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Retaining Walls - An excellent do-it-yourself project
is to build retaining walls and raised planting beds.
Many do-it-yourselfers use treated landscape timbers or railroad ties for this
kind of landscaping, but you must install them correctly, or you will have
trouble with rot.
For most people interlocking concrete blocks are a great choice. There are
several kinds of interlocking concrete blocks on the market that all work on the
same principle.
Getting The
Foundation Ready - The
largest part of installing interlocking blocks properly is preparing the base
for your wall properly.
You have to be certain that you dig out your area, without disturbing the soil
that you are going to keep in place.
As you are digging keep on checking to make certain that, your base is level.
You should dig your base deep
enough so that the first row will be below the ground level in front. Bury your
bottom row about one inch deep for every eight inches of wall that will be above
the surface of the ground.
Larger projects require that
you dig down roughly six inches deep from where you want your wall to begin, and
then add in class five fill.
Pack down your fill with a four by four. Make certain it is level all along your
wall.
Water drainage can be a problem for larger retaining walls on a hillside,
because water will flow down the hill and begin eating away at your fill in the
back of your retaining wall.
To prevent this from happening you need to put down a moisture barrier behind
your wall to stop the water, together with drain tile to collect water and carry
it away.
Laying Down The First Row - When
you place the first row of blocks, you are determining the shape of your wall,
because of this you want to do it correctly.
As you set your blocks down it is
essential to check that your blocks are level. If you have to make small
changes, you can use sand to raise your blocks. Do not use loose soil because
soil will pack down over time.
Make certain that the outside
edges of your blocks touch each other.
As you complete each row of your
wall backfill in behind and in between your blocks. For a smaller wall, you can
use dirt for your backfill.
For larger walls, use river rock
or crushed stone for your backfill.
Before you move on to your next
row, clean the tops of each row.
Laying Down The Remaining Rows - Every
row of blocks will have to lock onto to the row of blocks beneath it. A number
of interlocking blocks come with a flange on the bottom that locks on to blocks
in the lower row. Various interlocking blocks have holes through the top and
bottom to insert pins. These pins lock the rows in place.
If your wall is curved and you are using blocks that have a flange, you will
need to knock off the flange with a hammer, or the flange be in the way.
Nearly all people create a running bond pattern. Simply put, the joints between
the blocks in the second row line up with the middle of the blocks in the first
row.
After you set your second
layer of blocks, you precede in the same manner. Fill around your blocks, pack
the fill down, clean the tops of your blocks, and then lay down the next row.
Repeat this precede until your wall reaches the height you want.
For larger walls, a number of
professionals use geogrid. Geogrid is a flexible plastic mesh that fastens to
the back of your wall and attaches it to your hillside.
If you are building with the
pin-type of block, you will need a top cap block for the top row.
 Terrace
Retaining Walls - A terraced wall is one of the
most standard retaining wall projects.
If there is a large hill along the side of your house that it is too steep for
plantings, and makes mowing the lawn difficult a terraced wall is the perfect
solution.
You can create level areas with a terraced wall, for shrubs and flowers.
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