Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 11:48 am
Hi there,
I’ve been literally digging myself into a hole, or trench to be more precise, the past while. What I thought would be a small DIY project and what my wife thought would be done in a weekend has turned into a bit of a monster.
I want to build a small container wall in my garden that is to be about 2.5 feet tall by 15 feet in length, holding back earth (a pre-existing raised border) same height and length and 3 feet from wall to back fence. I’ll attach a basic diagram for clarity when I figure out how to do it. There’ll be a smaller adjoining wall but much lower (about 1.5 feet) so I don’t consider it to be a problem. I want to use sandstone uneven (“semi dressed�?) blocks for the wall. I have the trench dug and have begun to spread some hardcore. My intention is to lay a couple of lengths of rebar prior to pouring the concrete footing. I would be grateful for some advice on the following.
- After some googling last night I noticed that hardcore seems to be a no-no for a wall footing. I’ve spread just 3 bags, not yet tamped down, should I rake it back out again and pour the concrete directly onto the ground (it’s quite firm)?
- I was planning on building the wall as just a single-skinned one as I assumed that this would suffice for a small wall. Would this be ok or does the wall’s height necessitate a double skin? If so, should I do a second skin with the same sandstone blocks or would concrete blocks behind the outer skin be a good idea? I really was hoping for just a single skin due to lack of funds and lack of spare time!
- As I had planned to do just a single skin wall, I made my trench width accordingly (around 12 inches). If I must build it double-skin would this trench width still suffice? Because of a problem I had with a large amount of builder’s crap buried there I’d be reluctant to make the trench any bigger.
- For the concrete I’m planning to use gravel and cement ratio 4:1. Good or bad? 3:1 better?
Here's the diagram, thanks in advance.
I’ve been literally digging myself into a hole, or trench to be more precise, the past while. What I thought would be a small DIY project and what my wife thought would be done in a weekend has turned into a bit of a monster.
I want to build a small container wall in my garden that is to be about 2.5 feet tall by 15 feet in length, holding back earth (a pre-existing raised border) same height and length and 3 feet from wall to back fence. I’ll attach a basic diagram for clarity when I figure out how to do it. There’ll be a smaller adjoining wall but much lower (about 1.5 feet) so I don’t consider it to be a problem. I want to use sandstone uneven (“semi dressed�?) blocks for the wall. I have the trench dug and have begun to spread some hardcore. My intention is to lay a couple of lengths of rebar prior to pouring the concrete footing. I would be grateful for some advice on the following.
- After some googling last night I noticed that hardcore seems to be a no-no for a wall footing. I’ve spread just 3 bags, not yet tamped down, should I rake it back out again and pour the concrete directly onto the ground (it’s quite firm)?
- I was planning on building the wall as just a single-skinned one as I assumed that this would suffice for a small wall. Would this be ok or does the wall’s height necessitate a double skin? If so, should I do a second skin with the same sandstone blocks or would concrete blocks behind the outer skin be a good idea? I really was hoping for just a single skin due to lack of funds and lack of spare time!
- As I had planned to do just a single skin wall, I made my trench width accordingly (around 12 inches). If I must build it double-skin would this trench width still suffice? Because of a problem I had with a large amount of builder’s crap buried there I’d be reluctant to make the trench any bigger.
- For the concrete I’m planning to use gravel and cement ratio 4:1. Good or bad? 3:1 better?
Here's the diagram, thanks in advance.
