Retaining wall

[nads1978]

I want to change my garden/drive. The existing garden slopes - I want it more flat & want also to gain some drive way space.

The 2 pictures show it now & what I'm after (use manhole with red circle as reference point)

Is there any alternative to concrete block - that won't cost me a fortune!
Thought about casting it in concrete, but by the time I have purchased all the shuttering it will be the same price as blocking it.

 

[Thermo]

new sleepers are a very cost effective solution. depends if you are doing it yourself or getting someone to do it. materials work out slightly more with slepers but labour is a lot less.

 

[nads1978]

No matter what it is, I'll be doing it myself!

Not looked at new sleepers, old ones are about £25 each, which would be too much I think.

 

[ElBlanco]

I just did something similar last summer and used new pressure treated railway sleepers that I bought on ebay - got them for 12 quid each.

Set some vertically in concrete, then bolted sleepers horizontally accross the verticals using timberlok landscape screws.

Worked out well . . .

 

[nads1978]

Thanks, that is good

 

[Thermo]

dont use old reclaimed ones. full of tar, stink in the summer, gets on your clothes, buggers to work with and very heavy.

new ones are all straight and light and will last years. look much better too

 

[maf20]

I used sleepers on a smaller scale than yours and they were reasonably easy and straight forward to put in. I used 5ft posts which are 2ft deep in the ground, bedded in concrete. I built up the sleepers at a 3-5 degree angle to retain the garden. I also back filled behind the sleepers with 1ft of gravel to ensure that the water didn't dam behind and put pressure on the wall. I'm a real beginner and I managed this pretty much all on my own. The sleepers were about £25 quid each though so not too cheap. You could probably get them cheaper if you shop around.

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[nads1978]

Thanks for the inspiration guys, I have decided on a variation of the pictures above. Will post pics when it is done in a few months

 

[WabbitPoo]

I used sleepers on a smaller scale than yours and they were reasonably easy and straight forward to put in. I used 5ft posts which are 2ft deep in the ground, bedded in concrete. I built up the sleepers at a 3-5 degree angle to retain the garden. I also back filled behind the sleepers with 1ft of gravel to ensure that the water didn't dam behind and put pressure on the wall. I'm a real beginner and I managed this pretty much all on my own. The sleepers were about £25 quid each though so not too cheap. You could probably get them cheaper if you shop around.

Nice job. However it'd look better (in my opinion) if you had used Timberloks instead of those great big bolts.

 

[Thermo]

or bolted them from the back

 

[nads1978]

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