Do it Yourself: Re: [DIY] Re: Newbie & A Question

08 October 2011

Re: [DIY] Re: Newbie & A Question

Only know about brick from watching someone else do it, but I don't think one brick would be stable enough, and if they are old brick you would definitely want some backup. Retaining walls can have a lot of pressure when the ground is wet. Is is possible to use a concrete block as your main support then use the brick as a facing? We did use brick once but DH built a wooden retaining wall, then installed a layer of brick in front of it, and on the top, to match the house. He also poured a concrete footing for thatand used rebar since it was about 30" high. Nice place to sit and gave the appearance of being all brick. I'm not sure building it all brick would be a good idea. Everything here is brick, but the steps, etc are all concrete with a layer of brick to finish. Were you planning to mortar the bricks or just stack them like stones? My only other bit of knowledge is that it does need to slope in and needs good drainage. We have a book on building retaining walls if I can find it, however, it may be in the books we've set out to give away.

The planter bed we just finished is 8'x16', 3 blocks high at the front (18") dropping at the back to two then one, since the ground slopes. Used the angled rough front landscape blocks. Dug the ground down an inch or so and leveled the dirt, no concrete, stacked them in a grid pattern, and cut one brick to tuck pieces in where needed to level and cut others so it sloped down gradually at the back. We put 4 yards in so it's a bit of dirt. Once the blocks were firmly in place we draped landscape fabric all around the inside to keep the dirt in but allow for drainage. Filled it in with dirt then folded the fabric back and covered it with dirt. Did this in july and the plants are already draping over the top of the blocks, roses are blooming, in fact since it gets full sun everything is blooming. The only thing left to do is add a small tree/bush. We lost a big redbud tree in a storm last year and wanted to utilize this space rather than just planting another tree.

On Oct 7, 2011, at 4:53 PM, bdbrant wrote:

Thanks, I'll keep researching; however, I'm not using blocks. I'm using old brick.

--- In DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com, ray <dataman@...> wrote:
>
> Do quick search on "retainer wall blocks" and you will see many ideas!
> Ray
>
> On 10/6/2011 10:00 PM, bdbrant wrote:
> > Hi Folks,
> >
> > I'm a newbie here& have a couple of questions about a retainer wall. I scanned the files quickly, but didn't see where my question was covered.
> >
> > I need to construct a small retainer wall near my front porch.....just a PLAIN, STRAIGHT wall, starting at about 16-18 inches tall& tapering slightly to the opposite end. The length will be no more than 9 feet. I have plenty of brick like my house is bricked with& would like to use them for this project. What kind of footing would you recommend& should the the wall be only ONE brick THICK?? Do any other considerations come to mind? Many thanks.
> >
> > BB
> >
>