Making A Retaining Wall Of Concrete

Constructed correctly a form for a homemade wall will not only retain the concrete.

Making a retaining wall of concrete.

For diy purposes opt for manufactured blocks that are. Materials tools and site. Retaining walls can be constructed using a variety of materials from poured concrete and large timbers to natural stones even bricks. There are block retaining walls stone retaining walls and poured concrete retaining walls but these can be quite complicated and expensive.

It took a day to rip out the old collapsing retaining wall to dig farther into the hill to provide room for the backfill gravel and to help unload materials. The success of your retaining wall depends on a level base. To create a solid foundation dig a trench for the first course of your interlocking retaining wall blocks to sit in and make sure the ground remains even throughout. Avoid having downspouts pointed at the retaining wall and if it s against the house keep soil and mulch well below the siding.

Using a tape measure decide the length and the width of your retaining wall then mark off the area with the garden stakes and string. If the form is constructed incorrectly the concrete can blow out the form breaking it apart and creating an enormous mess while wasting much of your money. Over time the bags will degrade and you will have an elegant and permanent retaining wall. Follow the block manufacturer s instructions for wall height limits.

A simple cost effective way to make a retaining wall is to stack 60 lb. Here are the steps tom ralston owner of tom ralston concrete in santa cruz ca follows when pouring a retaining wall. If you want to build a concrete retaining wall you should consider pouring the wall rather than making it out of concrete blocks. When doing your own concrete work knowing how to form a homemade concrete wall is an essential skill.

Without a pressure relief system the weight of the water in the soil would crack or even buckle the wall. Pouring a concrete retaining wall is not that difficult and this easy to follow how to guide will show you just what to do. A poured wall is much stronger and generally last many more years than a block wall. Poured concrete retaining walls can be colored textured accented with embedded objects and much more.

How to build a concrete wall prep work. A retaining wall must provide a way to release the water that builds up in the slope behind it. So diyers have come up with an interesting trick. When installed properly concrete offers much more room for customization than any other retaining wall material.

Rather than messing around with mortar they lay the walls down like lego pieces using concrete while it s still in the bag. Building a retaining wall in the conventional ways is not a trivial matter. Block retaining walls are generally the same as freestanding block walls but with a few important differences.