Retaining walls?

[doobin]

we didn't concrete them in, knocked them in with post knocker was only 600mm-800mm high, link was just first pic I found on google

It’s quick and easy but doesn’t last. From the moment they are installed the retaining capacity is rotting away so how do they ever get signed off?


This is 8 years old. Nightmare access and the flat leaseholders are currently trying to sue the freeholder to sort it out correctly and efficiently.. They’ve been quoted £30k for ‘temporary works’ to shore it up FFS! I could fit steels and oak for less and it would solve it for a long time. Trouble is, you can’t get an engineer to sign that off. So who the hell signed off the original clusterfuck?


I deal with lots of these- hence why I say cowboy job. It’s hell to put right- rotten timber in concrete don’t dig out and don’t break out either!

 

[Smiffy]

It’s quick and easy but doesn’t last. From the moment they are installed the retaining capacity is rotting away so how do they ever get signed off?


This is 8 years old. Nightmare access and the flat leaseholders are currently trying to sue the freeholder to sort it out correctly and efficiently.. They’ve been quoted £30k for ‘temporary works’ to shore it up FFS! I could fit steels and oak for less and it would solve it for a long time. Trouble is, you can’t get an engineer to sign that off. So who the hell signed off the original clusterfuck?


I deal with lots of these- hence why I say cowboy job. It’s hell to put right- rotten timber in concrete don’t dig out and don’t break out either!
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That looks like a clear display of qualifications vs experience

 

[Lancs Lad]

Like the way they using them to prop up the remainder ..

 

[TiltyShaun]

what about 4" rounds for the retaining wall

https://www.cjtimber.com/wp-content/uploads/CJ-Retaining-Walls-25.pdf

Design life of 25years should be fine on council work.

 

[TiltyShaun]

It’s quick and easy but doesn’t last. From the moment they are installed the retaining capacity is rotting away so how do they ever get signed off?


This is 8 years old. Nightmare access and the flat leaseholders are currently trying to sue the freeholder to sort it out correctly and efficiently.. They’ve been quoted £30k for ‘temporary works’ to shore it up FFS! I could fit steels and oak for less and it would solve it for a long time. Trouble is, you can’t get an engineer to sign that off. So who the hell signed off the original clusterfuck?


I deal with lots of these- hence why I say cowboy job. It’s hell to put right- rotten timber in concrete don’t dig out and don’t break out either!
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My sister done well to get 12 years out of there’s then!!
New builds get away with it as long as it doesn’t effect the structure of the building and therefore is not covered by the structural warranty.

 

[GazCro]

Design life of 25years should be fine on council work.

Says desired life, but what you want isn't always what you get. Simple with timber, the treatment is sh*t and the timber they are using is sh*t.

 

[JD450A]

Timber Rounds are fine if installed correctly, trouble is they rarely are (the above example = No Drainage = Failure)

I don't like concreted timber though..... Sleeper walls should be sat on a base of well drained 20mm clean, with the stone in against the back of the wall. Or Plastic (Bubbled) Tanking Membrane.

I'll dig my big Royal Engineers 1960's book out this week.... some quality simple ways of building retaining walls in a warzone that'll last.

 

[doobin]

Timber Rounds are fine if installed correctly, trouble is they rarely are (the above example = No Drainage = Failure)

I don't like concreted timber though..... Sleeper walls should be sat on a base of well drained 20mm clean, with the stone in against the back of the wall. Or Plastic (Bubbled) Tanking Membrane.

I'll dig my big Royal Engineers 1960's book out this week.... some quality simple ways of building retaining walls in a warzone that'll last.

Any concreted timber will fail- slightest bit of rot and the water runs down into the gap accelerating it.
No timber rounds other than telegraph poles are any good for more than ten years these days.

 

[JD450A]

Any concreted timber will fail- slightest bit of rot and the water runs down into the gap accelerating it.
No timber rounds other than telegraph poles are any good for more than ten years these days.

I agree on the concrete Doob. I use rammed earth and lime and ensure the bottom of the post is sat on clean stone.

 

[Smiffy]

I agree on the concrete Doob. I use rammed earth and lime and ensure the bottom of the post is sat on clean stone.

Even then for timber to last really it needs to be slow grown (regardless of whether it's soft wood or hard wood) well seasoned before use and have a good airflow around it in use. These things where learnt hundreds of years ago so why has it been forgotten in such short order.
It will be interesting to see how long alot of these modern timber construction houses last seeing as they are sealed tight for thermal efficiency.

 

[Russell]

I certainly wouldn't buy one.

 

[doobin]

so I was minding my own business loading the truck at a job, and a bloke stopped and asked if I was any good with retaining walls.
As the road I was working on has house prices starting from £500k, I said ‘yes’

Who wants the repair bill for this cowboy job? ‘Well regarded’ local builder who should have known better/didn’t care because it was cheap.

That house and wall are four and a half years old. There’s tons of drainage stone, which is just going to make the repair harder.
Cowboy job.

 

[JD450A]

plenty of space. sheetpile it.

 

[TiltyShaun]

Plenty of space. Gabion it!!

 

[doobin]

plenty of space. sheetpile it.

Not all the way round the back of the house there’s not! It runs all the way around leaving a 1.2m gap between it and the house, into the back garden

 

[JD450A]

Not all the way round the back of the house there’s not! It runs all the way around leaving a 1.2m gap between it and the house, into the back garden

That's no issue

 

[doobin]

All fine but they won’t want to pay for that!

 

[DaveDCB]

Fence posts…. The clue is in the name

 

[Furniss]

All fine but they won’t want to pay for that!

That's the problem with the middle ground

 

[doobin]

That's the problem with the middle ground

Yep. All I can do is lay out the options and they choose.