How to Build a Retaining Wall
A retaining wall looks like simple stacked stone, block, or timber construction. However, they have been carefully engineered to wage an ongoing battle with gravity and the weather. They are capable of restraining tons of soaking wet soil that would otherwise slump and slide from a foundation and damage the surrounding landscape.
Common Issues: Drainage, Weight of Soil
Although retaining walls are basic structures, a casual check around your neighborhood will often reveal many that are starting to bulge, crack, or lean. This is because most residential retaining walls do not have good drainage, and many are not built to withstand the hillside they were originally supposed to retain.
Even small retaining walls can contain enormous loads. For example, a 4-foot-high, 15-foot-long wall can often hold back as much as 20 tons of wet soil. Double the height to 8 feet, and you will need a wall that is 8 times stronger in order to do the same job.
Retaining Wall Cost
If you have a retaining wall built, it will cost around $15 a square face foot for a timber wall, $20 for interlocking-block systems or poured concrete, and $25 for natural-stone walls. Preparing a problem site, such as one that has clay soil or a natural spring, will increase the costs greatly. Add 10% if you hire either a landscaping architect or an engineer.
How deep do the footings need to be for a retaining wall?
The depth you will need to dig to will depend on frost depth, in addition to the wall and soil type. Both mortar or concrete walls that are in heavy-frost areas will need footings to be dug just below the frost line. Non-mortared walls must be built on a gravel-filled trench that is also dug just below the frost line.
For information pertaining to the retaining wall services and products that All Angles Masonry has to offer, please do not hesitate to dial this number (505) 209-3665 now, we are based in the Albuquerque, NM area.