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Hi all,
I'm not sure if this is the best forum to post this in, but I was hoping to get some ideas on cost effective ideas for a couple of retaining walls that I'm looking to help a family member with. I realize that there are many different types depending on the circumstances in which they'll be used, so I'll explain the circumstances below.
First, this property is in upstate NY on a hill where the properties step down according to the slope. The property I'm working on is approximately 5' higher than the adjacent property. One retaining wall will be in the back yard, the other will be in the front along the driveway. I have a PE that I'll be working with on the backwall, although the building inspector says I really don't need one...which surprises me greatly, I always thought anything over 4' needed a PE stamp. But anyway.
Starting with the driveway wall, the driveway slopes from the street down to the house (approx 4' of slope over 30 feet or so). Initially I was thinking of an interlocking block on a bed of compacted crushed stone.....adding fabric every other course or so to tie everything into the wall. Of course backfilling with a foot wide of 3/4 crushed stone and a french drain tied into the existing gutter drains. The building inspector says I don't have to be below the frost line as long as I have good drainage...which once again, surprises me greatly. This wall will slope with the driveway from approx 4' high at the house to one course at the roadway.
I'd then planned on cutting the asphalt driveway to allow the drain to be tied into the corner gutter drains, then adding a two feet wide x 4 or 6" conc slab with a surface drain that ties into the wall drain below (this will be to allow for water that drains down the driveway to the house). I"d planned on covering the new drain in the concrete with some sort of steel grating which can be easily removed to allow for cleaning.
Now, with the backyard. The wall will be approx 40' long by 5' high. I'd planned on using the typical cantilevered retaining wall with a 42-48" wide x 12" high footing....then using cmu block with rebar @ 32" o.c. and grouting those cells solid. Of course I'll be tying the rebar into the rebar into the footing. I'd planned on leaving a brick ledge in the front of the footing to allow for future standard pavers to be stacked in front of the wall for aesthetic reasons. I'll also be backfilling with a foot of crushed stone and adding a proper drain which will be tied into the rear gutter drains.
The sole purpose of this back wall is to level out the backyard and eliminate the sloped area that's there for easy maintenance. The wall will be holding a 5' high by 5' wide triangular area that will be backfilled to level the property.
I hope my explanation of this is enough to get some good advice on what I'm thinking of doing. I realize it can be difficult to visualize the situation from a written description. If anything is unclear, please feel free to ask for clarification as I really want to get this right. I feel it's a fairly big undertaking, and being it's for a family member, I definitely do not want any future problems. I appreciate any insightful advice that anyone can offer and I thank everyone that responds in advance.
I'm not sure if this is the best forum to post this in, but I was hoping to get some ideas on cost effective ideas for a couple of retaining walls that I'm looking to help a family member with. I realize that there are many different types depending on the circumstances in which they'll be used, so I'll explain the circumstances below.
First, this property is in upstate NY on a hill where the properties step down according to the slope. The property I'm working on is approximately 5' higher than the adjacent property. One retaining wall will be in the back yard, the other will be in the front along the driveway. I have a PE that I'll be working with on the backwall, although the building inspector says I really don't need one...which surprises me greatly, I always thought anything over 4' needed a PE stamp. But anyway.
Starting with the driveway wall, the driveway slopes from the street down to the house (approx 4' of slope over 30 feet or so). Initially I was thinking of an interlocking block on a bed of compacted crushed stone.....adding fabric every other course or so to tie everything into the wall. Of course backfilling with a foot wide of 3/4 crushed stone and a french drain tied into the existing gutter drains. The building inspector says I don't have to be below the frost line as long as I have good drainage...which once again, surprises me greatly. This wall will slope with the driveway from approx 4' high at the house to one course at the roadway.
I'd then planned on cutting the asphalt driveway to allow the drain to be tied into the corner gutter drains, then adding a two feet wide x 4 or 6" conc slab with a surface drain that ties into the wall drain below (this will be to allow for water that drains down the driveway to the house). I"d planned on covering the new drain in the concrete with some sort of steel grating which can be easily removed to allow for cleaning.
Now, with the backyard. The wall will be approx 40' long by 5' high. I'd planned on using the typical cantilevered retaining wall with a 42-48" wide x 12" high footing....then using cmu block with rebar @ 32" o.c. and grouting those cells solid. Of course I'll be tying the rebar into the rebar into the footing. I'd planned on leaving a brick ledge in the front of the footing to allow for future standard pavers to be stacked in front of the wall for aesthetic reasons. I'll also be backfilling with a foot of crushed stone and adding a proper drain which will be tied into the rear gutter drains.
The sole purpose of this back wall is to level out the backyard and eliminate the sloped area that's there for easy maintenance. The wall will be holding a 5' high by 5' wide triangular area that will be backfilled to level the property.
I hope my explanation of this is enough to get some good advice on what I'm thinking of doing. I realize it can be difficult to visualize the situation from a written description. If anything is unclear, please feel free to ask for clarification as I really want to get this right. I feel it's a fairly big undertaking, and being it's for a family member, I definitely do not want any future problems. I appreciate any insightful advice that anyone can offer and I thank everyone that responds in advance.