Building a concrete retaining wall.

[dataman]

Hi
I am looking for some advice on creating a poured concrete retaining wall. The wall will be approx 600mm high, 200mm of which will be below ground level. The 400mm above ground is holding back soil on a raised border. The wall will be 11 metres long by 150mm wide consisting of a 5 metre straight section run and a 6 meter curved section. A few questions hopefully non too dense!!:
1.Can I form the wall straight off the sub soil, without the need for a separate footing?
2.What is the maximum length of wall you can have before you need an expansion joint?
3.Will a wall of this height need steel reinforcement bars and if so what thickness bars will I need and how should they be placed (horizontal/ vertical or both)? I was contemplating driving 10mm thick steel bars into the ground at 400mm centres , but not sure if this the best way or even necessary.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Nigel

[lutonlagerlout]

Nigel
sorry to say this but you shouldnt be doing this without engineers drawings
rebar in concrete must be fully enclosed in the concrete or it will rust you will need a proper shuttering chippy and someone experienced at steel fixing and pouring concrete

we are doing one a bit bigger at the moment and the base footing is 1200 wide by 300mm thick with a 100mm kicker 2 layers of 393 mesh and L bars
the vertical is 250mm wide with 2 layers of mesh A393 again
all this and a land drain behind it
its complicated enough for experienced men

cheers LLL

[dataman]

Thanks LLL for your quick reply. I wrongly assumed such a small wall wouldn't require engineers drawings and involve so much reinforcement and a large base support. It all sounds a bit beyond my skill set. Bricks it is!!

Thanks

Nigel

[lutonlagerlout]

Nigel if you use bricks,make the footing wider rather than deeper ,so at least 450mm wide, I would use a concrete block at the back and an F1 frost resistant stock type brick at the front
weepholes every 900 mm are a must
cheers LLL

[dataman]

Thanks very much for your advice LLL. I feel a plan coming together.

[msh paving]

base for a retaining wall i just built





Edited By msh paving on 1473746096

[lutonlagerlout]

its generally a structural affair eh Mark?
not for the faint hearted or DIY
LLL

[msh paving]

steel mesh ready to shutter
[/IMG]

MSH