Quote:
Originally Posted by David E. Ross[_2_]
On 2/21/12 8:16 AM, saltdog wrote:[color=blue][i]
A well-built wall -- either a perimeter wall or a retaining wall --
should have weep holes to allow for drainage. If your perimeter wall
does not have weep holes, you should get a good masonry drill bit and
create some.
To make the clay less sticky and more easy to dig, broadcast a generous
amount of gypsum over the area, perhaps a centimeter (1/3 inch). Let
the rain rinse it into the soil. Repeat at least once.
A retaining wall needs to be engineered correctly. This is generally
NOT a do-it-yourself project. There are issues about footings (depth
and width), anchoring into the slope, amount and size of rebar (steel
rods), grout, etc.
A retaining wall is not a slough wall. I have the latter at the foot of
a slope. It does not hold the slope but merely prevents small amounts
of loose soil from reaching the flat area of my garden. When my slope
failed, it overtopped the slough wall. It cost over $150,000US to
regrade the slope; it would have cost twice that to use a retaining wall
to hold the slope.
--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
My Climate
Gardening diary at David Ross's Garden Diary -- Current |
Thanks for your response David,
I'm not entirely sure why my perimeter wall has no weep holes in it. It was built by the same builder who built my house and I can vouch for his competence. Having looked around the development where my house is situated, I can't see any other walls with weep holes in them either although I'm certainly no expert. There is a land drain running under my wall so I'd planned just to dig a drain at the back of the wall and join it to the existing land drain. I would hope that would suffice. I'd certainly prefer that than have red clay water running through holes in my arctic white wall!
/
I'll have a look in to gypsum. I'm not familiar with it but I'll take a look. In fairness, I'm not really familiar with any elements of gardening but I'm looking to improve my knowledge. One of the reasons I'm here I guess. Can any of my British colleagues on here let me know how much this is likely to cost?
I suppose my 'retaining wall' isn't really going to be retaining too much and my indeed be more of a slough wall. The slope is a really gentle one and since I dug it out, it's pretty much self supporting so far. I'm only really planning on having it 2-3 foot high. the intention is to build it with 6" concrete blocks on the flat giving a more stable platform. I will be putting in concrete foundations about 1 foot deep on a bed of hardcore. the foundations will be about 18" wide also.
Thanks for your advice. It's all appreciated.