 30/9/2010 Slab - 17/11/2010 Bricks - 28/01/2011 Roof - 5/02/2011 Gyprock - 4/03/2011 Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 2Apr 24, 2011 6:18 am Don't quite understand what your implying by meaning you'll have a trench unfilled. Think you should confirm with builder the idea, as a dead man in retaining walls is a term used to describe how the wall will be anchored into the opposing ground. Post a pic of where its going. Landscape Design & Construction http://cherub.squarespace.com/ Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 3Apr 24, 2011 7:13 am LOL - my incorrect assumption on the name of the wall shows my ignorance.. anyway i have put together a drawing of what i was referring to.. i just assumed that the type of wall was a dead man's retaining wall as its next to useless for anything else anyway the pic should help clarify Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Project History Deposit - 20/4/2010 Land Settled - 20/8/2010 Council - 30/9/2010 Slab - 17/11/2010 Bricks - 28/01/2011 Roof - 5/02/2011 Gyprock - 4/03/2011 Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 4Apr 24, 2011 8:14 am Project History Deposit - 20/4/2010 Land Settled - 20/8/2010 Council - 30/9/2010 Slab - 17/11/2010 Bricks - 28/01/2011 Roof - 5/02/2011 Gyprock - 4/03/2011 Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 5Apr 24, 2011 10:17 am Personally I'd be looking at terracing it at about the halfway point...or enough to put your entertainment area at the top level and a lower tier garden. I reckon the one metre trench will be a painful weed and rubbish collector and potentially dangerous. A proper terrace arrangement can have steps, and make a statement with your garden. Check out Image 24 as an idea http://www.frescohomescapes.com.au/retainingwalls.htm# (PS not an advert just an internet resource ) mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 6Apr 24, 2011 11:14 am My brother has exactly that kind of retaining wall and it did collect rubbish. In the end he planted some bushy trees at the bottom and he's waiting for them to grow. He also did this for privacy as he was higher than the neighbours which meant they could see him and he could see them. I think it is dangerous though if someone fell into it. Custom downslope build Build thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=61873 Blog http://www.buildingroyalmanor.blogspot.com.au Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 7Apr 24, 2011 11:21 am we did this at our place about 8 years ago to level an area of the backyard but we managed to get the retaining closer than 1m, it's about a 50cm gap from the fence so in our case there wasn't enough space to plant shrubs down there. at first it was a weed haven which was difficult to weed, but I planted shrubs at the top of the retaining which shades the area and every year I tossed some nasturtium seeds down there and they smothered out the weeds as well but you could also use some mulch down there. now that the shrubs have grown I dont even think about that area. no one has ever fallen down there not even our dogs Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 8Apr 24, 2011 2:50 pm First thing you need to do is speak with a structural engineer, to determine how close to existing wall you can build. Is it possible to increase height of existing wall?, thus reducing height of any other walls. Landscape Design & Construction http://cherub.squarespace.com/ Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 9Apr 24, 2011 7:51 pm thanks guys for all the feedback... you have really challenged our reasoning about building the retaining wall.. i guess for us we wanted to utilize as much of the rear yard as possible and as we only have about 10 metres to the rear fenceline felt that splitting it into 2 x 5m terraces would restrict to use the land as large enough playground for the kids.... or host a garden party etc etc..... another option may be to build 2 x 5m terraces but rather than build a retaining wall just let the land (un)naturally slope 1m down 2m of length........ does anyone have this kind of a slope and is it usable or would you have preferred if it was retained.... Project History Deposit - 20/4/2010 Land Settled - 20/8/2010 Council - 30/9/2010 Slab - 17/11/2010 Bricks - 28/01/2011 Roof - 5/02/2011 Gyprock - 4/03/2011 Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 10Apr 24, 2011 7:53 pm cherub First thing you need to do is speak with a structural engineer, to determine how close to existing wall you can build. Is it possible to increase height of existing wall?, thus reducing height of any other walls. apparently not possible to raise the existing wall as the steel support structures are built to a certain height.... which means if we wanted to increase we would have to (a) weld ontop but be structurally unsound or (b) get it demolished and rebuild - at considerable cost as we would have to go halves with the builder - even if they would allow Project History Deposit - 20/4/2010 Land Settled - 20/8/2010 Council - 30/9/2010 Slab - 17/11/2010 Bricks - 28/01/2011 Roof - 5/02/2011 Gyprock - 4/03/2011 Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 11Apr 24, 2011 8:50 pm ohhh and to put it all into context here is what i had originally planned for the backyard landscaping Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Project History Deposit - 20/4/2010 Land Settled - 20/8/2010 Council - 30/9/2010 Slab - 17/11/2010 Bricks - 28/01/2011 Roof - 5/02/2011 Gyprock - 4/03/2011 Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 12Apr 25, 2011 5:41 pm It's a shame you can't just raise the existing wall like I've seen in some gardens. Our old rented place had a retaining wall away from the fence like what your talking about. It was a nuisance coz it was only a narrow treated pine wall with shrubs at the bottom and grass at the top and I had to be soo careful not to let the mower fall over the edge. One time it sliced some of the wall but luckily no damage done to the wall or the mower. I think it's useful to have so you've got more flat room in your garden but I would of done the details differently if it was my own garden like maybe a small hedge at the top of the wall or at least a wide mowing strip edge. Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 13Apr 26, 2011 5:58 pm Im not too sure if I have got the right idea for a D/M/W, but it looks like it is for drainage as well as maximising your outdoor space. Can you put decking on top of it as a feature, or fill it with gravel to stop it filling with weeds. Ditches and holes are dangerous in yards if you have young children, or you have a party where people drink too many bevvies and then fall into the hole and snap their ankle. It happened to a friend of mine. Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 14Apr 26, 2011 6:21 pm thanks jazzy and kiwichick.... now i'm thinking around the same lines for safety in that having a stepped yard is going to be atrocious for people falling over the edge... i'm thinking maybe to do without the retaining wall and just have a natural slope halfway on the backyard of 1m deep across a length of 2m.... so it will be steep but not as deadly as a sheer drop of 1m with a retaining wall.... all these decisions have to be made as we have handover on the 18th of May and would like to get the fences up which would need to be able to accommodate for the retaining wall or natural slope... does anyone have a natural slope in the yard.. and would they prefer that to an actual retaining wall? Project History Deposit - 20/4/2010 Land Settled - 20/8/2010 Council - 30/9/2010 Slab - 17/11/2010 Bricks - 28/01/2011 Roof - 5/02/2011 Gyprock - 4/03/2011 Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 15Apr 27, 2011 10:30 pm Perfect situation for a rock armoured batter. You can build it as high as you like if you maintain a 1:1.5 slope (1.5m horizontal for every 1m high). Step off the fence say 0.3m, start your batter, project it upwards on the 1:1.5 grade to level or slight fall from house. Bury rocks slightly behind the one in front. Stable structure as it is less than natural rill angle of dry sand (so will not slump). Rock armouring will help to stabilise erosion forces, get some rockery plants established asap to complete the stabilisation. Can use waterwise natives such as Grevillea 'gingin gem', pig face, Calistemon 'rocky rambler', virtually any prostrate native (or hardy non native). Can create a terrace halfway up with shrubs, then continue batter. Advantages - diy, attractive, no drainage required, strong structure, good exercise! Can incorporate steps, terraces, lots of possibilities. BTW, turn that fence into a trellis with Hardenbergia comptoniana, Kennadias, passionfruit vine etc. Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 17Apr 29, 2011 8:14 pm keen Perfect situation for a rock armoured batter. You can build it as high as you like if you maintain a 1:1.5 slope (1.5m horizontal for every 1m high). Step off the fence say 0.3m, start your batter, project it upwards on the 1:1.5 grade to level or slight fall from house. Bury rocks slightly behind the one in front. Stable structure as it is less than natural rill angle of dry sand (so will not slump). Rock armouring will help to stabilise erosion forces, get some rockery plants established asap to complete the stabilisation. Can use waterwise natives such as Grevillea 'gingin gem', pig face, Calistemon 'rocky rambler', virtually any prostrate native (or hardy non native). Can create a terrace halfway up with shrubs, then continue batter. Advantages - diy, attractive, no drainage required, strong structure, good exercise! Can incorporate steps, terraces, lots of possibilities. BTW, turn that fence into a trellis with Hardenbergia comptoniana, Kennadias, passionfruit vine etc. Interesting concept that I hadn't thought about... Would you know of any pictures on the web that might help visualise what this would look like ???? Project History Deposit - 20/4/2010 Land Settled - 20/8/2010 Council - 30/9/2010 Slab - 17/11/2010 Bricks - 28/01/2011 Roof - 5/02/2011 Gyprock - 4/03/2011 Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 18Apr 29, 2011 8:15 pm This would be great but don't think we have a large enough yard to get the most of our back yard.... as we prolly have about 8-10 metres to rear fence Project History Deposit - 20/4/2010 Land Settled - 20/8/2010 Council - 30/9/2010 Slab - 17/11/2010 Bricks - 28/01/2011 Roof - 5/02/2011 Gyprock - 4/03/2011 Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 19Apr 29, 2011 10:09 pm qonyx Hi All, We have had a recommendation from our builder that we should build a ''dead mans retaining wall' at the rear boundary to make our land level. For those that don't know - this is a retaining wall that is basically as close to the rear boundary fence as is possible and i guess it is a dead man's retaining wall as it can't be used for anything except for a dead body if you happen to fall in .. We are planning are planning for the ''trench"to be about 1m deep by 1 metre (to retaining wall) x 15 metres (all along fenceline) Does anyone have one? Are they dangerous for young kids? Have you been able to grow plants in there? How would you weed it? We have one on one part of our property by the pool we have a large thick hedge our side and just a retaining wall the otherside which is right up to the boundary fence, no space for anything there really - works well for us but the area is secure from children because of the pool Re: Does anyone have a dead man's retaining wall? 20Apr 29, 2011 10:16 pm qonyx, google - images - "riprap" Can be used in a lot of ways as mentioned - can terrace or just a large batter, infill with vegetation etc. Could even make a waterfall etc if you want. Thank you again Simeon.. I will call my certifier for that. Have a good day 4 5179 Thanks for the insights, that makes perfect sense, and yeah, I will be leaning on the experience of the excavator operator entirely. 6 16123 Hi All, I engaged a tradie to install concrete retaining wall 600-800mm high over 32 meters in Victoria. Sleepers are 200*75*2000 mm installed over 17 steel posts. I… 0 6900 |