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Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 7:39 pm
by peter s
Hi,
can anyone offer advice on the best way to support the foundations of a fence and retainer wall? I've moved into a new flat, cleared the garden out to re-pave and found the neighbours garden is 1ft higher.
the side is bordered partly by a fence and partly by a brick wall, both seem to have shallow foundations and a lean into my garden. I'm repaving so moved some earth out as well on my side so I want to add support. Is the best way to dig down a foot or so, add concrete and slope this up to the existing fencepost / base of the wall? It's pretty crude but would seem to add some weight on my side.
Cheers,
Peter
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 8:37 pm
by seanandruby
Need photo's really but could be an underpinning job.
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:16 pm
by peter s
Thanks a lot. I've uploaded a couple of photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/petersflickrphotos
for the wall, plan is to dig down a couple of holes about 30-40cm deep into the ground about 150cm apart near the lean, a couple of inches back from the wall. Then concrete in a couple of concrete repair spurs from wickes, vertically upright. http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/542503
These will be 6-7 inches or so away from the wall near the base (because of the lean). So planning then to cut bricks to gradually thinner and thinner sizes and slot these in (with mortar) between the upright repair spurs and the existing wall. The aim being to add some support to the existing wall without having to dig underneath it. Sorry - my earlier posting/ header is a bit inaccurate because the wall isn't really retaining anything much behind it (maybe a few inches of paving and could be water collecting on the other side of the paving/gravel underneath), its really just that the wall is higher than the ground level on my side and probably hasn't been properly built or drainage provided for. On my side, there will be a new patio over the existing ground level which will have a linear drain all the way down this side so it should be kept well drained.
for the fence, planning to force this upright as far as possible, then to add the same type of concrete spur concreted into a hole in the ground (with a deep concrete foundation because the ground isn't as hard). Once the concrete has set, to add a wedge of wood between the two, to support the fence from leaning further over.
Does this ring alarm bells for anyone, or anyone with past experience with adding this type of support? I'd prefer not to go digging under the existing brick wall as its not in my land. Could knock the wall down and rebuild but prefer to avoid the hassle with the neighbours. Advice much appreciated!
thanks,
Peter
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 10:56 pm
by lutonlagerlout
peter all fence posts need to be dug down 600mm
use 2.4m posts ,300mm concrete gravel boards and 1.5m fence panels
job done
we did exactly the same thing a couple of weeks ago but had to run 4 course of brick work as the neighbour didnt like gravel boards
like this
cheers LLL 
Edited By lutonlagerlout on 1352761008
Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2012 12:03 am
by peter s
looks excellent!! thanks. suspect mine will come out a bit more patchy as not planning to replace the fence at this stage - focusing on the patio, drainage and just keeping things up for now! Will definitely take the advice on the deeper posts though and look into whether the gravel boards would add anything on my side (the neighbour has pebbles higher than the bottom of the post hence the lean), so below fence level is only visible on my side.
any thoughts on the wall? Same approach? i.e. effectively add new concrete posts on my side and wedge the gap with bricks to support? Can pretty it up later with render, plants, etc. I've added another picture at http://www.flickr.com/photos....ostream
thanks again!
Peter
Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2012 2:49 am
by seanandruby
aah, a picture speaks a thousand words and yours is saying: unsafe, dangerous, knock it down and rebuild making sure your founds' are done right on the wall.
Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2012 7:33 am
by lutonlagerlout
^^ sean is spot on
you may be able to save the feather edge boards but that little lot must come down
its unsafe
LLL
Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2012 9:00 am
by local patios and driveway
Got to agree with sean. Its dangerous and you need to have a chat with your neighbour, maybe suggest a fence similar to lll's one above, at least no kids will get slammed when it falls.
Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2012 9:20 pm
by peter s
well that seems pretty clear!!
thanks a lot all - that's really helpful and made my mind up. anyhow next door rents so I can probably make an issue of it with the landlord without having to live next to him if he has a problem with it... future buyers would probably think the same thing and saves me wasting time and money propping up on my side if its just a problem that needs a better solution.
much appreciated.
Peter