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#1 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Pt Lincoln far side South Oz
Posts: 5,766
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want to do some budget garden wall raising, as in l have a sloping un usable garden area, and thought if I layer it into 3 different levels all over about 1.5m height.
After watching SES people with sand bags I wondered if you could use them long term as low walls then fill in any gaps behind and eventually cover with ground cover shrubs rtc.
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#2 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 961
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Don't do it!
Short term gain, long term pain! Get cheap retaining wall blocks, cut in a footing first. Better still, get "good" retaining blocks. Alternately, go for treated pine. With all options, put in some slotted pipe covered by geo-textile.
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Steve Current rides 2012 Mondeo Titanium wagon (TDCI) Moondust silver 2016 Focus Trend, 1.5ecoboost, 6sp manual. Frozen white Previous 2004 Berlina Wagon (LS1) Vespers Blue 1995 Camry 2.2, white 1971 Ford Fairmont wagon 302w, C4 Polar white 1971 TC Cortina, 2L 4sp, Ermine white |
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#3 | ||
Donating Member
![]() Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Wellington NZ
Posts: 11,111
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As Whitelion says, don't. Not worth the time and effort for something that won't last. If you are not too confident with building a timber or block wall Bunnings have products to keep it simple, https://www.bunnings.com.au/50-x-50-...right_p1080307 . You can use the companies concrete retaining boards or with these you can use treated pine, If you are only going up a total of 1.5m with 3 walls it will be simple to achieve and pretty cost effective. There is a link on the Bunnings page and it even explains everything you need to do. The link block walls where you don't need mortar are also quick and relatively cheap to do but you will need to be able to get the base course really level. If you don't want a professional in, base your choice on your skill level and confidence.
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#4 | |||
Cabover nut
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Onsite Eastcoast
Posts: 10,827
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Quote:
There's always rammed earth tyre terracing walls.
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heritagestonemason.com/Fordlouisvillerestoration In order that the labour of centuries past may not be in vain during the centuries to come...... D. Diderot 1752
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#5 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Pt Lincoln far side South Oz
Posts: 5,766
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yeah thanks rokWiz I did that for a friend (?) 30 years ago, my back still remembers the slog, but with a good group could be successful.
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#6 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Perth, Northern Suburbs
Posts: 4,889
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#7 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Pt Lincoln far side South Oz
Posts: 5,766
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#8 | ||
Guest
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 1,892
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#9 | ||
praek tih kl jo kr
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Atwell W.A.
Posts: 1,653
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Concrete bag wall?, I like how easy it is and just drive some reo bar through and wet them for a more sturdy wall
https://www.jimenezphoto.com/concret...etaining-wall/ |
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#10 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Pt Lincoln far side South Oz
Posts: 5,766
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Quote:
But fair go out of our price range.
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#11 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Pt Lincoln far side South Oz
Posts: 5,766
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Quote:
now that is worth more investigation.. thank you
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#12 | |||
I am Groot
![]() Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Burnett Heads, Qld
Posts: 6,840
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Quote:
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.. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() "Those were the days when the cars were cars, they weren't built out of an Ikea pack like they are now and clothed in plastic; they were real cars." John Bowe |
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#13 | ||
Cabover nut
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Onsite Eastcoast
Posts: 10,827
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Working on conservative dimensions that a 20kg bag of concrete might be 450mm long X 100m high (max more like 80mm high)
1500mm high for the wall. You would be looking at approx 30 bags per face meter length at that height (not including setting the occassional one crossways for stability) 30 bags per approx $8 a bag would start adding up. If you are anywhere near the sea, do not use steel gabbion cages as they rust quickly. There are stainless one, car ching.
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heritagestonemason.com/Fordlouisvillerestoration In order that the labour of centuries past may not be in vain during the centuries to come...... D. Diderot 1752
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#14 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Pt Lincoln far side South Oz
Posts: 5,766
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Thanks RoKWiz I started doing my sums and suddenly felt very light headed,
A mate is building a house with main road separating house & sea, with those gabbion cages, luckily stainless. I asked about the price, he gave wry smile, choked and changed the subject.
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#15 | |||
Cabover nut
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Onsite Eastcoast
Posts: 10,827
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Quote:
On the gabbions, I did a job in Newcastle along the sea front for a client years ago. Their neighbour wanted a quote for a similar (granite) stone wall where they decided paying a Stonemason was to expensive and they would use gabbions. Two years later the cheap steel baskets are breaking open spilling the loose cheaper (sandstone) stones onto their driveway. I was told the only way they can fix it is to replace the backets with SS ones and replace the cracking sandstone with new. So here we are, a few years on with the job needing to be done twice using inferior materials. My client tells me theirs still looks perfect and have admirers asking about it. Just saying. (No I'm not looking for work.)
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heritagestonemason.com/Fordlouisvillerestoration In order that the labour of centuries past may not be in vain during the centuries to come...... D. Diderot 1752
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#16 | ||
DIY Tragic
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Sydney, more than not. I hate it.
Posts: 21,868
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Outside of a stonemason’s efforts, filled blocks engaged into a correctly sized footing are probably the most durable way. I’ve seen amateur results using the H-section posts and over about 450 high they show up quite clearly as amateur efforts. Below that, not too bad.
Tonz, cuz, you might need to recalibrate your wallet. |
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#17 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Perth, Northern Suburbs
Posts: 4,889
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Ok, that's a bit more reasonable.
To answer your OP, yes you can use sandbags. However the fundamental issue with retaining walls is this: It is back-breaking work. It involves either a phenomenal amount of really hard labour, and/or a significant amount of machinery. So the question you have to ask is whether you want to go through all that for something that will look crap, and fall over in a few years. Obviously the go-too gold standard, is large limestone blocks. Timeless, and if done properly, everlasting. Then you have a variety of pre-cast concrete products, which range from the reasonable stylish, to the downright ugly industrial. Treated Pine is probably the lightest and easiest to work with (if you don't mind the garden looking like a 1970's Public Park. Hardwood "sleepers" are another option. And keep in mind that if you hunt around, you can pick up some cheap salvage options. Another option to consider, especially if you want to plant vegetation, is to use gabions. You even save money by filling them yourself, and filling them in-situ saves on the lifting. Either scavenge the rock, or get a truckload delivered. The look is an acquired taste, but you can fill the tops with soil and plants, creepers will grow through them, and if you pick the right rocks then lichens and mosses will also grow. |
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#18 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Perth, Northern Suburbs
Posts: 4,889
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Quote:
Gabions, and associated products, have been used in a huge variety of projects for aeons. They are pretty much the de-facto standard for retaining on large-scale projects. The first advantage is that they are porous, allowing water and silt to pass through, and slowly trapping soil that will support vegetation. The rusting metal is part of the design. Especially when it comes to "mattresses", etc. The idea being that over time, as the soil compacts and stabilises, you end up with a very natural wall. (This is of added benefit in situations where subsequent rehab would require the removal of more permanent solutions.) However it has become fashionable to use "gabion-type" structures for things such as signs, free-standing walls, and some concept of "nouveau industrial chic" retaining walls. Typically the rocks in these are smaller, more evenly sized, more densely packed, and of a type selected for aesthetics rather than their ability to form a natural wall. Obviously for those, once the wire rusts through, they tend to collapse under their own weight, hence the emergence of stainless models. Which of course is typical of fashionistas. Something that was in use because it's functional and cheaper than better-looking alternatives, becomes fashionable, and the cheap characteristics become undesirable, leading to models that are more expensive than the original alternatives. |
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