Retaing/retention wall

[roofus29]

Hi,
i am a total novice at this and willing to learn, so please no jokes. wanting to save £6000 which i was quoted by the people who built my house to build a retention wall in my back garden which could potentially be a nightmare in my eyes but maybe not in the eyes of a good builder,

concern for me is the fact i need to dig back the ground so i can put the wall in? which will not quite expose the footings to a garage which is situated at the end of my garden and behind the steps see pic.
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suggestions please! i have included all pics of the garden if this helps

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[Deluks]

Where is the wall going, either side of the steps?

 

[roofus29]

Yes eitherside of the steps,

 

[Steve]

those steps look like they just fell there lol

 

[noseall]

You will need to dig 450mm wide foundations to a suitable depth i.e. down to virgin ground and below fertile matter.

Up to a metre high, a 225mm thick wall should be ok so long as there are changes in direction. This is likely to occur where the wall meets the steps then returns 90 degrees thus framing the steps.

I'm not entirely sure where you want the wall to be but it seems like you have a lot of digging on your hands.

 

[Thermo]

lightweight, theres not much to dig there!
as an alternative you could do it in sleepers. very strong and long lasting and will look good. or gabion baskets

 

[Deluks]

or gabion baskets

If you're really hard up use shopping trolleys, only a pound each at your local supermarket

 

[roofus29]

Thanks for all your input,
these pictures were taken a while ago, i have started to dig out the soil which is not the problem, i was concerned about the foundations of the garage wall behind the steps?!? as i want the wall to run from left to right surrounding the steps, and also want the galvanised green fence to be brick aswell which seperates my garden from the neighbours, if that makes sense, happy with the footings, also wondered about drainage, the soil is clay based.

 

[Static]

How close do you intend to have the wall to the garage?

If its too close then youll be supporting the garage and a simple garden wall with a basic footing wont last the course of time, would be better to put in something a little more robust..

Always best to provide weepholes to allow water pressure to escape.. preferably with some form of pea shingle behind the wall to collect any water to these holes..