Pad and beam footings - How?

[liftfan]

Hi there, great forum this - I've learn't a lot already!

Has anyone experience of Pad and Beam footings? I'd like to build a wall about 12 metres long that runs parallel to a Laurel hedge. The wall will also retain about a metre of earth.

I'd like to have the foundations close to the hedge but the large roots of the Laurel hedge are in the way. The main trunks of the hedge are spaced about 2 metres along.

Someone suggested Pad and Beam footings for the wall - has anyone done this before?

Thanks.

[liftfan]

To get around the problem of the Laurel roots how about using horizontal railway sleepers slotted into steel I beam sections?

Has anyone tried this before?

What is the best way of knocking the steel posts into the ground?

Thanks.

[squire]

Hi liftfan, I recently built a retaining wall from sleepers and looked into the I-beam option but found the price of the steel to be too expensive.

http://ext.pavingexpert.com/cgi-bin....;t=4093

This thread shows how I used sleepers as vertical uprights and fixed the horizontals to them. If you have room to dig and concrete in your uprights it might be a considerably cheaper option than using the I-Beams and should be substantial enough to retain the earth.

[lutonlagerlout]

its the retaining bit that worries me , a metre high wall will have a tremendous lateral force ,you really need this designed by a structural engineer,otherwise the wall and the laurels and the garden may go over,
cheers LLL