How do I Build a Retaining Wall With Wood?
Retaining walls are ideal for reshaping the natural slope of a living or work area. The walls allow builders to make the best use of otherwise unusable inclines and dips that occur naturally with land. Cutting hillsides is frequently necessary to establish flat, firm, fit construction foundations for building. A properly built retaining wall is constructed as a permanent, necessary structure and must be strong and unyielding for many years. Special care and weather resistant building materials must be used to build retaining walls. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Tape measure
- Pressure-treated landscaping timbers
- Nylon cord
- Stakes
- Level
- Trencher or pick and shovel
- 1/2 inch gravel
- Tamper
- Rebar
- Drill and bit
- Hammer
- Lag screws and washers
- Circular saw
Instructions
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1
Measure the area for the retaining wall. Drive in stakes to mark off the measured area's height and wall perimeter. Connect these driven stakes with nylon building cord.
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2
Spray painting the dig lines make them easier to see if you are using a trencher. Use the cord and six-foot level to pull another level line, wrapping it around the existing stakes two to four inches above the ground to represent the first course of timbers to be laid. Spray paint this line to create a better visual reference point for the first course.
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3
Use a trencher or pick and shovel to dig the retaining wall foundation. Dig it 12 to 14 inches deep and 10 to 12 inches wide. Use a heavy tamper to compact the freshly dug foundation. Go over the entire trench with the tamper at least two or three times to firmly compact it.
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4
Trenchers make digging long trenches much easier on the back than a pick and shovel. Fill the trench with medium 1/2-inch to ¾-inch gravel. Tamp it down thoroughly, just like you did in Step 3 with the dirt. Make sure to keep the gravel surface level as you tamp it into place.
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5
Select and lay out on the ground the first course of timbers that will go into the trench. Drill ¾-inch holes into the timbers at 3- to 4-foot intervals. Set them into the prepared trench carefully without creating any unevenness with your feet in the tamped gravel.
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6
A level foundation is the key to having a straight, level wall. Use the level to make sure the first course of timbers is exactly level, tamping where needed to bring it level. Drop 4-foot rebar into the drilled holes and drive them flush to the timber top with a sledgehammer. Double check for level when the rebar is in place.
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7
Lay the second course of timbers in place, staggering the joints. Pour two to four inches of the ¾-inch stone behind the wall and loosely lay filtering fabric on the embankment next to the wall. Lay out in a single piece 4-inch drain tile (pipe) on the gravel; then cover it with another two inches of gravel. Pull the filtering fabric off the bank and cover the last layer of gravel.
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8
Wooden retaining walls this straight is what you are aiming for. Attach the second, and each successive course of timbers, with long lag screws. Keep checking the wall for level and keep the courses parallel as you add them. Use shortened landscape timbers and T-joints or tiebacks to turn 90-degree corners if needed and follow Steps 1 through 7 to install them.
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Tips & Warnings
Be sure to dig out, tamp and keep level footings for the shorter timbers you will saw if you need to turn a corner with the wall.
Route water away from the back side of the retaining wall.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit railroad, image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com spray image by Dragana Petrovic from Fotolia.com earth-moving machine image by goce risteski from Fotolia.com isolated level on white background image by Nikolay Okhitin from Fotolia.com old wooden wall - perfect grunge background image by javarman from Fotolia.com
