Garden wall design proposal

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Stef123

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Good morning all,

The time has finally come to look at replacing around 1/3 of an old crumbling garden wall. Actually surprised the recent winds didn’t take some of it down.
The existing wall must be 40+ years old, made of part brick and part fancy concrete blocks with holes in them which are falling apart.

I’m planning on building the new wall with 7n standard concrete blocks to keep the cost down and make the building work fairly efficient. Neighbour can paint his side or do something to make it look better than grey blocks if he wishes, he wasn’t really bothered when I spoke to him. Anything is safer than what is there currently plus it gives him a little extra privacy for when he builds decking.

Approx 12m total length, with 4 piers. Height will be 1.8m to match part of the existing wall.


Still yet to test the ground for foundation depth etc but planning on making the foundation 400mm wide and 500mm at the piers.

Have I done anything disastrously wrong in what I have come up with?

Cheers all
 

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It will look awful, even worse on your side with all the pillars. I had a neighbour build a grey block wall at a house I rented, I called it the Berlin Wall.
 
Ivor Windybottom said:
It will look awful, even worse on your side with all the pillars. I had a neighbour build a grey block wall at a house I rented, I called it the Berlin Wall.
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I can live with it looking awful if it serves a purpose and safe. The area I live in isn’t exactly pretty looking anyway lol.
The pillars I appreciate are not exactly an aesthetic feature but 2 of them will be hidden by my shed when I build it eventually and the other 2 will be in my vegetable patch if that’s what I can call it which right now is overgrown with a raspberry bush.

The gardens are a bit of a weird layout, my neighbour 2 doors up built a single skin, 6ft block wall around his garden a few years ago, I’m surprised that’s still standing.
 
This is the neighbours block wall :eek:
There’s no piers anywhere on it.
IMG_0258.jpeg
 
1800mm is well above the recommended height for an unrestrained garden wall, built with 100mm blocks, even with piers. Have a look at charts online. There are different zones in the country, but even in the safest zone it's below that.
 
stuart45 said:
1800mm is well above the recommended height for an unrestrained garden wall, built with 100mm blocks, even with piers. Have a look at charts online. There are different zones in the country, but even in the safest zone it's below that.
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I was looking at this, I am in zone 3.
My intention was to build 215mm wide, but I’m not sure how to check what piers will add to my maximum height.
 

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Piers will add strength inbetween the thickness. For example, a 102.5mm brick wall with 215mm piers won't be as strong as a 215mm solid wall, but stronger than a 102.5mm wall without the piers.
The heights given in the charts are well within the safety side though, and even in a higher zone the wall could still be sheltered. If you build it as a 215mm wall and decent sized piers it should be fine..
 
A quick follow up question to the original one asked.

My intention was to make the piers 440x325mm (block on flat plus block on edge) but I’m thinking this creates the need for an awful lot of cuts.
Should the pillars be 440x440mm? Or would smaller suffice providing they are bonded in?

Not sure how I could build a thicker wall with no piers.
I had thought of a double skin using 140mm blocks with wall ties, this would give me 290mm thickness?
 
Last edited:
Stef123 said:
A quick follow up question to the original one asked.

My intention was to make the piers 440x325mm (block on flat plus block on edge) but I’m thinking this creates the need for an awful lot of cuts.
Should the pillars be 440x440mm? Or would smaller suffice providing they are bonded in?

Not sure how I could build a thicker wall with no piers.
I had thought of a double skin using 140mm blocks with wall ties, this would give me 290mm thickness?
Click to expand...
440mm x 440mm ties in well i.e. zero cuts...

Bigwall6

Bigwall6


Bigwall5

Bigwall5


Bigwall4

Bigwall4

 
Stef123 said:
Not sure how I could build a thicker wall with no piers.
I had thought of a double skin using 140mm blocks with wall ties, this would give me 290mm thickness?
Click to expand...
If you mean a 13inch wall in blockwork, build 2 courses flat with an upright course next to it. Next 2 flat courses go over the upright course, Half bond it.
 
stuart45 said:
If you mean a 13inch wall in blockwork, build 2 courses flat with an upright course next to it. Next 2 flat courses go over the upright course, Half bond it.
Click to expand...
Yes that would be perfect, meaning I can get rid of the piers idea.
A bit heavy duty but I’d sooner have that than it fall down getting battered in the wind.

Will make it easier to finish or paint with something if my neighbour wants to do so.
 
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