Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Oct 22, 2015 11:07 am hey all. looking at doing my first retaining wall, and after many youtube's and google's i can't quite come up with an option for what im looking for.. i need to level out the front of my house, however only about 500mm to level with a drain. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This is the drain height, Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ this is the length of the garden to be raised. any ideas to best do this? my youtube attempts have suggest sleepers or bricks, but i wonder if this is overkill for a slight raise? thanks Re: low level retaining wall? 2Oct 22, 2015 3:24 pm The forces on even a 500mm wall are significant. . . I have seen planty of wall that hight that have failed. I would tend to go for retaining wall blocks see http://www.anewhouse.com.au/2014/03/blo ... loose-lay/ The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: low level retaining wall? 4Oct 22, 2015 8:55 pm Why does it have to be level with the drain? I think there is to much hard surface with massive driveway and brick house close together. Break it down with railway sleeper wall 1 or 2 high if you want. Then some plants maybe a patch of grass. Re: low level retaining wall? 5Oct 23, 2015 10:06 am lookout magpie Why does it have to be level with the drain? I think there is to much hard surface with massive driveway and brick house close together. Break it down with railway sleeper wall 1 or 2 high if you want. to be honest - its a cost thing... the higher i go, the more expensive it will be to fill... i will probably go a bit higher than the drain... but much higher i think may look weird Re: low level retaining wall? 6Oct 23, 2015 2:46 pm so i've been looking at the sleeper idea... and think it could look great... only question is how would i then shape this around the pit (top right of pic 1) which is a near perfect circle? i suppose i could build 'in front' but then would lose about .4m of my land on that side? Re: low level retaining wall? 7Oct 23, 2015 6:09 pm AceFI hey all. looking at doing my first retaining wall, and after many youtube's and google's i can't quite come up with an option for what im looking for.. i need to level out the front of my house, however only about 500mm to level with a drain. http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/zz12/MyPhotosForAll/IMG_1566_zpszwqvmfqv.jpg This is the drain height, http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/zz12/MyPhotosForAll/IMG_1568_zpsedxrbdrl.jpg this is the length of the garden to be raised. any ideas to best do this? my youtube attempts have suggest sleepers or bricks, but i wonder if this is overkill for a slight raise? thanks Isn't that an overflow gully? It should be at a low point in the yard so when sewer blocks, the good bits dont come out inside the house. Drains will not be normally finished higher than the surrounding area, unless the yard git eroded! Re: low level retaining wall? 8Oct 24, 2015 8:26 pm AceFI so i've been looking at the sleeper idea... and think it could look great... only question is how would i then shape this around the pit (top right of pic 1) which is a near perfect circle? i suppose i could build 'in front' but then would lose about .4m of my land on that side? 1 sleeper high will give a 300 fall from the house and look good. Who owns the driveway? You may have to set back a distance 800 ml? if its your neighbors drive. I would be setting back anyway. Butting the wall up to the drive as mentioned, will likely see your expensive wall knocked over by a crap driver at some point. Re: low level retaining wall? 9Oct 25, 2015 5:35 pm getting the drain lowered would be the faster and cheaper option. As someone has mentioned, if its an overflow gully it should be below the next lowest drain (e.g., shower waste), otherwise its not serving its purpose (although that still may be the case if the house is on stumps etc. You'll pay quite a bit in soil, labour as well as the wall in building it up. Edit: looks like you could just have a battered garden bed if you like that look. DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair Thanks. I was thinking of using either Extreme Joist or LOWDECK timbers for joists. Any idea what sets them apart and which… 2 12887 Thanks! I'm spoke to the builder I'm not sure if this is all true but basically went along the lines of they considered all options and if I was to compact and fill it… 2 7309 Thank you again Simeon.. I will call my certifier for that. Have a good day 4 5195 |